Building Data Centers For The Future: Discussing AI And Cooling Techniques At Bisnow's Data Center Event

As the applications for artificial intelligence continue to grow, the demand for data centers is growing along with it. Goldman Sachs Research predicts that global power demand from data centers will increase 50% by 2027 and by as much as 165% by 2030, driven in large part by the rise of generative AI. 

According to Steve Altizer, president and CEO of mission-critical infrastructure solutions provider Compu Dynamics, this growing demand and the changing needs of data center end users pose unique challenges for the commercial real estate industry. 

“End-user requirements are evolving faster than many traditional data center owners can or will adapt,” he said. “This trend is very new, but the impact is accelerating.” 

Altizer spoke about maintaining operations and cooling requirements as data center density increases on the More Compute With Greater Efficiency panel at Bisnow’s Southwest Data Center Investment Conference and Expo on April 1.

Altizer spoke with Bisnow about the trends dominating the data center market, the challenges of cooling high-powered centers, and what inspired him to attend Bisnow’s DICE event. 

Bisnow: What are some of the current trends in the data center sector that building owners should be aware of? 

Altizer: Colocation providers and real estate developers are long-term thinkers with a relatively low appetite for risk. They want to build data centers that will be useful for 15 to 30 years so their debt obligations can be satisfied and their investors can see solid returns. This risk aversion forces them to build highly adaptable data centers that are capable of serving a large percentage of potential tenants.

The problem is Nvidia and others are advancing GPU technology far more rapidly than Moore’s law ever did for the CPU. Building design and construction cannot match this pace. No one can really be certain that today’s power, cooling and building designs will meet the minimum requirements of a typical end user in 2030 and beyond. The industry may be on the verge of fragmenting into segments that serve specific types of end users. We may be saying goodbye to the one-size-fits-all data center era.

Bisnow: How can the presence of artificial intelligence impact today’s data centers and the design and construction of the data centers of the future?

Altizer: Given the rapid pace of IT evolution, engineers and architects will have a rough time designing structures and infrastructure that will reliably support most future data center needs. Nvidia’s announcement of the near-term arrival of 600-kilowatt IT cabinets sent shockwaves through the industry, even though this was consistent with their product timeline. Nvidia is wise to give this guidance, if for nothing else than to jump-start the development of power and cooling systems to support the increasing rack densities. I’ve asked many smart people how we will adapt to this leap in power density, and to date, no one has given me a confident answer.

We will need to continue to build flexibility into tomorrow’s data centers because the traditional building construction process simply cannot change course with every chip iteration. Future data centers must be designed for forward and backward compatibility with an insanely wide range of rack densities.

Fortunately, the past teaches us that technology evolution in one area can drive progress in related areas. We will see data center design and construction move aggressively toward new fast-track design and deployment techniques. We are so confident in that prediction that Compu Dynamics has made a significant investment in the modular data center business. To us, it seems likely that a larger percentage of future facilities will be constructed off-site in data center factories and then assembled on site. This approach is naturally more nimble in adapting to end-user requirement advances. 

Bisnow: What are some obstacles that come with cooling high-powered data centers? How can buildings keep both efficiency and energy usage in mind?

Altizer: Cooling — that is, heat removal — is a complex process involving multiple points where heat is transferred from medium to medium. I believe that the IT manufacturers and chip designers will collaborate on ways to extract heat from inside the GPU enclosures. Liquid cooling will be the standard with every device.

When that happens, it will be imperative that engineers and manufacturers of cooling systems figure out efficient ways to transfer that heat from the rack to the outdoor environment. Higher chip temperatures might push us toward lower building water temperatures, which is actually counter to our desire for more energy efficiency. The greatest energy reductions will come when liquid cooling system water is no longer dependent on compressor-based equipment like air-cooled chillers. When the chip and hardware manufacturers can utilize hot water to remove heat from even hotter heat sinks, it will be possible to eliminate the significant energy impact of compressors.

Bisnow: How does Compu Dynamics ensure its data centers are optimized for the future?

Altizer: We love to collaborate with our friends in the engineering and design community to create effective solutions to customer challenges. Our experience tells us that the best outcomes arise from open communication and mutual respect between designers and contractors. Manufacturers play a big role here, too, and we partner with the best in the industry. We’re also always looking at new entrants in the market to make sure we can offer our customers the optimum solution from an overall cost, efficiency, reliability and maintainability standpoint.

Bisnow: What inspired you to attend Bisnow’s DICE Southwest event?

Altizer: The beauty of DICE conferences and similar events is that we all get to hear perspectives from a wide variety of industry players. We are all facing the same challenges, but our points of view can be quite different. I value these panel events because I hear representatives from all segments of the industry discuss their own personal experiences in dealing with the same issues and opportunities. This openness moves the industry forward. Forums like DICE enable progress in every corner of our space.

My goal was to share Compu Dynamics’ perspective on a number of topics, including AI and HPC engineering and design, the yet-to-be-solved challenges around liquid cooling, some new concepts for postdeployment operational services, and our predictions on a modular data center future.      

This article was produced in collaboration between Studio B and Compu Dynamics. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.