Method for deploying liquid cooling in an air cooled data center room

Abstract

The present application relates to a method for deploying liquid cooling in an air-cooled data center room, wherein an electronic equipment rack includes a server rack inserted into at least some standard slots of the electronic equipment rack. The server racks each include one or more servers having one or more processors. At least some of the processors are mounted on a cold plate for liquid cooling. The electronic equipment rack also includes a liquid manifold rack inserted into one of the standard slots. The liquid manifold rack includes a pair of upstream supply ports and an upstream return port, and also includes a pair or more pairs of downstream inlet ports and downstream outlet ports. The upstream supply port is connected to a facility liquid supply line to receive cooling liquid from an external cooling liquid source, and the upstream return port returns the cooling liquid to the external cooling liquid source. At least some of the multiple pairs of downstream inlet ports and downstream outlet ports are connected to cold plates in some server racks to circulate cooling liquid to provide liquid cooling to the corresponding processors.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to data centers. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to deploying liquid cooling within a data center room using an existing air cooling system. Background Art

[0002] Liquid cooling solutions are becoming an important technology for information technology (IT) equipment and computer rooms such as data centers, especially in the era of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud. In the AI ​​era, many machine learning workloads require high-performance and high-density computing, which uses many high-power density processors such as CPUs (central processing units) and GPUs (general processing units). In addition, packaging more and more of these high-power density processors close to each other becomes a more viable solution in the packaging industry. As power density continues to grow, thermal management becomes a challenge, and liquid cooling is a viable solution.

[0003] When servers are equipped with liquid cooling solutions / devices, the data center should be ready to support the liquid source and the data center cooling infrastructure should be ready to deploy and operate the liquid cooling equipment. This has become a challenge for many existing data centers that have deployed and operated cooling infrastructure, especially those that were originally designed to operate with air cooling solutions only.

[0004] For many colocation data centers and enterprise data centers, air cooling is still the most commonly used cooling infrastructure, and air cooling will continue to be needed for a long time. Therefore, colocation data centers may be required to dynamically adjust or upgrade their infrastructure to be able to deploy liquid cooling solutions. It is also required that colocation data centers only upgrade part of the data center to support indoor liquid cooling of IT equipment. In cloud business and services, data centers need to be able to flexibly adapt to different types of hardware and software requirements. Summary of the invention

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure provides an electronic equipment rack for a data center, comprising: a plurality of server racks inserted into at least some of a plurality of standard slots, each server rack comprising one or more servers, and each server comprising one or more processors, wherein at least some of the processors are mounted on a cold plate for liquid cooling; and a liquid manifold rack inserted into one of the standard slots, wherein the liquid manifold rack comprises a pair of upstream supply ports and an upstream return port, and further comprises a pair or more pairs of downstream inlet ports and downstream outlet ports, wherein the upstream supply port is connected to a facility liquid supply line to receive cooling liquid from an external cooling liquid source, and the upstream return port returns the cooling liquid to the external cooling liquid source, and wherein at least some of the multiple pairs of downstream inlet ports and downstream outlet ports are connected to the cold plates of some of the server racks to circulate the cooling liquid, thereby providing liquid cooling to the corresponding processors.

[0006] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a data center, which includes a plurality of electronic equipment racks, wherein each of the electronic equipment racks includes: a plurality of server racks inserted into at least some of a plurality of standard slots, each server rack including one or more servers, and each server including one or more processors, wherein at least some of the processors are mounted on a cold plate for liquid cooling; and a liquid manifold rack inserted into one of the standard slots, wherein the liquid manifold rack includes a pair of upstream supply ports and an upstream return port, and also includes a pair or more pairs of downstream inlet ports and downstream outlet ports, wherein the upstream supply port is connected to a facility liquid supply line to receive cooling liquid from an external cooling liquid source, and the upstream return port returns the cooling liquid to the external cooling liquid source, and wherein at least some of the multiple pairs of downstream inlet ports and downstream outlet ports are connected to the cold plates of some of the server racks to circulate the cooling liquid, thereby providing liquid cooling to the corresponding processors. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements.

[0008] Figure 1 An example of a data center system according to one embodiment is shown.

[0009] Figure 2 An electronics rack is shown according to one embodiment.

