November 8th, 2024

Oxide cuts data center power consumption in half

Oxide has developed a data center design that reduces power consumption by up to 50%, addressing energy demands and enhancing efficiency through rack-scale integration and advanced cooling technologies.

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Oxide cuts data center power consumption in half

Oxide has developed a new approach to data center design that significantly reduces power consumption, achieving up to 50% less energy use compared to traditional setups. As data centers currently consume 1-2% of global power, with projections indicating this could rise to 3-4% by 2030, Oxide's innovations are timely. The company addresses two major challenges: reducing power consumption and carbon emissions while keeping pace with the demands of AI and data processing. Traditional data centers rely on individual servers, which leads to inefficiencies. In contrast, Oxide's rack-scale design treats the entire rack as a single unit, integrating storage and networking to optimize power use. By utilizing a high-efficiency DC bus bar and larger fans, Oxide's systems can cool more effectively and use less energy. The design also eliminates unnecessary components, enhancing airflow and efficiency. The combination of hardware and software designed together allows for advanced features like dynamic power management. Overall, Oxide's approach not only benefits customers by improving computing efficiency but also contributes positively to environmental sustainability.

- Oxide's design reduces data center power consumption by up to 50%.

- The company addresses rising energy demands in data centers due to AI and data growth.

- Rack-scale design integrates components for improved efficiency compared to traditional setups.

- High-efficiency DC bus bars and larger fans enhance cooling and reduce energy use.

- The integrated hardware-software approach enables advanced power management features.

Link Icon 3 comments
By @cjaackie - 15 days
A lot of these concepts hail from the Open Compute Project[0] which I might have missed being mentioned in the page. ORv3[1] is a 21” rack design that exploits the fan cube law, basically - a lot less power is needed to push the same volume of air given a larger fan blade diameter. It’s a neat cooling concept I think about often.

[0]https://www.opencompute.org/projects/server [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Rack

By @wmf - 15 days
It seems unfair to put 16 1Us in a rack when you could fit 19 2Us which would save a lot of fan power. Otherwise this is really good work.