(Source: Lisbeth / stock.adobe.com; generated with AI)
The exponential growth of artificial intelligence (AI) has created an explosion of data. In fact, more data has been created in the past three years than in all of history.[1] Consequently, data center companies and cloud service providers (CSPs) are investing heavily in new data center infrastructure globally. In North America alone, data center construction jumped 70 percent year-over-year to a record 3.9 gigawatts.[2]
Handling this growth is not just a matter of replicating existing data centers. To handle AI workloads, data centers are becoming bigger. While 30 megawatt facilities were considered large ten years ago, today’s data centers regularly surpass 200 megawatts.[3] Complexity is on the rise as well. Instead of row after row of standard servers, today’s data centers require a complex mix of graphics processing units (GPUs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and other specialized hardware to handle AI workloads.
However, the race to build modern data center facilities is filled with obstacles, including energy availability, proximity to network connectivity, changing climate conditions, and government regulations. While it takes years to commission a new facility, once it is up and running, downtime is not an option. Every hour of data center downtime can result in significant financial losses, potentially reaching millions in lost revenue, so even seemingly minor maintenance issues can have massive financial implications.[4] And even though data center outages are trending downward, the cost of an outage continues to rise.[5]
Central to non-stop data center operations are the control cabinets used in power distribution, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) infrastructure, server racks, communication systems, and overall building management. But traditional cabinet designs have inherent vulnerabilities that impact both construction efficiency and ongoing operations.
With miles of custom wiring and connectors, deployment requirements drive up construction timelines and labor costs in an environment already strained by skilled labor shortages. Every cabinet needs manual wiring, which takes time and exposes sensitive equipment inside the cabinets to dust and other environmental hazards. Over time, this challenge can lead to ongoing maintenance headaches across the facility.
Space is another issue. Components like fuse terminal blocks consume valuable real estate inside cabinets, limiting design flexibility and forcing larger footprints in environments where space is at a premium.
Critically, traditional cabinet designs turn simple maintenance tasks into complex operations. Consider how a blown fuse can cause weeks of downtime: Getting a specialized electrician on site may take days. Once they arrive, they may need to go through multiple cabinets to find the problem, with each cabinet containing a multitude of fuses. Considering that a large data center might contain thousands of fuses, this is not a trivial challenge. And every hour, every day, and every week a data center is not online, millions of dollars are at risk.
While data centers face constant challenges, HARTING Han® Protect offers a straightforward solution (Figure 1). From eliminating fused terminal blocks to enabling designers to easily identify blown fuses, Han Protect offers quick, simple, and tool-less replacement from outside the control cabinet.
Figure 1: HARTING Han® Protect Size 3A Heavy-Duty Power Connector. (Source: Mouser Electronics)
By moving fuse systems to the outside of the cabinets—while maintaining protection—Han Protect changes how data centers approach both construction and maintenance (Figure 2).
Figure 2: An overview of the benefits of Harting HAN Protect. (Source: Harting; modified by Mouser Electronics)[7]
With AI and digital transformation pushing data center growth to new levels, solutions like Han Protect demonstrate the type of forward-thinking design needed to keep up with rising expectations for efficiency, reliability, and sustainability. By addressing multiple challenges—from construction timelines to maintenance procedures to space utilization—this approach helps data centers adapt to the pressures of an increasingly digital world.
The future of data center infrastructure depends on solutions that balance competing demands for security, accessibility, and efficiency. With data generation continuing its exponential growth and AI applications becoming more deeply embedded in critical operations, the ability to maintain and protect these crucial facilities will only become more important. Innovations that streamline maintenance, enhance security, and reduce footprint play a crucial role in data center design—today and into the future.
Brandon Lewis has been a deep tech journalist, storyteller, and technical writer for more than a decade, covering software startups, semiconductor giants, and everything in between. His focus areas include embedded processors, hardware, software, and tools as they relate to electronic system integration, IoT/industry 4.0 deployments, and edge AI use cases. He is also an accomplished podcaster, YouTuber, event moderator, and conference presenter, and has held roles as editor-in-chief and technology editor at various electronics engineering trade publications. When not inspiring large B2B tech audiences to action, Brandon coaches Phoenix-area sports franchises through the TV.
Sources
[1] https://www.blackstone.com/insights/article/the-convergence-of-data-centers-and-power-a-generational-investment-opportunity-the-connection [2] https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/north-america-sees-70-jump-data-center-supply-construction-cbre-report-says-2024-08-20/ [3] https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/ai-power-expanding-data-center-capacity-to-meet-growing-demand [4] https://www.ciodive.com/news/IT-outage-cost-report-new-relic/696359/ [5] https://www.itpro.com/infrastructure/data-centres/why-major-data-center-outages-may-soon-be-a-thing-of-the-past [6] https://www.harting.com/en-US/transforming-data-center-case-study [7] https://www.harting.com/en-US/han-protect-fuse-integrated-connector
HARTING develops, manufactures and sells electrical and electronic connectors, device terminations, backplanes, network components as well as cable harnesses for networks or machinery, or for power and data application in factories. HARTING products are used in mechanical and plant engineering, broadcast and entertainment, factory automation, power generation and distribution as well as industrial electronics and telecommunication