Data Center “In a box”: Microsoft’s ITPAC (IT Pre-Assembled Component)

I walked through an ITPAC this afternoon – very impressive.  This is Microsoft’s vision of the data center – a self enclosed box that has everything it needs from a facility perspective built in.  Microsoft’s strategy is to pre-manufacture every part of the data center:  the mechanical, electrical, and compute components.

The overall total cost of ownership for this model when compared to the conventional data center is going to be substantial.  They claim that the PUE is reduced to 1.15 from 1.32 (depending on outside conditions).

Here’s commentary from the web: 

“Our plan for the future is to have essentially everything but the concrete pad pre-manufactured and then assembled on site: the IT, mechanical and electrical components are all part of Pre-Assembled Components that we call an “ITPAC.” We actually think of the ITPACs not as containers in a traditional sense but as integrated air-handling and IT units.

The units will be assembled entirely from commercially available recyclable components such as steel and aluminum and the cooling requirements for the ITPACs will be met by more efficient means, such as a single water hose with residential levels of pressure to control ambient temperatures. The servers will be stacked in rows, sandwiched between air intake and output vents.“

Check it out by watching this video by clicking here!