Empowering Nigeria’s Digital Future: Huawei’s Innovations in Data Center Technology
Data centres drive our digital world. Every single transaction or interaction you make using your computer or phone (which, truth be told, is just another computer with a different form factor [1]), every email you send, the cryptocurrency you purchase, snaps you share, and video you watch is supported by a data center somewhere.
Every day, we generate a mind-boggling 402 million terabytes of data [2] globally. The infrastructure that supports this is massive by all accounts; revenue in the data center market is expected to reach $340 billion this year, with a projected market volume of $438 billion by 2028 [3]. While most of this revenue will be generated in the United States (roughly 29%), here in Nigeria, the projected revenue is $1.54 billion, with a CAGR of 9.33% over the next four years [4].
We all depend on data centers, and this dependence can only grow with time. Africa, particularly South Africa, Nigeria, and select countries in West and East Africa are seeing increased investment in new builds and expansions. Understanding the latest trends and innovations in data center technology is essential for businesses looking to stay competitive and enhance our growing digital ecosystem.
While public policies that make it easier to do business in Nigeria and other African countries are crucial if our continent is to receive even larger shares of the rising revenue accruing to data centers worldwide, that is not the focus of this piece. Here, I intend to describe the cutting-edge advancements in data center cooling, energy efficiency, and design — advancements that will make data centers in our country and on our continent both competitive and price-friendly in the global data center market, as well as the current challenges experienced by traditional data centers in these areas.
Moreover, we will explore how Huawei’s solutions are at the forefront of these advancements, providing scalable and reliable infrastructure for businesses worldwide.
#1. Cooling
Cooling consumes roughly 40% of the energy supplied to the average data center [5]. Servers produce heat when they work (as you no doubt know from your computer fan whizzing as your CPU bench-presses multiple applications simultaneously), and increasing the number of servers in a data center increases the amount of heat produced and the amount of energy required to keep the servers cool enough to work optimally, as above a certain temperature, they break down and someone somewhere would have a failed bank transaction, or worse.
There are multiple ways to provide cooling in a data center, and the superiority of one over the other is dependent on the particular use case. Still, generally speaking, below are some challenges data centers are always trying to solve. See if any of the below strike a chord, or a memory:
High Energy Consumption: Traditional data center cooling systems, such as air conditioning units (what some would refer to as air cooling), consume vast amounts of electricity to maintain optimal operating temperatures, especially in facilities located in warm climates.
Nigeria certainly counts as a warm climate with an average temperature range of 21°C — 35°C (69.8°F — 95°F) [6]. ASHRAE recommends a temperature range of 18–27°C (64–81°F ) [7], just at the low end of what our regular temperature is. This not only contributes to high operational costs for data centers based here but also increases carbon emissions, impacting environmental sustainability.
Inefficiency: Air-based cooling systems often struggle to efficiently dissipate heat generated by servers and other equipment. This can occur when there’s some form of capacity expansion, but as a result of initial cooling infrastructure design, the appropriate expansion to compensate for the increased heat is just harder to do, and then done inadequately, or left undone. This inefficiency leads to hot spots within data centers, reducing overall performance and potentially shortening equipment lifespan.
Space Constraints: Traditional cooling systems require substantial floor space within data centers, limiting the capacity for server racks and equipment density. This inefficiency in space utilization can drive up construction and operational costs.
Environmental Impact: The reliance on traditional cooling methods contributes to a significant environmental footprint, including water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Addressing these impacts is increasingly crucial as data centers scale globally. Here in Nigeria, we are very reliant on our grid, powered by natural gas, and diesel generators for backup in the near-certain event of a power disruption. Capturing a larger share of the data center revenue might turn out to be the West outsourcing environmental pollution to us (Most of the millions of terabytes generated daily are generated by Western consumers).
Huawei [8] has been at the forefront of innovation in data center technologies and has helped define the modern data center. Let’s take a look at these:
NetCol8000-A/FusionCol8000-A
The NetCol8000-A/FusionCol8000-A are in-room cooling solution that works using the direct expansion technique to cool small and medium data centers.
It integrates high-efficiency inverter compressors and electronically commutated fans [9] , as well as an electronic expansion valve [10] enabling precise on-demand cooling.
With the NetCol8000-A or the FusionCol8000-A, a data center can achieve energy savings of up to 30% on cooling. It has modules that are hot-swappable [11], making maintenance and scalability easier with capacity expansion.
FusionCol8000-C
The FusionCol8000-C is a cutting-edge in-room solution designed for medium and large-scale data centers. It uses chilled water cooling to provide optimal temperatures for server operations.
It allows the use of higher water temperatures and removes the necessity for raised floors. Its design includes automatic dual power switching that ensures continuous cooling.