[0010] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D Different configurations of segmented pipelines are shown according to certain embodiments.

[0011] Figure 4An example of a rack manifold unit (optionally with a rack mounted CDU) according to one embodiment is shown.

[0012] Figure 5 An example of a data center room according to another embodiment is shown.

[0013] Figure 6 An example of a data center room according to another embodiment is shown.

[0014] Figure 7 An example of a data center room according to another embodiment is shown.

[0015] Figure 8 An example of a data center room according to another embodiment is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] Various embodiments and aspects of the present invention will be described with reference to the details discussed below, and the accompanying drawings will illustrate various embodiments. The following description and accompanying drawings are explanations of the present invention and do not constitute limitations of the present invention. Many specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. However, in some cases, in order to provide a concise discussion of embodiments of the present invention, known or conventional details are not described.

[0017] Reference to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" in the specification means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. The phrase "in one embodiment" appearing in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.

[0018] Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for deploying liquid cooling in a traditional data center. It is a highly standardized solution that can be applied to many scenarios with appropriate customization. The present invention provides a method for deploying liquid cooling in an existing air-cooled data center. The design uses a liquid coolant distribution unit (CDU) to replace existing air cooling equipment such as CRAH / CRAC (computer room air handler / computer room air conditioner) units or InRow coolers. Alternatively, the CDU can be deployed directly in the data center. After positioning the CDU inside the data center room, connect the CDU directly to the existing chilled water loop.

[0019] A segmented manifold or ducting approach is used to connect the CDU and the electronic equipment racks in the room. A segmented manifold basically consists of connectors on both ends and a middle ducting section. The ducting section can be a hard pipe such as stainless steel or a flexible pipe such as EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) rubber. The rack mounted manifold mounted on the electronic equipment rack is then connected to the ducting. The liquid cooling equipment is then connected to the rack mounted manifold. In another design, if a rack mounted CDU is used, the ducting section is used to connect the facility water to the CDU. The rack mounted CDU and the rack manifold are designed as a unit. Liquid cooling servers are connected to the CDU as well as the manifold. Multiple manifolds can be arranged on a single rack and connected to the fluid loop to expand the fluid distribution on the rack.

[0020] According to one embodiment, an electronic equipment rack includes an array of server racks inserted into at least some of a plurality of standard slots of the electronic equipment rack. Each server rack includes one or more servers, and each server includes one or more processors. At least some of the processors are mounted on a cold plate for liquid cooling. The electronic equipment rack also includes a liquid manifold rack inserted into one of the standard slots. The liquid manifold rack includes a pair of upstream supply ports and an upstream return port, and also includes a pair or more pairs of downstream inlet ports and downstream outlet ports. The upstream supply port is connected to a facility liquid supply line to receive cooling liquid from an external cooling liquid source, and the upstream return port returns the cooling liquid to the external cooling liquid source. At least some of the multiple pairs of downstream inlet ports and downstream outlet ports are connected to the cold plates of some of the server racks to circulate the cooling liquid, thereby providing liquid cooling to the corresponding processors.

[0021] In one embodiment, the upstream supply port and the upstream return port are connected to an external cooling liquid source via one or more prefabricated segmented pipes. The segmented pipe may include a female drip-free connector and a male drip-free connector at both ends to facilitate connection with another segmented pipe. The segmented pipe may also include a liquid pump integrated therein to help circulate the cooling liquid. The configuration of the segmented pipe can vary. For example, the segmented pipe has various shapes, such as straight, angled, curved shapes. The segmented pipe can be configured as a pair of N split or N to one merge configuration.

[0022] In one embodiment, the upstream supply port and the upstream return port are connected to a room CDU located in a data center room that accommodates multiple electronic equipment racks. The electronic equipment rack also includes a rack CDU. The upstream inlet port and the upstream outlet port of the liquid manifold shelf are connected to the rack CDU to partially form a secondary loop. The rack CDU is also connected to the facility liquid supply pipeline and the facility liquid return pipeline of the data center to partially form a primary loop. The rack CDU can be inserted into any standard slot of the electronic equipment rack. In one embodiment, the rack CDU and the liquid manifold shelf are integrated into a single unit that can be inserted into any one or more of the standard shelves. In one embodiment, multiple manifolds can be integrated into the rack together with the rack CDU in a combined form or a separate form. In one embodiment, the manifold or fluid distribution function can be integrated into the IT node and installed on the rack together with the IT node at the same time.

