Powering the Future:

AI’s Impact on Data Center Design

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 INTRODUCTION DESIGN CRITERIA
The data center landscape is undergoing a seismic The average data center design RFP in the late 2010’s
shift due to the growth of artificial intelligence. required approximately 5kW per cabinet and grew to
Gartner notes that 70% of executives report exploring 10kW per cabinet from approximately 2012 to 2018. As
generative AI for their organization; IDC forecasts that an industry we quickly moved on from single phase
the AI software market is expected to be worth nearly 120-volt inputs, spent several years at single phase
$792 billion by 2025 and is projected to grow at a rate 208 volts, moved into three phase 208 volts, and on to
of 18.4% through that year. other voltages, like 415 volts. The voltage was coming
up, and the current, protective devices, and conductor
This growing adoption leads to profound changes in sizes were all going down. Select applications in the
data center power requirements and infrastructure traditional data center environment started ticking
planning. As AI technologies advance, data centers’ up, and per rack power would start to increase to
power demands and infrastructure requirements 10-20% of the overall environment. Designs began to
must evolve to accommodate increasing power bifurcate into density and availability zones where we
densities, changing hardware configurations, could leverage power distribution and heat rejection
and dynamic workloads. Data centers must be technologies based on the various power densities
agile enough to scale up or down quickly to meet required in an overall space. All the while utilization
fluctuating demands without disrupting operations. was lagging design, presenting an inefficient
This adaptability ensures efficient resource utilization, balance on space utilization, and mechanical and
future-proofs the facility, and creates a scalable electrical systems.
data center for seamless expansion to meet growing
computational needs. Together, adaptability and
scalability are essential cornerstones in designing
data centers that can effectively harness the potential
of AI while staying responsive to evolving business and
technology trends.

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POWER DESIGN at the rack, or limiting UPS and generator only to
The integration of AI into data centers has significantly networking equipment and limited local storage. The
shifted power requirements—projections show a solutions are more industrial and utilitarian. Power
50% increase in the power footprint of a traditional resiliency is giving way to a robust and fast network,
data center by 2025. AI servers demand power levels geographic diversity and on-ramps to various cloud
surpassing traditional servers to support advanced services. However, a fully integrated, reliable and
AI algorithms, data processing, and GPU-intensive effective real-time monitoring and alerts system
workloads at a rate 3-7X higher. Design criteria has designed specifically for these ampacities and busway
transcended the above whereby entire facilities are systems can help bridge the gap where redundancy
starting with a basis of design cabinet 17kW and was reduced and reliability is still required.
higher. Now the voltage and rack density in kW
have increased so too does the current. Current HEAT REJECTION
RFPs are calling for 17.3kW to more than 50kW per While power density increases, so too does the
cabinet. Gone are the days of 1U pizza box servers; need to reject heat. 120CFM per kW has long been
this environment boasts multiple 8U+ systems, each the minimum basis of design for air at the face of a
approaching 10kW! With a 42U+ cabinet, five systems server. Considering the legacy 1U pizza box server and
and 50kW every two linear feet has become a reality. 120CFM, every 8U would require 960CFM, minimum.
Current AI systems require nearly 1,400CFM every
8U, a >50% increase, vertically. Moving this much
air starts to challenge the typical 4’ aisle delivery
approach where there is a 4’ deep cabinet with equal
hot and cold aisles on either side of it.

There are myriad ways to approach this, from raised

access floors with perimeter computer room air
conditioners, to in-row cooling, and now immersion.
For the purposes of 2’ wide and 4’ deep spacing, 4-5
AI systems will require 5,600 – 7,000CFM per cabinet.
In response to the rapidly increasing power needs, Considering a “cold aisle” where the fronts of two such
data centers must scale in different ways, and typical systems face each other, the scenario presents 11,200
strategies like remote power panels and (RPPs), power to 14,000CFM every two linear feet. Selecting one of
distribution units (PDUs), and even uninterruptible the highest performing perforated raised access floor
power supplies (UPS) are being bypassed in lieu of tiles, with a 56% unobstructed air flow, tops out at
higher ampacity busway direct from switchboards and 2,340CFM and would push the cold aisle to a minimum
switchgear, directly to the cabinet. of 8’ wide! This is double the typical basis of design,
and could be as much as a 12’ cold aisle in an air only
In many cases, stalwart design elements like dual delivery.
power path and 100% UPS and generator backup, are
being reimagined with unitary power paths, batteries This simplified scenario is not accounting for raised