Like the NetCol8000-A and the FusionCol8000-A, it has hot-swappable modules, electronically commutated fans, high-efficiency heat exchangers [12], and integrates with other parts of a chilled water system [13]: chillers, pumps, etc.
FusionCol8000-E
The FusionCol8000-E by Huawei is an advanced cooling solution designed for large data centers. It employs indirect evaporative cooling [14], which uses outside air to cool the data center, reducing the need for mechanical cooling. This helps in cutting down energy consumption significantly. The system is prefabricated and easy to install, making it both cost-effective and efficient.
It features smart energy-saving technology, ensuring reliable operation even in extreme temperatures. The system’s design allows for easy maintenance with hot-swappable components, enhancing overall reliability and operational efficiency. It has been demonstrated to drop power requirements by 32%
All these solutions have Huawei’s latest iCooling software which uses the latest advancements in artificial intelligence to optimize cooling efficiency in data centers. It reduces energy consumption by analyzing real-time data and making intelligent adjustments to cooling systems.
This approach not only lowers operational costs but also enhances environmental sustainability by reducing carbon emissions. This AI-powered energy-saving algorithm analyzes a vast amount of data (potentially 1.4 million settings) to identify the optimal configuration for a data center’s cooling system. It accomplishes this feat in under a minute by considering real-time factors like outdoor temperature and server load. The algorithm incorporates multiple layers of filtering to ensure the chosen settings align with the data center’s operational and maintenance requirements
This sophisticated approach ultimately generates a set of instructions designed to achieve the desired Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) for the data center, leveraging its existing equipment and setup.
#2. Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency is critical for data centers due to both economic and environmental reasons. Economically, efficient energy use translates to significant cost savings in operations. You can do more with less. Data centres consume vast amounts of electricity, and reducing this consumption directly lowers utility bills and improves the bottom line.
Environmentally, energy-efficient data centers contribute to reducing carbon footprints. As the West strives to approach a NetZero carbon world, we shouldn’t let them outsource the pollution to us. By minimising energy waste, data centres can significantly cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, aligning with global sustainability goals.
New Approaches
1. AI-Driven Energy Management: Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays a pivotal role in optimizing energy use. AI systems analyze real-time data on temperature, workload, and energy consumption, making intelligent adjustments to cooling and power distribution. This dynamic management ensures that energy is used efficiently without compromising performance.
2. Renewable Energy Integration: Incorporating renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and hydroelectric power into data center operations is becoming increasingly common. These renewable sources not only reduce reliance on fossil fuels but also provide a more sustainable energy supply. Hybrid models that combine traditional and renewable energy are especially effective in ensuring consistent power availability.
3. Energy-Efficient Hardware: Modern data centers are increasingly using energy-efficient hardware components. Innovations such as low-power processors, solid-state drives (SSDs), and high-efficiency power supplies reduce the overall energy demand. Additionally, server virtualization [15] and consolidation reduce the number of physical machines required, further cutting energy use.
Huawei’s Role
Huawei is at the forefront of developing energy-efficient solutions for data centers. Here are some key contributions:
- AI-Driven Solutions: Huawei’s iCooling@AI optimizes cooling efficiency by leveraging AI to analyze and adjust cooling systems in real-time. This results in significant energy savings and operational efficiency improvements. Our smart power devices (SmartLi, PowerPOD 3.0, etc) and their integration with iManager and iPower, provide a data-driven means to optimise data centre energy use.
- Sustainability: Huawei promotes the use of renewable energy in data centres. In our white paper on the Next-Generation Data Center Facility (pdf, 9.1MB), we and other industry leaders advocated for the increasing use of distributed PVs, wind, and hydroelectric power to cut dependence on fossil fuels. This approach not only cuts operational costs, especially in a country like ours with a solar irradiation (pdf) of 3.5–7.07.0kWh/m^2, and the current conversion efficiency and costs of PV panels, but also minimises the environmental impact.
- Energy-Efficient Hardware: Huawei’s data center solutions, such as the FusionModule2000, incorporate high-efficiency power supplies and intelligent power management systems and can achieve PUE as low as 1.111 . Our solutions are designed to reduce energy consumption and lead the industry in energy efficiency.
Modular Data Center Designs
Modular vs. Traditional
Modular data centers offer a significant advantage over traditional designs in terms of scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. Traditional data centers require substantial upfront investments and long construction times, making it challenging to adapt to changing demands.
In contrast, modular data centers are built using prefabricated modules that can be quickly assembled and scaled up or down as needed. In the field, we’ve seen our modular data centers up and running in roughly two-thirds of the time it takes to set up a traditional data center. This modular approach allows for incremental investments, reducing initial costs and enabling faster deployment.
