To assist its drug discovery research, Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd. implemented a high-performing, distributed-processing grid computer cluster to crunch algorithms and drive simulations. However, recent advances in the cluster industry have resulted in highly compact server equipment that can produce an extraordinary amount of heat. Therefore, the company sought an innovative solution for thermal management. Boehringer Ingelheim installed IBM’s Rear Door Heat Exchanger, a water-cooled door designed to dissipate heat generated from the back of computer systems.
Research has indicated that water can remove far more heat, per volume unit than air. For example, in order to disperse 1,000 watts, with 10 degree temperature difference, only 24 gallons of water per hour is needed, while the same space would require nearly 11,475 cubic feet of air.1 IBM’s Rear Door Heat eXchanger helps keep growing datacenters at safe temperatures, without adding AC units. The unobtrusive solution brings more cooling capacity to areas where heat is the greatest – around racks of servers with more powerful and multiple processors.
“IBM pioneered liquid-cooling technology at the systems level and has successfully lowered energy costs for customers with high-density IT environments such as Boehringer Ingelheim,” said Tom Bradicich, chief technology officer, IBM BladeCenter and System x.. “The IBM Rear Door Heat Exchanger dramatically unburdens existing AC units by cooling the air before it ever exhausts from the electronics into the hot aisle, and is designed to be easily installed and moved to help eliminate identified datacenter hot spots.”
The IBM System Cluster 1350 for Boehringer Ingelheim, spread throughout various locations, acts like a “grid” computer to help crunch data intensive computations. IBM's CoolBlue portfolio of hardware and systems-management tools for computing environments, helps clients to better optimize the power consumption, management and cooling of infrastructure at the system, rack and datacenter levels.
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