[0023] Figure 1 An example of a data center system according to one embodiment is shown. Figure 1 , data center room 100 may be one of many data center rooms in a data center. Each data center room houses a plurality of electronic equipment racks. As described above, conventional data center rooms are air cooled using CRAC units. In order to provide liquid cooling to conventional or existing air cooled data center rooms, in one embodiment, the CRAC units may be replaced with CDUs, or additional CDUs may be added in addition to the CRACs within the data center room, wherein such CDUs are referred to as room CDUs. Embodiments of the present disclosure will provide liquid cooling to electronic equipment racks of existing air cooled data center systems.

[0024] In one embodiment, the data center room 100 includes a room CDU 101 coupled to a plurality of electronic equipment racks 102 to 103. Although only two electronic equipment racks are shown, more electronic equipment racks may be coupled to the room CDU 101 within the data center room 100. The CDU 101 is a liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger. The primary loop of the CDU 101 is coupled to the facility loop of the data center. The secondary loop of the CDU 101 is coupled to the electronic equipment racks that require liquid cooling. In one embodiment, the room CDU 101 is coupled to the electronic equipment racks 102 to 103 using prefabricated segmented ducts (referred to here as segmented room manifolds 104 to segmented room manifolds 105, represented by dashed lines). The segmented ducts and manifolds 104-105 are used to connect the CDU 101 and the racks 102-103. These segmented ducts and modules are prefabricated ducts and modules with different sizes, connectors, functions, designs, etc. An industrial standardized design for these segmented ducts and modules may be developed.

[0025] Each of the electronic equipment racks 102-103 includes a plurality of standard racks arranged in a stacked manner. A server rack having one or more servers can be inserted into any of the standard racks. For example, the electronic equipment rack 102 includes server racks 111A-111C, and the electronic equipment rack 103 includes server racks 113A-113C. Each of the server racks has the same or similar form factor that can be inserted into any of the standard racks. Typically, the electronic equipment racks 102-103 are conventional electronic equipment racks configured to use cooling fans for air cooling. This means that such electronic equipment racks are not equipped with appropriate liquid cooling equipment such as rack liquid manifolds that can support the operation of the liquid cooling equipment.

[0026] According to one embodiment, in order to support liquid cooling in a conventional air-cooled electronic equipment rack, a rack manifold rack is designed to provide liquid distribution to server racks that support liquid cooling, such as those equipped with cold plates and associated liquid distribution channels. Because conventional air-cooled electronic equipment racks are not equipped with rack manifolds. A rack manifold rack can be used that can be inserted into any of the standard racks. Therefore, there is no need to modify the main structure of the electronic equipment rack. Alternatively, a standard rack can be utilized or converted to a rack manifold to distribute cooling liquid to other server racks. The liquid connection between the rack manifold unit and the server rack can be established using one or more segmented pipes. Therefore, servers requiring liquid cooling can be easily connected to the rack manifold rack.

[0027] In this example, electronic equipment rack 102 includes rack manifold rack 112, and electronic equipment rack 103 includes rack manifold rack 114. In one embodiment, rack manifold rack 112 and rack manifold rack 114 are configured to have the same or similar form factor as the server racks so that they can be inserted into any of the standard racks. Note that the order or specific positions of the server racks and / or rack manifold racks are shown for illustration purposes only; other configurations may exist.

[0028] In one embodiment, each of the rack manifold rack 112 and the rack manifold rack 114 includes an upstream port (e.g., a pair of supply and return ports) to be connected to the room CDU 101 and one or more downstream ports to be connected to the cold plate of the server for liquid cooling. In one embodiment, the rack manifold rack or unit 114 may be configured as an integrated rack having a rack manifold unit and a rack CDU integrated therein. The primary loop of the rack manifold is connected to the room CDU 101, which represents the room cooling loop, and the secondary loop of the rack CDU is connected to the upstream port of the rack manifold unit. In the case where the rack CDU and the rack manifold are one unit (such as the manifold / CDU unit 114), the primary loop of the rack CDU and the manifold unit 114 are directly connected to the facility liquid cooling node. Note that if the rack CDU is installed, the room CDU 101 is optional. For example, Figure 1 In FIG. 1 , if only a rack manifold unit (e.g., rack manifold shelf 112) is used on rack 102, CDU 101 is required. If a rack manifold and CDU unit are combined on the rack, CDU 101 is optional. Supply and return lines 104-105 can be directly connected to facility supply and return lines. It is also noted that the liquid connections between the rack manifold shelf and the server racks can also be configured using prefabricated segmented piping, such as Figure 2 as shown in .

