water cooling

Here's a simple example of a water cooling system: A pump circulates the water through a water block (a device similar to a heat sink) attached to the processor; there, heat from the processor transfers to the water. The heated water continues on to a radiator at the back of the computer case and is replaced with cool water. The heat from the water in the radiator dissipates into the air surrounding the computer. When the water has cooled to the ambient temperature, it is cycled through the system again.

Water cooling is increasingly used to deal with the special requirements of the data center. Because data centers are often assigned the most convenient available space, rather than a space that is specially designed, servers may be contained in too small an area or one that cannot be adequately ventilated. Furthermore, some data center technologies, such as blade servers (which are densely structured), put increased stress on the data center's cooling system.

Water cooling brings its own issues to the data center, however, as well as benefits. Additional plumbing is often required. Water cooling can limit the flexibility of data center design because systems connected to plumbing cannot be easily rearranged. The combination of electronic systems and water also complicates disaster recovery planning (DRP). For example, administrators need to know in advance how they will deal with potential problems, such as rust or leakage. A common fear of combining electrical systems and water is another road block to acceptance of water cooling.

Despite the inherent challenges, many industry experts predict that water cooling is the inescapable future of the data center. According to Robert E. McFarlane, president of the Interport Division of New York-based Shen, Milsom and Wilke Inc., "Paranoia is the reason there's so little water-cooled equipment on the market. We tend to get married to the technologies that we know and are comfortable with, but it's getting to that point where you just can't cool these densities without carrying it in liquid form."

Water cooling is nothing new -- automobiles and mainframe computers have used water cooling systems for many years. However, water cooling is being used in some new and innovative applications, such as environmentally friendly air conditioning systems for buildings.

Water cooling is sometimes referred to as liquid cooling, because various other substances are sometimes used instead of, or in addition to, water.

Watch a video from Tom's Hardware about water cooling:

Learn more about Data center cooling

ASHRAE data center special report: ASHRAE hosted its annual conference in Dallas last month. This special report contains ASHRAE's latest data center information.
Data center cooling strategies audiocast: This audio cast series tackles the latest data center cooling issues with Liebert Corporation's data center cooling expert Steve Madara.
Cooling data centers with outside air gets the go-ahead: Using outside air to cool your data center can save you money. But what about those nasty contaminants that might come in?
Liquid cooling buyers' guide: Data centers are welcoming liquid cooling into their infrastructures for better cooling efficiency. This guide to liquid cooling in the data center looks at a few products.
Data Center Facilities IT Handbook: Learn how to bridge the communication gap between data center facilities teams and IT staff in order to maintain a productive and efficient data center.
Data Center Library: Enterprise Data Center Design and Methodology: A review of Enterprise Data Center Design and Methodology by Sun Microsystems Inc.'s Enterprise Architect Rob Snevely.
Data Center Decisions Session Downloads: Power and Cooling Track (Chicago 2006): This track looks at how data center designs can maximize air flow, A/C considerations, new techniques in cooling and the looming issue blade servers bring to cooling.
	Bob McFarlane: Blogs and more: Expert Bob McFarlane recently hosted a blog that tackled the full array of problems that face anyone managing a data center's physical environment. The best of the blog is here.
Heating and cooling playbook: Need help keeping your new blades and ultra-high density server racks from overheating your data center? Our heating and cooling playbook will show you the ropes to keep things cool.

Do you have something to add to this definition? Let us know. Send your comments to techterms@whatis.com

More resources from around the web: - Wikipedia has more information. - Overclock.net provides a good tutorial about building your own water cooling system. - The City of Toronto Web site offers more information about the Deep Lake Water Cooling Project. - This SearchDataCenter.com article explores the case for water cooling in the data center. - A SearchServerVirtualization.com answers the question, 'Will liquid cooling work for high-heat producing hardware?' - SearchDomino.com offers an article called 'The wet look: IBM using water to cool servers.'

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