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 floor height, ceiling height, static pressure, pitch and increase in ways described above, the additional space
roll. Like the various voltages changing the approach may be able to absorb the changes to larger electrical
to ampacity, and ultimately power density, air delivery distribution to the cabinet level.
and heat rejection present numerous variables in
design necessary for balanced air handling. Buildings are expensive, and wider aisles and taller
ceilings shifts initial capital to very inefficient cost
If the cabinet format is constant, and we hold the hot centers. Certainly, few would want multiple 8-12’ aisles
aisle constant too, a new environment, with traditional that are effectively, purposely empty spaces.
approaches, would be a minimum of 30-60% larger!
Retrofitting an existing environment, depending on the In some cases, immersion cooling could be the answer,
floor plate, and the ability to move air, could result in but introducing pumps and other powered appliances,
an IT system population utilizing only 10% of the floor and the weight on systems in more than a single floor
space! Because of these concerns, many are taking deployment will yield structural augmentation. Air to
a hybrid approach to compensate for the additional air, direct evaporative systems, water to door or chip,
forced air cooling. While effective in heat dissipation, are other possibilities, each with their own challenges
the use of any form of liquid cooling (direct-to-chip, and limitations. Exterior equipment can help reduce
rear door heat exchangers and even submersion floor plates, but may introduce new plenums and
cooling) can have consequences for power delivey pressurized spaces that start to bring it back in scope,
systems. Depending on how/if these systems are mitigating the benefit.
powered, harmonics can be introduced into IT loads,
and if retrofitting a slab on grade installation, water Exterior electrical equipment, in purpose built
ingress ratings should be considered. structures, offer a balance to the size of the core and
shell, and promote maximizing the use of interior space
for IT system use and circulation, but exasperates
operation logistics, like the time for an operator to
get from the white space to an exterior system that
requires isolation.

SPECIAL CHALLENGES
Operationally, electrical busway is already a preferred
method of data center power delivery. Industrial
systems with the ability to connect every 2’ is a
requirement. Scheduling periodic maintenance,
including visual inspections, and torquing and
SPATIAL CONSIDERATIONS tightening are becoming part of the annual facility
As the power density promotes augmentation preventative maintenance plan. These have always
to power delivery, the design has to account for been required and recommended, but on manufacturer
additional space, at least vertically, potentially pushing and/or NETA intervals.
ceilings slightly higher. To hedge that, as the aisles

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Cold aisles are a misnomer, and becoming hot, hot CONCLUSION
aisle are becoming hostile! Front connections on AI is driving the size of data center campuses from
IT systems have been evolving and promoted by MW to GW, and driving up the scale of power
organizations like the Open Compute Project. A tech distribution, air flow and physical space requirements.
working in the hot aisle of an AI facility would require The aggressive growth in power density is challenging
entrance between processes, where the systems are the entire industry from utility service to stand-by
idle, commanding the system to operate at a lower power topology to the cabinet itself. We are stretching
percentage utilization, driving IT system heat rejection and contracting physical real estate to move air, reject
down temporarily, or in an extremely limited window, heat, and create pathways for the same. Design criteria
where the tech would be exposed to significant are evolving with technology. We must embrace new
temperatures, like a dry sauna! possibilities and approaches to progress. Keeping an
open mind and collaborating across fields can help us
Shifting electrical distribution equipment to the outside make the most of available technologies and create a
can expand underground works and their associated better future for all.
calculations, building penetrations, and design
coordination. It also shifts individual building design As AI and other high-performance compute (HPC)
into a campus planning exercise, where the doors, applications grow, modern data centers face
paths and access between buildings and systems increasing demand for power distribution systems.
require careful consideration. Server Technology’s PRO4X and Raritan’s PX4
intelligent rack PDUs provide robust and granular
revenue-grade power monitoring for high-density
deployments up to 415V Inputs. Starline Track
Busway’s flexibility, adaptability, and IP54 rating make
it perfect for these applications, especially when paired
with the Starline CPMs revenue-grade metering. These
products help data center facility managers adapt or
outfit their facilities to meet today’s and tomorrow’s
demands.

Discover further information on Server Technology’s

and Raritan’s next-generation, Rack PDU Solutions.
To learn more about Track Busway and CPMs, visit
starlinepower.com.

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