Top 5 Data Center Stories, Week of Nov. 16, 2013

applied-control-racks

These racks are filled with high-density servers immersed in cooling fluid. The installation in Hong Kong was created by Applied Control using 3M's Novec fluid. (Photo: Applied Control)

For your weekend reading, here’s a recap of five noteworthy stories that appeared on Data Center Knowledge this past week.

Dunking for Density: New Projects Pursue 3M's Immersion Cooling - We're continuing to see new examples of immersion cooling at meaningful scale. Last year we offered an early look at an immersion cooling technique developed by 3M known as open bath immersion. Here's an update on some projects using this technology.

Microsoft Will Use Fuel Cells to Create Self-Powered Racks - Microsoft wants to bring power generation inside the rack, and make data centers cheaper and greener in the process. The company says it will test racks with built-in fuel cells, a move that would eliminate the need for expensive power distribution systems seen in traditional data centers.

Ubiquity Eyes Turning Sears Auto Centers into Data Centers - Ubiquity Critical Environments, the data center unit of Sears Holdings, is considering a concept to convert some of its Sears Auto Center stores into data centers. It is working with Schneider Electric, a leading provider of data center equipment and services, on a proposal to build and operate mission-critical facilities in a number of markets around the country.

Facebook Says Iowa Server Farm Will be Wind-Powered - From the time it enters production, Facebook's data center in Altoona, Iowa, will run exclusively on renewable energy, thanks to a wind project located less than two hours away, the social networking giant announced today.

Open Compute Reports Progress on Open Network Switch - The Open Compute network switch is moving closer to reality. Broadcom, Intel and Mellanox have each submitted specifications for a top-of-rack switch to the Open Compute Project, while Cumulus Networks is providing software.

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