Nvidia has announced more than a dozen partners as it looks to prepare the data center industry for 800-volt DC power architectures and rack densities of 1MW.
The GPU giant this week said it would unveil specs of the Vera Rubin NVL144 MGX-generation open architecture rack servers.
Around 20 industry partners are showcasing new silicon, components, power systems, and support for the company’s latest 800-volt direct current (VDC) rack systems and power architectures that will support the Kyber rack architecture.
“Moving to 800VDC infrastructure from traditional 415 or 480 VAC three-phase systems offers increased scalability, improved energy efficiency, reduced materials usage, and higher capacity for performance in data centers,” Nvidia said. “Over 150 percent more power is transmitted through the same copper with 800VDC, eliminating the need for 200-kg copper busbars to feed a single rack.”
CoreWeave, Lambda, Nebius, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, and Together AI are among the companies designing for 800-volt data centers. Nvidia noted that Foxconn’s 40MW Kaohsiung-1 data center in Taiwan is also using 800VDC.
Vertiv unveiled its 800VDC MGX reference architecture, combining power and cooling infrastructure architecture. HPE is announcing product support for Kyber.
Nvidia added that the new Vera Rubin NVL144 rack design features 45°C (113°F) liquid cooling, a new liquid-cooled busbar for higher performance, and 20x more energy storage to keep power steady. A central printed circuit board midplane replaces traditional cable-based connections for faster assembly and serviceability.
Kyber - the successor to Nvidia Oberon - will house 576 Rubin Ultra GPUs by 2027. The system features 18 compute blades rotated vertically, “like books on a shelf.”
Silicon providers for Nvidia's move to 800VDC include Analog Devices, AOS, EPC, Infineon, Innoscience, MPS, Navitas, onsemi, Power Integrations, Renesas, Richtek, ROHM, STMicroelectronics, and Texas Instruments.
Several of the chip providers noted that 800VDC requires a change in power chips and power supply units (PSUs), with many touting the capabilities of gallium nitride.
“This paradigm shift requires advanced power semiconductors, particularly silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), to handle the higher voltages and frequencies with maximum efficiency,” AOE said.
Power system component providers in on the project include BizLink, Delta, Flex, GE Vernova, Lead Wealth, LITEON, and Megmeet.
The power system providers debuted new power shelves, liquid-cooled busbars, energy storage systems, and interconnects to meet the demands of the new Nvidia systems.
Data center power system providers include ABB, Eaton, GE Vernova, Heron Power, Hitachi Energy, Mitsubishi Electric, Schneider Electric, Siemens, and Vertiv.
A number of vendors have announced new reference designs for 800VDC architecture that will allow operators to prepare for 1MW racks in the future. A number of operators are looking at providing ‘side-car’ racks that sit on either side of compute racks, providing the required power and cooling.
“The move to 800VDC is a natural evolution as compute density increases, and Schneider Electric is committed to helping customers make that transition safely and reliably,” said Jim Simonelli, CTO, data centers, Schneider Electric. “Our expertise lies in understanding the full power ecosystem, from grid to server, and designing solutions that integrate seamlessly, perform predictably, and operate safely.”
Source DCD
