Cooler Servers or Cooler Rooms?

mstansberry writes "Analysts, experts and engineers rumble over which is more important in curbing server heat issues; cooler rooms or cooler servers. And who will be the first vendor to bring water back into the data center?"

Aquafina...

[vmcto]

Will probably be the first vendor to bring water into the datacenter... I believe I've seen evidence in some datacenters already.

uh, "rumble"

[koreaman]

it sounds like they're having some kind of gang warfare over the topic...what the hell?

Liquid Oxygen Anyone?

[dink353]

That might keep the odd CPU or two cool for a while...

Re:uh, "rumble"

[Master_T]

Yeah man.... I got stuck in one of them cool room or cooling system "rumbles". They are hardcore. I lost a buddy in one those... pen wound. I still have a scar from when a Cool Roomer stabbed me with a ISA Modem.

Water cooling, pah!

[hazee]

Water cooling? Pah! Why not take a leaf out of Seymour Cray's book - build a sodding great swimming pool, fill it with non-conductive freon, then just lob the whole computer in.

Also has the added benefit that you can see at a glance which processors are working the hardest by looking to see which are producing the most bubbles.

Wonder if you could introduce fish into the tank and make a feature of it? If you could find any freon-breathing fish, that is...

No way, not in my shop

[doc_traig]

The sign on the door clearly states, "No Food or Drink". Of course, shirts are still optional.

Re:Water in the Data Center

[C_Kode]

Just once? I have a Slip and Slide between the racks!

Save the globe: don't slashdot !

[AtariAmarok]

"[sarcasm]But that would promote Global warming, the melting of the Polar Icecaps, the Greenland Glacier and other glaciers! [/sarcasm] Seriously, I can honestly see someone arguing that point."

"Hey! Did you know that when you slashdotted that server near the Ross Ice Shelf, you caused 2 icebergs to calve? You insensitve clod!!!!"

Simple Solution really....

[gosand]

1. Open server farm in the Northwest Territories

2. Open the windows

3. Profit!!!

Reminds me of an amusing anecdote

[Raul654]

About 4 years ago, I was touring the US National Supercomputing Center in San Diego. One of the supercomputers had a clear plexiglass side where you could see inside, and it had running water and even a waterfall. Mind you, this 'water' was running directly over the electronic components. So the guy doing the tour said that it wasn't really water, but a chemical compound similiar to water, but very nonconductive. He tells us that it costs $10,000 per barrel, and that he always gets questions about what happens if you drink it. "Well, we're not sure what happens if you drink it, but we figure one of two things will happen. It could be toxic, and you drink it and die. Or, it could be nontoxic, and when our finicial guys found out you were drinking their $10,000-a-barrell water, they'll kill you."

Re:inevitability breeds contempt

[Anonymous Coward]

come on, people, the technocenti have been doing this for their home servers for a long, long time

I don't understand. Is technocenti the plural of ricer?

Hmmm...

[biglig2]

PHB: Dear god, that server is actually red hot!

SA: Yes, but notice that the room is lovely and cool.

PHB: That's all right then. By the way, what's delaying that upgrade to Windows 2003?

SA: Every time we put the CD in the drive it melts. We think it's going to be fixed in the next service pack.

Re:well I've always wondered this

[non-poster]

What I have never understood is why servers virtually always have AC power supplies.

I've wondered that, too. Every time the power is coverted between AC, DC, and the voltage level, there is some loss, so it's less efficient to do all of these conversions. I think having a UPS-oriented power supply would be a Good Thing, where you can hook up some external battery pack for the backup.

At a previous job, we used some Unix machines that were completely fault tolerant, including backup processors, backup network cards, and backup power supplies with batteries. Yes, the enclosure had 2 power supplies, with batteries in the bottom of the enclosure. It was a monster. Then again, it cost $50k-$100k for a couple of hundred MHz, but it ran forever. Or until the software died.

Re:and that voltage loss = ?

[cirisme]

>>[DING] "Heat, Alex" "Correct, for $100."

Incorrect, you didn't phrase your answer in the form of a question. :)