APL assists IFP Energies Nouvelles with outfitting a very high-density data center

Customer name :	IFP Energies nouvelles
Area of business :	Public sector
Accompanying mode :	Consulting - Project management
Type of service :	Outfitting of a very high-density data center

The IFPEN, a public institution dedicated to research, industrial innovation, and training, wanted to install a 110-teraflop supercomputer in a small building that had not initially been designed to house a computer room.
APL was retained by the IFPEN to outfit this room, based on its expertise in designing very high-density and eco-efficient data centers.

Project objective

Outfit an existing building, initially designed for offices, so that it can house a supercomputer with 6 racks of very high density (32 kW/rack) and conventional servers of medium density (4–8 kW/rack)
Allow for 6 new racks of very high density (with a scalable load of 200–400 kW) to eventually be housed in the building
Perform the works on an active site
Optimize the data center’s energy consumption

Services provided

Expression of needs and feasibility studies
Assistance with selecting a supercomputer
Research on energy-efficient cooling technologies that are effective for each type of computer equipment
Organization of the computer room: the room houses two areas of different densities in the same space, cooling systems capable of accommodating IT demands
Management of works on an active site: technical validation and coordination of companies involved
Energy optimization: installation of measurement points in order to verify the site’s energy efficiency

Client benefits

A data center that serves as a technological showcase in the research field
Levels of service continuity tailored to the needs of a research institution, as well as hosted equipment
Energy efficiency, thanks to a selection of cooling systems tailored to each type of computer equipment
Optimization of energy consumption: target PUE=1.48 at 100% load (i.e., 400 kW IT), saving €28k/yr