It's harder for Chinese data center operators to use freecooling.

And the matter is not at all in the lack of funds or features of the Chinese data centers - they are the same as everywhere else. Here is only the environment in China is characterized by a high level of pollutants, some of which accelerate the corrosion of individual items of equipment. In some regions of the People's Republic of China, the level of air pollution in many respects considerably exceeds the norm (sometimes, tens of times).

One of the most effective (and economical) ways to cool a data center is free-cooling, that is, using outside air to reduce equipment temperature. Free-cooling, among other things, is also one of the most "green" methods for cooling a data center, because here the power consumption is not too high, and not so much equipment is needed (of course, all this with known reservations). But the trouble is that in China it is difficult to use free-cooling.

Why?

As already mentioned, some pollutants have a very negative effect on equipment. In order for the Chinese server farm to use outside air, it needs to be cleaned. And this, in turn, requires the use of filters, additional equipment, which cannot be called cheap. Plus, energy consumption increases.
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The results of one study

Interesting information was voiced by a special division of the Chinese corporation Baidu. According to researchers, the eastern part of China is the most polluted, which is typical of the atmosphere, the soil, and water. At the same time, most of Baidu's data centers are located in eastern China. When facilities were built, the state of the environment was practically not taken into account - the developers were interested in the infrastructural features of the region, the cost of energy, the proximity of large settlements, and the availability of trained technical personnel.

As it turned out, it was necessary to take into account the state of the environment, especially the atmosphere. As it turned out, in the east of China, the atmosphere includes components such as sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide, and fine dust with a diameter below 2.5 microns. Sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide are released into the atmosphere by automobiles, enterprises, thermal power plants. And it is these substances that cause active corrosion of the equipment. The situation is aggravated by high humidity and ambient temperature.

How dangerous is it?

Previously, a study to determine the corrosion rate of server hardware and its components was conducted by Intel. The company's specialists noticed that the equipment used in China and India is deteriorating much faster than similar equipment operating in data centers in other regions.

In China, for example, the level of pollution is much higher than at the time of the preparation of industrial standards and the corresponding tests for equipment. Most of these standards and tests were developed in the 80s, and now they are not applicable to the situation that can be observed in India and China. Intel has had to develop additional tests that are close to the conditions of China and some other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.



As expected, sulfur compounds, mainly sulfur oxides and hydrogen sulfide, became the main problem.

What to do?

Best of all, of course, to bring the state of the environment in these regions to a normal state. The Chinese have already made some progress in this direction. The authorities of the PRC adopted a number of laws last year aimed at improving the state of the environment in the country, and there are already some results. However, significant effects in this area are still far away, so data center operators have to adapt.

In particular, engineers suggest the use of special air-cleaning apparatuses that use liquid (water or chemicals). The liquid is sprayed through the nozzles, ensuring that the outside air is cleaned from dust and some chemical compounds.

In addition, it is proposed to use a cooling system, the working elements of which are placed under the racks, while the cold air flows directly onto the equipment, cooling it. The system automatically adjusts to the current activity of the equipment. In pipelines as a coolant is used liquid. And due to the fact that the working elements of such a system are located under the rack, in case of an accident the equipment will not be damaged by water.

Now Baidu participates in the Open Compute Project, creating its own models of racks for data centers.