Industrial 3D Printer (print area - X500 Y1200 Z220)
2U Immersion Chassis - Version Alpha 0.9
It is widely acknowledged that the size of the digital universe will at least double every two years, and this rate of growth is accelerating. Whilst the benefits of vast and accessible datasets are obvious, we often forget about the cost in terms of energy, water, and CO2. A conservative estimate suggests the ICT industry currently accounts for approximately 4% of global energy consumption and 2% - 3% of CO2. In reality these figures are almost certainly much higher, especially when considering full infrastructure lifecycle.
When we consider that approximately 2.5 billion people have unreliable or no access to electricity, and that current predictions suggest the ICT industry will consume 50% more power by 2040, it is clear the ICT industry needs to adopt more energy efficient practices and commit to reducing, rather than increasing, its energy consumption.
We intend to address the issue of excessive energy consumption and CO2 output by tackling one of the major contributing factors, the heat generated by server and storage infrastructure, and the resulting energy consumption required to cool the surrounding environment. Currently server rooms utilise air-conditioning to remove hot air and replace with cold air, an approach which consumes large amounts of both electricity and water for evaporative cooling. By contrast we propose the use of immersion cooling, a process which uses a non-conductive liquid to capture heat and is many times more efficient than air-conditioning.
To that end we have designed ES4D, a ground-up rework of chassis design using immersive and heat recovery technologies. ES4D is a proof of concept specifically aimed at the Filecoin ecosystem which can be 3D printed using circular economy bioplastic and therefore reducing data centre e-waste and energy costs to a new minimum.
- Increased green credentials and reputation of the filecoin ecosystem, and specifically those of any SP’s adopting the technology
- Reduction of SP’s energy consumption and costs therefore increasing ecosystem efficiency
- Easier adoption of renewable energy due to reduced energy requirement
- Reduction of SP infrastructure costs due to increased working life of server/storage components
- Increased rack density resulting in lower data centre footprint
The risk of not adopting and investing in greener technology solutions would be that the Filecoin ecosystem could be perceived as not embracing sustainability. Enterprise and SME clients often have policies in place which mandate working with suppliers who are able to demonstrate strong environmental policies and commitments. With greater adoption of greener technologies the Filecoin ecosystem can not only promote it’s green credentials, it is more likely to onboard datasets belonging to clients looking for green alternatives to existing providers.
Whilst we fully anticipate being able to successfully execute this project based on past experience, the most difficult aspect will be the fact that we are designing and building our own server chassis as opposed to working with a supplier. However, we believe we have mitigated this risk by securing the appropriate engineering resources and performing all the design work in advance allowing us to model, identify, and remedy issues before going into production.
Cooling Efficiency:
- Precision temperature control through direct contact with non-conductive liquid
- Reduced hotspots and uniform cooling across components
- Higher heat transfer efficiency compared to air
Energy Savings:
- Reduced energy usage by eliminating server fans - a reduction of 120W per 2U is typical
- Lower operating costs and minimized carbon footprint
Operational and Technical Benefits:
- Quieter operation
- Enhanced hardware reliability
- Scalability, future-proofing, and eco-friendliness
Cost and Space Savings:
- Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
- Over 60% space savings compared to traditional air-cooled data centers
Performance Enhancement:
- Suitable for high-power density environments, particularly High-Performance Computing (HPC)
- Economical solution for system heat, noise, and power consumption challenges
Market Adoption and Future Prospects:
- Interest from tech giants like Intel, Facebook, and Google
- Anticipated growth due to rising data center numbers and eco-friendly cooling needs
Customization and Design Flexibility:
- Bespoke product creation without retooling costs
- Freedom to iterate and adapt designs for different motherboards and layouts
Cost Efficiency:
- Significant reduction in manufacturing costs
- Lowered material wastage and optimized resource utilization
Enhanced Performance:
- Tailored cooling solutions for optimized thermal management
- Potential for designing complex and efficient cooling geometries
Speed and Agility:
- Rapid prototyping and deployment of cooling solutions
- Adaptability to evolving hardware configurations and cooling requirements
Innovation:
- Opportunity for exploring novel cooling designs and techniques
- Pushing the boundaries of thermal engineering through combined technology advancements
We shall continue to refine and document the solution allowing the community to build and maintain their own installations, however the ultimate intention is to develop an open source configuration which can be shared and developed by the community allowing SP’s to cost-effectively refine, upgrade, and maintain their own customised installations if so desired.
We are working with hardware vendors closely connected to the Filecoin ecosystem with the intention of building and deploying production ready systems which can then be deployed by the community as a fully qualified Filecoin solution. If you are interested in the filecoin network, or looking at installing your own bespoke edge solution, please contact us.
This project is supported by: Filecoin Green Devgrant
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