2015

As 2015 approached, our key objective was to design water blocks with an optimal performance of 120W and a water temperature of 30°C.

In order to simplify the process and reduce costs, we replaced the metal cover with an ABS plastic one.

Using plastic covers also allowed to build prototypes without metal fittings for the input and output pipes. Instead of fittings, the pipes were directly glued to the cover of the water block.

As with previous iterations, we also produced water blocks in smaller form factors. For instance, here you have a GPU water block:

3D printing water blocks

Using plastic covers for water blocks also opened the door to new prototyping process including 3D printing. We began to experiment with 3D printed ABS plastic water blocks, testing different types of covers.

3D printed cover variations:

CFD simulations

For the first time in OVHcloud’s history, we used advanced CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations. This allowed us to optimise the thermal hydraulics of the copper-base plates, and further improve water block performance.

Redundancy

It was during this time that we first used four-tier covers, adding redundancy and improving reliability.

2017

We are always on the lookout for highly-standardised approaches which apply to different geographical zones’ and local customer needs. Alongside international expansion, we maintained an environmentally friendly approach, keeping ODP (Ozone Depleting Potential) and GWP (Global Warming Potential) levels very low across our datacentres.

By 2017 we were able to use water blocks with an optimal performance of 200W and a water temperature of 30°C and everything was fully-designed and manufactured internally at OVHcloud.

After the ABS plastic covers, it was time to test other plastics including polyamides.

Two examples of water blocks: one for standard CPUs, another for GPUs, with white polyamide covers:

A water block for high-density CPUs with a black polyamide plastic cover:

Experimenting with polyamide plastic also allowed us to quickly design and test different prototypes for enhanced CPU support and reduced cost.

2018-2019

At OVHcloud we have complete control from R&D to datacentre deployment. We can continuously innovate in short cycles which significantly reduces the amount of time between prototyping and large-scale deployment.

As a result, we are now more capable than ever of releasing new products to the market more quickly and for the best value. Many of our servers are delivered in 120 seconds with 100% service continuity, enhanced availability and optimised infrastructure performance.

Over the last two years we have begun to work with a new technology, using laser-welded metallic base-plates and covers. With this technology we can avoid screws and glue, and minimise the risk of leaks.

On these water blocks, piping is done entirely using copper-welded tubes.

As usual, we also build water blocks for specific form factors, like GPUs or high-density CPUs.

2020-…

At OVHcloud we continue to identify, transpose and adapt what works elsewhere to allow us to innovate and create our own solutions. We will follow disruption cycles in order to increase efficiency and reduce costs, always striving to create added value for our customers.

We are working on the next generation tier-4 water blocks, with our patented technology. Our tier-4 water blocks aren’t a prototype anymore, but prod-ready, and we are working extensively with simulations and tests to improve performance.

We are aiming for water blocks with a performance of 400W with a water temperature of 30°C, with a fully-redundant water supply.

And besides water blocks?

At OVHcloud we hare proud of our R&D laboratories. They are fully-committed to pushing our competitive advantages on hardware, software and our custom-proven methods of server stress validation and testing. In our labs, we design and test cooling solutions, new server prototypes and innovative storage options.

In future posts we will share other aspects of our industrial innovation process, and look at how our customers benefit from the continuous improvement of service reliability and the price efficiency it generates.

We manufacture our own servers, we build our own datacentres and we maintain strong, long-term relationships with other technological partners, with a clear objective: to deliver the most innovative solutions with the best price/performance ratio. The most obvious example, and one closely connected to our development, is the idea of using water to cool our servers.

We began to use water cooling at industrial scale in 2003, even though it went against the conventional wisdom at the time. This technology has allowed us to consistently increase servers’ performance while reducing energetic consumption in our data centers. The challenge was not only to find the right relation between pressure, flow rate, temperature and pipes diameter, but above all to manufacture the solution on a mass scale.

The environmental challenges associated with digital services are of vital concern too, especially for our datacentres. We are very aware of our own environmental impact and we constantly strive to reduce it on a daily basis. After power, cooling servers is usually the most costly activity, electricity-wise, for hosting providers.

Water cooling, combined with an outside air-cooling system, allows us to greatly optimise the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of our datacentres. And less electric consumption means fewer costs for us and our customers, but also a reduced impact on the environment.

2003-2008

Since 2003, we have been developing our own water-cooling system and deploying it in our new datacentres. Our historic customers were the first to benefit from a groundbreaking and highly-effective process on an industrial scale.

Our first generations of water-block technology, were designed by our teams, and manufactured externally. These water blocks had an optimal performance of 60W at 30°C water temperature.

The first generation of water cooling used very simple water blocks, with two copper convex ends crimped together:

On the next iteration of our water blocks, we added some changes to improve reliability and reduce costs:

• The crimping technology is replaced by brazing
• Stainless steel push-in fittings replaced the brass-plated ones
• A cross is also added to the cover to better fix the water block onto the chip

In order to facilitate pipe fitting and improve sealing, we again changed the water block technology by introducing compression fittings, which are more reliable and easier to connect.

A cut view of the water block shows the early thermal hydraulics structure, where the completely smooth base surface forms a reservoir with the cover:

2011

Unlike other providers we maintain complete control of our value chain which means that we can offer cutting-edge solutions at a very competitive price and this is very important to our customers.

During this period, we still designed our water blocks internally and manufactured them externally. The optimal performance for this generation of water blocks is 60W with a water temperature of 30°C.

Our water blocks continued to evolve. We replaced the copper convex end base plate with a simple plate. The cross on the cap was replaced by a cross inside the water block. This allowed us to further reduce the cost of the water blocks without impacting performance.

2013-2014

We always try to be innovative and forge our own path. Since 2013, we have continuously rethought our water-cooling technology, improving performance, operation and cost. This constant innovation allows us to keep up with our customers’ ever-growing demands for increased computing and data-storage capacities, and the ever-increasing amount of heat generated.

The water blocks created in this period were completely different from earlier generations. We replaced welding by screw-based tightening, and the convex top plates were replaced with plates with integrated water inlets and outlets.

Other factors

At this stage, we began to make water block variations, for example adapting them to the smaller GPU form-factors:

Here you have a side-by-side comparison of the standard, CPU water block, and the more compact GPU water block:

We also developed several special water block designs, adapted for specific constraints:

A good example is the water block we developed for the high density IBM Power 8 CPUs. In the next picture you can see this special water block’s cover and base plates:

2015 and beyond

The previous paragraphs described our water block technology in 2014. Since then we have come a long way. We have used new technologies like 3D printing, and made some fundamental changes to the design.

In the coming weeks we will publish the next posts in our water-cooling series. These will tell the story of how our water blocks have evolved since 2015. We will focus on the current generation and give you a sneak peek of the improvements to come.

Keep an eye out for our next post to learn more about OVHcloud water cooling!