Data centre managers are always keen to understand how they can make more efficient and sustainable choices. In this article, Huawei’s regional team tell us about the company’s FusionDC product, as well as how its lithium battery product is proving to be a game-changer for customers.
Huawei launches FusionDC 2.0 solution at Industrial Digital Transformation Conference
Huawei launched its FusionDC 2.0 – which adopts the concept of AI-fusion, building-fusion, component-fusion and digital-fusion to build future-proof data centre facilities – at the Industrial Digital Transformation Conference.
FusionDC 2.0 takes prefabricated modular technology to standardise and quicken data centre deployment. It also provides future-oriented and elastic architecture to help the data centre respond to power density evolution.
Huawei FusionDC has helped dozens of customers construct their data centres quickly. Compared to FusionDC, the previous generation, FusionDC 2.0 has been upgraded in many areas.
FusionDC 2.0 applies the smart modular fan walls to reshape the cooling system of the data centre. It also adopts the new FusionPower 2.0 and SmartLi solution to the power system.
With the design of ‘One Floor One DC’ (every floor works as an independent running data centre), FusionDC reshapes the architecture of prefabricated modular data centres. It also supports an elastic power density upgrade from 6/8kW per rack to 12kW per rack.
According to SanJay Kumar Sainani, SVP and CTO of Huawei Global Data Centre Facility Business, FusionDC 2.0 will help customers to build a simple, sturdy, smart, scalable and cost-saving data centre.
Data centre facility trends and challenges
Data centre infrastructure is essential to the future intelligent society. The rapid development of cloud computing and AI technologies will bring tremendous development opportunities and unprecedented challenges to the data centre infrastructure.
First, cloud and AI will generate huge demands for IT resources and drive the development of large and hyperscale data centres. 10MW or even 100MW data centres have emerged.
Second, the power consumption of chipsets and servers will increase rapidly. The power density of a single cabinet in the data centre will jump from 3kW – 5kW to over 10kW. Such increase will put sub-systems of infrastructure under great pressure.
Third, the data centre architecture will adopt more standardised, prefabricated and replicable design.
Last, but not least, AI technologies will be widely used in data centre infrastructure to unleash the potential of sub-systems and improve O&M efficiency.
FusionDC 2.0 concept and solution
FusionDC 2.0 integrates AI technologies, iPower, iCooling and iManager into the solution. These technologies will maximise the TVO of the data centre. iPower transforms the passive alarm response to proactive warning, improving the reliability of power supply and distribution system of the data centre.
iCooling uses AI and Deep Learning technology to optimise the cooling systems of data centres precisely, reducing the PUE by 8% to 15%. iManager manages the data centre infrastructure smartly, improving resource utilisation by 20%.
In addition, FusionDC 2.0 integrates prefabricated modular building technologies. All modules are prefabricated and pre-commissioned before delivery, which simplify the on-site job and shorten delivery time by 50%.
FusionDC also reshapes the power and cooling system by integrating advanced power electronics and heat management technologies. The future-oriented solution also supports elastic density upgrade.
Huawei implements AI and digital technologies into the entire lifecycle of data centre, like planning, construction, operation, O&M and optimisation. Integration of digital technology with operation and maintenance make data centre planning, design and construction visualised, simplifies O&M and improves user experience significantly.
Achievement and successful case
In the prefabricated modular data centre industry, Huawei has been number one for five consecutive years in terms of global delivery units and, according to the latest IHS market report, has reached 25% of total market share.
Nobel prize honours lithium batteries – Huawei prepared for a lithium battery era
This year’s Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to John B Goodenough, M·Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino for their contribution to the development of lithium batteries.
John Goodenough, who is 97, also becomes the oldest ever Nobel laureate. His lifelong exploration of lithium batteries is truly admirable. As one of his important discoveries, lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) is currently the safest cathode material for lithium batteries.
Compared with lead-acid batteries, lithium batteries are smaller, lighter and have higher energy density, higher availability, longer service life and more cycle times.
Data centre
According to a global survey conducted by Uptime, 10% of data centres use lithium batteries as backup power. For data centre operators, the optimal space utilisation and minimum operating costs (especially power costs of UPS cooling and battery maintenance and replacement costs) are what they are most concerned about. Lithium batteries can help them meet all these requirements.
Telecom base station
During the process of 5G evolution, the total power consumption of a site rockets. Traditional lead-acid batteries cannot support smooth capacity expansion to adapt to 5G evolution because of their large size and weight, short service life and inferior performance.
Small, lightweight lithium batteries feature longer service life and better performance. They can enable sites to evolve smoothly to 5G and improve site values. Therefore, lithium batteries have become the first choice for 5G sites. Currently, more than 200 telecom operators use lithium batteries as their energy store.
In data centres and telecom base stations, LFP and lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) cells are most commonly used. LFP is, at present, the safest cathode material of a lithium battery for it contains no heavy metal that is harmful to human. Compared with NMC batteries, LFP batteries are more reliable, which better meets high reliability requirements of data centres and telecom base stations.
Why are LFP batteries needed?
- Stable structure
- LFP batteries feature high thermal stability as well as a low rate and amount of heat yield
- LFP batteries do not release oxygen in case of overcharge and over discharge
Though its technology has been improved a lot, the lithium battery still has many problems in practical application.
In view of this, Huawei launched the new-generation data centre lithium battery solution SmartLi.
Characterised with high reliability, efficiency and flexible expansion, SmartLi is aimed to help customers reduce investment, simplify O&M and build a stable and efficient data centre power supply system.
1、Reliable
- Long Lifespan, cycle life can be up to 5,000 times
- Highly stable LFP cell, no fire when thermal runaway
- Intelligent voltage balance control, single module failure system can work normally
- Three-layer BMS system ensures the reliability of lithium batteries layer by layer
2、Efficient
- High power density, save 70% footprint compared with lead-acid battery
- Intelligent battery management system, save 80% of daily O&M costs
3、Simple
- Modular swappable design, easy maintenance
- Active current balance technology, new and old battery strings can be connected in parallel, simple capacity expansion
Based on a deep understanding of 5G networks, Huawei also integrates intelligent technologies and lithium battery technologies and launches BoostLi, the energy storage solution tailored for telecom base stations.
As an intelligent lithium battery energy storage system, BoostLi features high density, intelligent hybrid use, intelligent voltage boosting and intelligent peak shaving. It enables smooth site capacity expansion to support 5G evolution, reducing evolution costs and shortening 5G deployment time.
Compared with the traditional solution, BoostLi serves not only as backup power. Its intelligent features such as peak shaving enable BoostLi to be fully used other than in the mains failure scenario. In this way, the values of the energy storage system and a site can be maximised, creating more profits while ensuring the security of site backup power.
BoostLi works with the temperature control unit and monitoring system to greatly reduce site power consumption and improve site reliability. When used with the intelligent site management system, BoostLi can also improve site O&M efficiency.
BoostLi also integrates multiple anti-theft technologies, such as intelligent displacement detection and intelligent software lock. If a BoostLi is stolen from the site, it will be locked and cannot be charged or discharged. This greatly improves energy storage security and reduces losses caused by theft.
Currently, more than 400,000 BoostLi products have been delivered to over 100 operators in 90 countries.
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