{"id":23826,"date":"2022-01-28T23:47:10","date_gmt":"2022-01-28T23:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serverlift.com\/?p=23826"},"modified":"2025-10-27T20:54:58","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T20:54:58","slug":"data-centers-continue-to-see-rack-densities-increase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serverlift.com\/sv\/blog\/data-centers-continue-to-see-rack-densities-increase\/","title":{"rendered":"Data Centers Continue to See Rack Densities Increase"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DataDoes it seem like your customers\u2019 needs intensify more every year, forcing you to get newer and more powerful hardware to meet demand? It\u2019s not all in your imagination. Though technology advancements always drive the need for data center upgrades, many data center operators are reporting that changes are coming even faster than before.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Increased rack power densities in the average data center are a sign of these changes. Most data centers have seen their average rack density rise rapidly over the past few years. Data center operators have adapted by finding ways to provide more computing power without having to expand their physical spaces.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s see why the demand for more power is driving innovative design choices and how you can adopt some of these strategies in your own facility.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Data center density trends have recently started to accelerate beyond the normal year-over-year increases.\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

For a long time, the average data center rack supported equipment that used somewhere between 2 to 5kW of power. Though power density was increasing steadily, the rise was fairly predictable. In the last four years, <\/span>the average almost doubled<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most data center survey respondents said in 2020 that they still operate high-power racks ranging from 10 to 19kW, which perform decently well without too many rack or cooling upgrades. But 16 percent of the data survey respondents reported racks using more than 20kW. Beyond that point, cooling, weight, and other factors start to become urgent issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The same 16 percent of respondents reported that their average density had increased very quickly over the previous year. 53 percent of respondents reported continual, slow increases in place of rapid expansion. From 2017 to 2020, the<\/span> average server rack density<\/span><\/a> increased from 5.1kW to 8.4kW in steady increments. This trend is expected to continue in the future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Power requirements for specialty facilities are even higher. Hyperscale data centers that specialize in high-performance computing (HPC) frequently reach <\/span>over 50kW per rack<\/span><\/a> because they support multiple high-intensity applications running simultaneously. Considering a single AI application can use around 30kw of power, you can easily imagine how power-hungry multiple applications such as AI would be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is rack density increasing more rapidly in recent years?<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"Several exciting technology advancements<\/span><\/a> have emerged over the last several years. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are two technologies that are becoming more powerful every day. The forward march of technology creates the need for more processing power. AI and ML, in particular, crunch numbers in massive data sets that no human could ever hope to manage without advanced computing. And those are just two technologies among many that are experiencing rapid growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Businesses and consumers have quickly adapted to smart technology, which has meant widespread device connection to the internet through IoT networks. Almost everyone uses cloud services in some capacity, from individual consumers to multinational corporations. When you add blockchain technology and cryptocurrency mining to the equation, it\u2019s amazing that data centers have managed to keep up with the demand for computing power.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

More powerful hardware, including advanced server processors, graphic processing units (GPUs) and custom ASICs, use energy at a rate that far exceeds what the typical hardware data centers have used in the past. For example, a typical server processor in 2010-2015 used less than 100w of power, while processors today come in at nearly 500w. That\u2019s a stunning increase in less than a decade.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These trends have made data centers move toward greater efficiency by increasing rack densities and optimizing cooling strategies. Traditional air cooling simply can\u2019t dissipate the intense heat in a high-density area, so it would be dangerous to significantly increase rack density without upgrading cooling technology as well. Data centers that are maximizing rack density will likely need to upgrade to efficient liquid-cooling systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

For some data center operators, these upgrades are a continuous, positive cycle toward future-proofing their facilities. For others, it\u2019s a more reactive response to increasing demand and pressure from customers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Technological advances, with even greater power needs, will always present challenges for data centers. Increased rack densities are predicted to continue for small facilities and enterprise data centers and for hyperscale and HPC centers. Even if your data center is small to medium-sized, you need to prepare for growth.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are several benefits to planning for this level of growth.<\/span><\/h2>\n

These changes bring opportunities to data centers that are in a position to upgrade equipment and infrastructure to match growth and demand. While keeping up with the trends will be more difficult for data centers operating older equipment, those poised to take opportunities for advancement could:<\/span><\/p>\n