[0029] Figure 2 2 is a block diagram showing an electronic equipment rack according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 The electronic equipment rack 102. Figure 2 In one embodiment, the electronic equipment rack 200 includes a rack manifold and / or CDU 201, an RMU 202, and one or more server blades 203A to 203E (collectively referred to as server blades 203). The server blades 203 can be inserted into an array of standard slots from the front end 204 of the electronic equipment rack 200. Note that although Figure 2 Only five services are shown

[0030] 203A to 203E, but more or fewer server blades may be maintained within electronic equipment rack 200. It is also noted that the specific locations of CDU 201, RMU 202, and server blades 203 are shown for illustration purposes only; other arrangements or configurations of CDU 201, RMU 202, and server blades 203 may also be implemented. In addition, the front door provided on front end 204 and the rear door provided on rear end 205 are optional. In some cases, there may be no doors on front end 204 and / or rear end 205.

[0031] In one embodiment, the rack manifold and / or CDU (manifold / CDU) 201 can be a rack manifold or an integrated unit having a rack manifold and a rack CDU integrated therein. The rack manifold / CDU 201 can be configured to have the same or similar form factor as the server rack 203. Typically, the CDU includes a heat exchanger, a liquid pump, and a pump controller. The heat exchanger can be a liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger. The primary loop of the CDU is connected to an external CDU (e.g., a room CDU) and / or a facility loop of a data center. The secondary loop of the rack CDU is connected to the upstream port of the rack manifold unit, wherein one or more downstream ports of the rack manifold are connected to at least some of the server racks 203, represented by a liquid distribution loop 225. The liquid distribution loop 225 can be established using some flexible segmented pipes as described above.

[0032] By using the flexible liquid cooling configuration of the manifold / CDU unit 201, any of the server racks 203 can establish a connection with the manifold / CDU unit 201 to receive liquid cooling as long as a cold plate is set in the server rack. In this example, servers 203B to 203C and 203E are liquid cooled by connecting to the manifold / CDU 201, while servers 203A and 203D are air cooled. No fixed or dedicated rack manifold is implemented in the rack. Using the rack manifold / CDU unit 201, a traditional air-cooled electronic equipment rack can be easily converted to a liquid-cooled rack.

[0033] Each of the server blades 203 may include one or more IT components (e.g., CPUs, GPUs, memory, and / or storage devices). Each IT component may perform data processing tasks, wherein the IT components may include software installed in a storage device, loaded into a memory, and executed by one or more processors to perform data processing tasks. The server blades 203 may include a host server (referred to as a host node) connected to one or more computing servers (also referred to as computing nodes). The host server (having one or more CPUs) typically interacts with a client over a network (e.g., the Internet) to receive requests for specific services, such as storage services (e.g., cloud-based storage services such as backup and / or recovery), running applications to perform certain operations (e.g., image processing, deep data learning algorithms or modeling as part of a software as a service or SaaS platform, etc.). In response to the request, the host server assigns the task to one or more of the computing servers (having one or more GPUs) managed by the host server. The computing servers perform the actual tasks, which may generate heat during operation.

[0034] Electronics rack 200 also includes an RMU 202 configured to provide and manage power supplied to server blades 203 and manifold / CDU 201. RMU 202 may be coupled to a power supply unit (not shown) to manage power consumption of the power supply unit and other thermal management of the power supply unit (e.g., cooling fans). The power supply unit may include necessary circuitry (e.g., alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) or DC to DC power converters, batteries, transformers or regulators, etc.) to power the remaining components of electronic equipment rack 200.

