DataBank targets generative AI opportunities with UDHD data center approach

DataBank, a provider of enterprise-class edge colocation, interconnection, and managed services, has launched a new approach to building high-density data centers to accommodate High-Performance Computing (HPC). By enabling HPC, DataBank’s Universal Data Hall Design (UDHD) allows businesses the flexibility to support any deployment their workloads require.

A big driver for the new data center build approach is the emergence of generative AI. According to a recent Research and Markets report, the generative AI market is expected to reach $103.74 billion in revenues by 2030. As technology advances, data centers must be able to scale and adapt quickly to handle an increasingly diverse range of workloads – from power-dense HPC clusters to sprawling hyperscale cloud installations to traditional raised-floor enterprise colocation. DataBank's Next-Gen Data Centers’ Universal Data Hall Design includes traditional components of data center colocation with what it says is “an eye toward flexibility and resiliency.” The new approach centers on three main elements:

·      Space: Beginning with slab floor and all power and cooling infrastructure outside the data hall as the initial base, with raised floor and water to-rack layers that easily can be added to any hall; this layered design approach allows any hall within the data center to be adjusted to customer needs.

·       Power: DataBank offers power distribution as traditional 120/208V or high density 240/415V as whips or through busways without change to the supporting infrastructure.

·       Cooling: With a closed chilled water loop and the layered design approach, each hall can independently support different cooling methods from flooded room to localized air delivery using raised floor and even water to the rack supporting rear door heat exchangers and direct chip cooling.

DataBank says this design renders the additional benefit of sustainability, as efficient power and water systems reduce the consumption of resources. "To future-proof their facilities, multi-tenant data center operators must rethink facility design, construction, and operations to allow for more flexibility and sustainability," said Eric Swartz, VP of engineering at DataBank. "With UDHD, DataBank can accommodate hyperscale, traditional, and HPC all within the same, highly secure data hall."            

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