A Paradigm Shift in Data Centres: The Future of Cooling is Liquid
In the fast-paced world of technology, it's often the subtle shifts that lead to the most profound changes.
Having worked alongside some of the brightest minds in engineering and architecture, I've seen firsthand how quickly our industry adapts. Yet, a profound transformation is on the horizon—one that will redefine the very infrastructure we've come to rely on.
We’re all familiar with Moore's Law, which predicts the doubling of transistors on a microchip every two years, leading to smaller and more efficient computing power. This has held true across the board, from mainframes to mobile phones. However, the next wave of change isn't just about making things smaller or faster—it’s about how we build and cool our data centres.
For years, infrastructure professionals could identify the core components of any server just by opening the box. But with the rise of hyperscale computing and hyper-converged infrastructure, we're entering new territory. Major tech companies are deploying millions of CPUs in their data centres and constantly upgrading to the latest hardware. While this ongoing hardware evolution isn’t news, the fundamental shift required to support the next generation of computing is.
The Future of Liquid is Cooling
Today's data centres, with their traditional hot and cold aisle setups, are on the verge of becoming obsolete. The power density of modern racks is increasing dramatically, driven by the demands of AI and cloud computing. While traditional data centres operate with power densities of 4 to 6 kW per rack, tech giants like Google and Meta are now pushing densities to 10 or even 20 kW per rack. And with NVIDIA's upcoming Blackwell GPUs, power demands are expected to soar up to 120 kW per rack. This level of heat generation simply cannot be managed with air cooling alone.
So, what does this mean for the future of data centres? The answer is clear: liquid cooling. But this isn’t just about adding some plumbing to existing facilities. The integration of liquid cooling systems into data centres requires a complete rethink of infrastructure. From safe hot-swapping of servers to leak prevention, the challenges are significant. Retrofitting existing data centres is unlikely to be a viable solution. Instead, we’ll see the emergence of entirely new data centre designs, purpose-built for a liquid-cooled future.
A Paradigm Shift in Computing Infrastructure
This shift is more than just a technological upgrade—it’s a paradigm shift. A paradigm shift occurs when there’s a fundamental change in the underlying assumptions and methodologies of a system. In this case, we’re moving from a world where CPUs, GPUs, memory, and storage were the primary considerations, to one where AI chips and their cooling systems take centre stage. The entire server ecosystem will be secondary to these AI components, with everything else built around them.
AI is the catalyst driving this change. As AI becomes more integrated into the design and operation of systems—from code refactoring to chip design—the demand for AI-specific infrastructure will only grow. NVIDIA, for instance, uses its own programming languages and dedicated AI models to design its next generation of chips. This is just the beginning. Soon, every major company will want its own AI capabilities, and they will need data centres equipped to handle the immense power and cooling requirements of these AI systems. For those unable to run them in-house, renting these services from specialised providers will become the norm.
The Emerging Data Centres of Tomorrow
In the coming years, expect data centres to look very different from what we see today. The main components won’t be racks of servers filled with CPUs, GPUs, or memory modules. Instead, AI chips, their interconnects, and the liquid cooling systems required to keep them operational will take centre stage. The load will be distributed internally, with everything designed around the AI chip. We’re on the cusp of a new era in computing infrastructure, one that will redefine how we think about power, cooling, and the architecture of our data centres.
Just as we’ve seen the virtualisation of appliances, routers, and SANs, this too will evolve into an abstraction. The future is liquid, and the paradigm shift is already underway.
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