Flexibility is another key benefit, as modular designs can be customized to meet specific requirements and can be relocated or expanded with minimal disruption. Overall, modular data centers provide a more agile and economically viable solution for modern businesses.
Trends in Modular Design
Several trends are shaping the modular data center landscape:
- Prefabricated Modular data centers: These are constructed off-site and then transported to the location where they would be installed, significantly reducing construction time and costs. This method also ensures higher quality control and consistency e.g. The Huawei FusionModule2000.
- Containerized Data Centers: These are self-contained units housed in shipping containers, allowing for easy transportation and rapid deployment. They are ideal for temporary or remote locations where traditional construction would be impractical.
- Micro Data Centers: These compact, all-in-one solutions are designed for edge computing and office environments. They provide localized data processing and storage capabilities, reducing latency and improving performance for specific applications e.g. The Huawei FusionModule800, FusionModule500.
Huawei’s Innovations
Huawei has been a pioneer in modular data center designs, offering products that cater to the diverse needs of modern businesses. The FusionModule2000 is an all-in-one solution that integrates power, cooling, and monitoring systems into a single, scalable unit, allowing for rapid deployment and high energy efficiency.
The FusionModule800 targets small to medium-sized data centers, providing a flexible and efficient infrastructure. For edge computing, Huawei’s FusionModule500 offers a compact, efficient, and quick-to-deploy solution. These innovations address the critical needs of scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, making Huawei a leader in the modular data center market.
Future Prospects
Looking ahead, Huawei continues to invest heavily in research and development to shape the future of data centers. Our vision includes further integration of AI and machine learning to enhance operational efficiency and sustainability.
Huawei is also exploring renewable energy sources and smart grid technologies to reduce the carbon footprint of data centers. Additionally, our focus on edge computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) promises to drive innovation in micro and containerized data centers.
By staying at the cutting edge of technology, Huawei aims to provide solutions that not only meet current demands but also anticipate and address future challenges in the data center industry.
Nigeria is as good a place as any to ride the wave of the global surge towards increased digitalisation. And Huawei is here to make that happen.
Citations
[1] form factor refers to the design specifications that define the size, shape, and other physical characteristics of a component or device.
[2] https://explodingtopics.com/blog/data-generated-per-day
[3] https://www.statista.com/outlook/tmo/data-center/worldwide
[4] https://www.statista.com/outlook/tmo/data-center/nigeria
[5] https://www.digitalrealty.com/resources/articles/future-of-data-center-cooling
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Nigeria
ASHRAE stands for the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. It’s a non-profit professional association with a global reach, focusing on advancing the design and construction of HVAC&R (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration) systems.
[8] You can check out Huawei’s data center solutions, from facility build to cooling and management, here: https://digitalpower.huawei.com/en/data-center-facility/
[9] An inverter compressor is a type of compressor used in appliances like refrigerators and air conditioners that operates with an inverter. This inverter allows the compressor motor to adjust its speed to meet the exact cooling demand.
Electronically commutated (EC) fans are a type of fan that uses an electronic motor control instead of a traditional AC motor. They are more efficient, allow for variable speed control, are more durable and are often smaller and lighter than traditional AC motor fans.
[10] An electronic expansion valve (EEV), also sometimes referred to as an electronically controlled expansion valve (EXV) controls the flow of refrigerant entering the evaporator more precisely compared to traditional thermal expansion valves (TXVs).
[11] hot-swappable refers to a component or device that can be inserted or removed from a running system without causing any damage or interrupting its operation.
[12] A heat exchanger is a device designed to facilitate the efficient transfer of thermal energy between two or more fluids (liquids or gases) at different temperatures, without them mixing
[13] A chilled water system is a closed-loop system that uses chilled water to remove heat from a building or process. Key components include:
- Chiller: Creates chilled water, acting like an industrial refrigerator.
- Pumps: Circulate the chilled water throughout the system.
- Cooling Tower (Optional): Rejects heat from the chiller using air or water (depending on the type).
- Heat Exchangers: Transfer heat from the building’s air or process fluid to the chilled water, achieving a cooling effect.
[14] Indirect evaporative cooling is a technique that uses the process of water evaporation to cool air indirectly. The water evaporates in a separate chamber, and the cool, moist air produced is then used to cool down a separate air stream that is ultimately delivered to the space requiring cooling. There’s no direct contact between the air being cooled and the water used for evaporation.
[15] Server virtualization is a technology that allows a single physical server to act like multiple virtual servers. Each virtual server can run its own operating system and applications, essentially creating multiple independent servers within one physical machine.
