Terkon-KTT: micro data centers

Main article: Data center (data center)

2021: Production of microdata centers based on Soviet space technologies

As it became known to CNews on April 2, 2021, the Yekaterinburg company Terkon-KTT has established the production of almost silent data processing microcenters (microDOCs), which are not overheated and do not require additional air conditioning.

As reported, a feature of the product is the passive cooling system used, based on the development of the Soviet scientist Yuri Maidanik, which has been used in the space industry for more than 30 years both in Russia and abroad. It is based on contour heat pipes (CTT or terkons), which provide silent heat removal.

closed DPC with driver

The use of CTT allows you to build a microDPC, which, compared to traditional systems, consumes 20-30% less electric power for cooling (per unit of installed IT load) and 5-20% less for equipment server , since the fans servers in will work at lower speeds, CNews said in the company.

According to the general director of Terkon-KTT Arkady Ivanov, the products are primarily designed for representatives of the medium, small and microbusiness, who are not ready to resort to services, cloudy providers for example, for reasons. safety

Terkon-KTT offers three types of configuration of micro-data centers: open and closed type (if you need protection against dust and moisture) with a driver (dry cooler), as well as closed type with an air conditioning system. The company's micro data centers have restrictions on the maximum temperature regime in the room: no more than + 25 ° C, taking into account heat inflows for a system with a driver and no more than + 35 ° C when used with an air conditioning system. The maximum temperature of street air in a dry thermometer is + 42 ° С. There is a limit on the total heat removal power: up to 20 or 30 kW, depending on the type of device.

open DPC with driver

When organizing micro data centers, the company uses standard server cabinets designed for 42 units. Servers are tailored to your needs. It can be AIC, HP, Dell, IBM, Supermicro, ICL-techno and other, including domestic, vendors.

As explained by CNews in Terkon-KTT, microDPC on heat pipes in terms of one rack is comparable in cost to competitors, or slightly cheaper. However, since the KTT is mounted directly in the servers, such a cooling system does not take up much space in the rack, due to which the maximum density of server installation is 30-50%. That is, in the most optimistic scenario, to organize a micro-data center of the same computing power instead of two server cabinets with the entire "filling" will require one. Thus, the organization of the micro-data center "Terkon-KTT" will cost the customer cheaper, taking into account the savings in space in the server cabinet, the company notes.

The operation and maintenance of terkon-cooled systems can be difficult. So, according to the representative of Terkon-KTT, each server needs a separate configuration of the cooling system.

Closed DPC with air conditioning system

In addition, replacing a failed server with a similar one without terraces will not work - this will lead to a decrease in the efficiency of cooling the system and, as a result, its processing power.

Finally, to send the server for warranty maintenance or repair, it is necessary to pre-dismantle the CTT. Installing heat tubes on the server is considered a change in its design, which can result in maintenance problems. Large brands like HP and Dell accept equipment for maintenance only in its original form with a standard cooling system, explained CNews in Terkon-KTT.

The contour heat tube is an alternative to any other cooling system - coolers, liquid cooling, conditioning, explained CNews in "Terkon-KTT."

KTT is a closed sealed system, which consists of a flexible steam line and an evaporator. The evaporator is located in the device next to the heat source, inside - a porous structure of small capillary tubes, the diameter of which is 1 micron (one millionth of a meter).

Evaporator is filled with liquid intended for heat transfer. Depending on the conditions, water, ammonia, freon, ethanol and others can be used as heat carrier.

The heat generated by the source evaporates the liquid. The steam moves through the tube to the cooler part of the system, where it condenses, after which the liquid returns to the evaporator. The movement is due to the pressure difference inside the HTC.

According to CNews at Terkon-KTT, over the past 25 years, over 500 KTTs have been launched and operated aboard various spacecraft in the United States, China, and Europe.

In particular, controlled CTTs are used to stabilize the temperature of laser diodes in the laser line for the information exchange of satellites TerraSAR EADS Astrium and Boeing. Two such satellites designed for civil and radar surveys of the Earth's surface were launched in 2007 from the Baikonur cosmodrome.

KTTs contain and, for example, Russian Condor satellites for remote sensing of the Earth's surface. They were developed by NPO NPO Mechanical Engineering and launched from Baikonur in 2013 and 2014^[1].

Notes