Researchers at Microsoft have performed an assessment that will not only reduce the environmental impact of its data centers but also open the door for the industry to optimize its facilities in a similar way, Data Centre Magazine reported.
Husam Alissa, Microsoft's director of systems technology in cloud operations and innovation, led the two-year study published in Nature, which was an upfront assessment of the lifetime impact of four different cooling technologies proposed for use in a data center.
Data centers use an incredible amount of power for servers and water for cooling — a fact that has taken center stage with generative artificial intelligence's rise in prominence in the last few years.
Alissa and his team compared four cooling methods: traditional air cooling, cold plates, one-phase immersion, and two-phase immersion.
"A lot of people do life cycle assessments after the fact," Alissa said. "When we're trying to make future design decisions, we typically look at total cost of ownership, performance, sustainability and other factors. We're advocating in this paper for the use of life cycle assessment tools to guide engineering decisions early on."
The team found that cold plate technology reduced energy usage and heat-trapping air pollution by 15% while reducing water use by 30-50% — a huge win. That means lower costs for Microsoft, a benefit that can prevent price hikes for consumers while also minimizing strain on the environment. It also avoids a pitfall of two-phase immersion cooling, which uses toxic PFAS.
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Alissa and his team didn't just find the right tech for Microsoft, however. They also created a template for other companies to follow when performing their own assessments — which could lead to industry-wide improvements.
"Our intention is not to say, 'This is the right technology.' They all could be. There are different circumstances that make you use a technology," Alissa said.
"What we're trying to do here is tell the industry, 'Here's how you build an end-to-end life cycle assessment that takes cooling into account," Alissa continued. "And here is a tool for you that you can customise to your specific needs and then make a decision.'"
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