CLOUD & EDGE
Driving industry-wide improvements Firstly – as with any other data centre – the chosen cooling solution is one of the primary targets for improving efficiency .
“ It is likely that a lot of edge workloads will require high-performance hardware – AI / ML , video processing and analytics , remote rendering and other applications will drive the use of GPUs and highspec CPUs , all of which are energy hungry . In terms of cooling , this can actually help by driving up the average energy density at the edge . It may also encourage the use of high-density cooling systems which are typically much more efficient per kW than traditional DX or chilled water systems ,” Clubb explains .
“ Many in the industry are looking at liquid immersion systems as being suitable for edge data centres – not only are immersion systems about as energy efficient as a cooling system can get , but they are also capable of reducing IT power consumption by 8-25 % ( mainly due to the removal of all the fans in the servers ). “
What ’ s more , the rapid growth of the edge data centre market represents a fantastic financial opportunity for sustainably-led cooling solutions providers .
“ Liquid cooling is yet to hit the mass market , but edge data centres may help their wider adoption ,” Clubb adds .
“ WITH CURRENT ENERGY PRICING AND AVAILABILITY OF POWER BEING STRETCHED IN MANY LOCATIONS , THE EFFORT TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF POWER CONSUMED BY THE IT ITSELF WILL BECOME MORE AND MORE IMPORTANT ”
DUNCAN CLUBB HEAD OF DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE ADVISORY , DATA CENTRE SOLUTIONS , CBRE
Interestingly , this trend is applicable to the full scope of green technologies , as the emergence of edge data centres offers extensive opportunities for previously outlier sustainability solutions .
“ Hyperscale customers often have design requirements that may not include any new sustainable technology because of the perceived risk of using untested technologies . Edge deployments are considerably smaller compared to their hyperscale counterparts . This means that , on a per unit basis , there is a much smaller capital investment , which can allow companies to address key sustainability factors such as green materials , minimising carbon footprint , optimising energy and water usage , using renewable energy sources like fuel cells and hydrogen , with much less risk or loss of capital than deploying in a large campus ,” explains Grayson .
In this way , edge data centres could prove pivotal in the industry ’ s ongoing sustainability drive .
“ So , edge deployments can enable companies to test sustainable solutions on a small scale , as a precursor to incorporating them into their existing facilities if the technology proves scalable and sustainable .” datacentremagazine . com 91