Vertiv partners with NUS and NTU to develop data center testbed facility

Vertiv is partnering up with the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore to develop a data center testbed facility, it has been announced. Named the Sustainable Tropical Data center Testbed (STDCT), the testing facility is state-of-the-art and reportedly the first of its kind in the region and will test innovative thermal management technologies to identify potential operational risks and design de-risking measures suited for the tropical climate.

According to the participating parties, the project’s aim is to “enhance Singapore’s competitiveness in sustainable and efficient data center solutions,” Vertiv has subsequently provided racks, rack power distribution (rPDU), and high-density cooling solutions.

“In recent years, we’ve seen a shift of data center investments in tropical locations across Asia, largely due to decentralization and global expansion. With the growth in investments, Singapore has been touted as a key data center hub in the region,” said Hitesh Prajapati, Country Manager for Vertiv. “However, cooling high-density compute applications, especially in hot and humid tropical climates, can be a challenge. Traditional free-cooling methods that rely on cool, outdoor air to support IT equipment will not be as effective in tropical climates common in Singapore and many countries in Southeast Asia."

Prajapati continued: "This facility is an excellent avenue for us to showcase our latest thermal management technologies that support tropical climates.”

Associate Professor Lee Poh Seng, Program Director of STDCT, added: “Working together with Vertiv has allowed us to develop an advanced chip cooling solution to support high-density servers and computing equipment. The solutions deployed to STDCT will allow customers, researchers, and even the academe to appreciate the latest technologies available to cool data centers in tropical climates,”