Server designers face enormous challenges in the coming decade. Huge increases in processing power combined with the effects of virtualization are constraining server real estate and testing heat density limits. These issues are even more pronounced in very high performance system environments.
By 2008, high-end blade servers had already reached 10kWatts/sq. ft. in heat density, and the historical increase of 30% per year in heat density for servers is holding steady. If these trends continue, the operational costs associated with space, power and cooling for most servers will exceed the acquisition costs over the life of the equipment.
Server manufacturers are using several approaches to reduce heat density, including:
* Introducing fluid cooling.
* Using software and hardware logic to shut down components when not in use.
* Placing cooling jackets on server racks.
* Utilizing vertical cooling technology.
In addition, manufacturers are taking aim at reducing the number of cards in a server. Fewer cards mean less space and less heat. For example, a practical solution is to forego traditional designs which rely on separate Ethernet and FC cards and converge network traffic using single chip converged network adaptors (CNAs). QLogic’s recent design win with IBM’s Power System servers is an example which will help IBM save space and reduce heat in its systems.
Observers should expect an increase in similar announcements as vendors make the steady march toward FCoE over the next several years.
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