Unleashing the Future: Dell’s Journey in Liquid Cooling Innovation

Picture this: a world where your data center not only performs better but does so while slashing energy consumption. Welcome to the revolutionary era of Dell's liquid cooling technology! For more than a decade, Dell has been at the forefront of transforming data centers worldwide, pushing the boundaries of what's possible with innovative cooling solutions. Let's dive into the electrifying journey of Dell's liquid cooling saga over the last 10 years and see how we're redefining the future.

The Beginning of a New Era

It was about 10 years ago when Dell accepted a bold challenge: help a large-scale customer reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) of their computing systems while boosting performance and cutting down energy use. Rising to the occasion, Dell engineers crafted a groundbreaking rack-integrated system, seamlessly weaving together compute, power, cooling and networking. This visionary system introduced liquid cooling to cold plates mounted on processors, marking a monumental moment in scalable deployment beyond supercomputing. The result? A staggering 70% increase in Queries per Second for our customer, while using an astounding 97% less energy for cooling compared to state-of-the-art data centers at the time.¹

Breaking Boundaries with C6400

Fast forward to 2018, Dell launched the liquid-cooled C6400 system-a powerhouse engineered for high-performance computing (HPC), finance and compute-intensive applications. Thousands of these systems became the backbone of the Frontera supercomputing system at the Texas Advanced Computing Center, securing a #5 debut on the Top 500 supercomputing ranking.² Dell's integrated design and efficient liquid cooling propelled Frontera to the forefront of supercomputing excellence, setting a new standard for performance and efficiency.

Accelerating with Innovation

In 2021, Dell took another leap forward by unveiling six cutting-edge liquid-cooled server platforms, including the R750xa dense GPU chassis. Recognizing our unrivaled experience in delivering integrated liquid-cooled systems, U.S. National Laboratories entrusted Dell with the CTS-2 subcontract to supply supercomputing-level compute. These systems, delivered as Scalable Units, boast approximately 1.5 petaflops of computing power, underscoring Dell's commitment to leading the industry with innovation and efficiency.

A New Dawn in AI Supercomputing

By 2023, Dell was delivering tens of thousands of liquid-cooled servers annually, more than any other server OEM.³That year also marked the launch of 12 direct liquid cooling (DLC)-enabled platforms, including the AI-ready R760xa and the XE9640, one of the densest GPU compute platforms on the market. With the XE9640 at its core, Dell developed "Dawn,"⁴the United Kingdom's fastest AI supercomputer,⁵deployed at Cambridge University's Open Zettascale Lab. Operating at a PUE of 1.14, Dawn is a testament to Dell's liquid cooling prowess, reducing energy use while maximizing computational power in a compact footprint.

More liquid cooling innovation is shipping second half of 2024 with the Dell PowerEdge XE9680L, delivering our highest possible rack-scale density with DLC-more on this in a minute.

Redefining Value with Air and Liquid Cooling

Dell's innovative spirit doesn't stop at liquid cooling. The air-cooled XE9680 8-way dense GPU server has emerged as the fastest ramping server in Dell's history. Why air-cooled, you ask? Dell's focus is always on delivering the best value to our customers and serving all needs. We also integrate liquid cooling at the rack level, optimizing both server and rack cooling to provide energy-efficient AI systems with an attractive TCO.

Driving the Future of AI and HPC

As AI use-cases multiply, Dell is leading the charge with next-generation liquid-cooled compute solutions. Our DLC-enabled XE9680L server, equipped with advanced power and liquid cooling systems, offers at least 50% cooling energy savings over Dell's traditional air-cooled servers optimizing cold plates for 25% better thermal performance,⁶Dell ensures reliability and efficiency, helping customers save energy and accelerate deployment.

Next generations of Dell liquid cooled compute will take advantage of further innovations. Future processors will be even more challenging to cool with heat densities exceeding the flames of gas torches. Dell is optimizing the internal geometries of the cold plates to manage even the most challenging processor features without compromising data center energy efficiency. We are future-proofing our new integrated racks to be ready for greater than 400 kW of power and cooling in each rack. These racks will include advanced Dell-developed leak detection technology that will ensure that increased liquid cooling does not impact the reliability of the compute. Along with the advancements at the rack, Dell's coolant distribution units will continue to advance, with higher flow rates and thermal performance while taking up less data center space.

Dell's legacy of leadership in liquid cooling continues to thrive. We remain dedicated to investing in research and development to provide our customers with optimized, cost-effective solutions for their most critical applications. Join us as we pave the way for a future where technology and sustainability go hand in hand. Welcome to the cutting-edge world of Dell's liquid cooling innovation!

¹ https://www.dell.com/en-us/blog/the-unveiling-of-a-revolutionary-new-liquid-cooling-technology/
² https://www.top500.org/system/179607/
^{3 Source: IDC Semiannual AI Tracker: Worldwide Server and Storage Revenue, 2021 and 2022 H1.}
4 https://www.hpc.cam.ac.uk/d-w-n, https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/ai-supercomputer-dawn-research-energy-medicine-climate, https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/analysis/breaking-dawn-inside-the-uks-newest-ai-supercomputer/
⁵ Based on Cambridge Open Zettascale Lab's own performance analysis compared to the Top500 List June 2023, based on theoretical peak FP16 FLOPS throughput.
⁶ Based on Dell internal engineering estimates, September 2024.

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