At the DatacenterDynamics conference in San Francisco last week, Intel presented results from a proof-of-concept it conducted with Future Facilities, which develops CFD (computational fluid dynamics) software for simulating airflow.
The test showed that the on-chip sensors allow CFD tools to model more accurately how air is moving in a data center, and also to predict more accurately how new IT equipment will affect airflow, said Akhil Docca, engineering and product manager at Future Facilities.
“If CFD modeling is done properly you can really get closer to the physics of the data center, and if you can visualize your airflow, you can manage it,” he said.
The proof-of-concept was done on two server racks zoned off from the rest of the data center. The next step is to try it on a larger scale, he said.