[0035] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D Different configurations of prefabricated segmented pipes according to one embodiment are shown. The segmented pipes may be as follows Figure 3A The straight segmented pipeline shown in Figure 3B The pipeline with liquid pump shown in Figure 3C Angled pipe as shown in , or Figure 3D , a pair of N or N to one pipes as shown in . In one embodiment, each segmented pipe includes a first end having a male drip-free connector disposed thereon and a second end having a female drip-free connector disposed thereon. Thus, the male connector of the first segmented pipe can be easily connected to the female connector of the second segmented pipe, and vice versa. Thus, a conventional air-cooled electronic equipment rack can be easily converted to a liquid-cooled electronic equipment rack. A conventional segmented pipe can be approximately two feet long, and the diameter of the segmented pipe can be subject to the liquid flow rate requirements of a particular configuration. Note that these configurations are shown for illustrative purposes only; other configurations may exist.

[0036] Figure 4 An example of a rack manifold and a rack CDU shelf according to one embodiment is shown. Figure 4, the integrated rack manifold unit 400 includes one or more pairs of downstream inlet ports and downstream outlet ports to be connected to the server rack. The upstream pair of inlet ports and outlet ports can be connected to the secondary loop of the CDU, and the primary loop of the CDU can be connected to the room CDU or the cooling water loop. If the rack manifold and the CDU are combined, the manifold upstream port is interconnected with the CDU, and the upstream port of the combined unit can be assembled on the CDU part and then connected to the room cooling loop. Similarly, the CDU and the manifold can be manufactured as a single unit or two separate units. In this design, since the unit is designed to be installed on an air-cooled rack, additional work may be required to modify it into a liquid-cooled rack. Therefore, the rack CDU and the rack manifold are designed to use the same form factor as the server in terms of width and depth. If the rack manifold unit and the rack CDU are configured as separate units, each of the units can be configured to have a form factor that is the same or similar to a standard rack configuration. Thus, the rack manifold unit may be plugged into one standard rack and the rack CDU may be plugged into another standard rack of an electronics rack.

[0037] Figure 5 FIG. 1 shows a data center room configuration according to one embodiment. Figure 5 , you can see the floor mounted CDU connected to the facility loop. The room CDU can be thought of as replacing a CRAH / CRAC unit. This means that the room CDU takes up the floor space of the CRAH / CRAC unit and connects to the facility loop that the CRAH / CRAC unit is connected to. You can see segmented ducting assembled under the raised floor connecting the room CDU to the rack mounted manifold. The rack mounted manifold then connects to the liquid cooled servers. Figure 5 It is also shown in the figure that two or more rack mounted manifold units can be arranged in a single rack based on actual usage. A fluid connection between the two rack manifolds is required. This design enables the rapid conversion of an air cooled data center into a data center room with liquid cooling capabilities.

[0038] Figure 6 Another deployment configuration is shown according to one embodiment, where the room CDU replaces the InRow air cooling unit. Note that the fluid ducts are located on the hard floor of the hot aisle, as the data center room may not be designed with a raised floor. Figure 6 The hot aisle floor shown in the figure is the floor within the hot aisle, not the raised floor. The segmented ducting is located on the hard floor of the hot aisle. As can be seen, this approach utilizes the existing facility loop designed for InRow chillers. With the segmented ducting and rack-mounted manifolds and floor-mounted CDUs, the racks can be quickly used to support liquid cooled servers.

[0039] Figure 7A deployment method using a rack mounted CDU and manifold according to another embodiment is shown. The facility loop for the CRAC units is also shared by the liquid cooling system. Segmented piping is used to connect to the facility loop. The CDU and segmented piping are then connected to the facility loop. Figure 7 As shown in , the rack-mounted manifolds can be deployed together or separately.

[0040] Figure 8 A similar deployment is shown when using an In-Row cooler to cool a room according to another embodiment. Figure 7 and Figure 8 The main difference between is that segmented ducting can be used in different types of data center rooms (raised floor data centers or non-raised floor). By using segmented ducting and rack mounted CDUs and manifolds, some of the electronic equipment racks can be quickly equipped with liquid cooling capabilities using some of the techniques described by this application.

[0041] In the foregoing description, embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims. Therefore, the description and drawings are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

Claims

1. An electronic equipment rack of a data center, comprising: a plurality of server racks inserted into at least some of the plurality of standard slots, each server rack comprising one or more servers, and each server comprising one or more processors, wherein at least some of the processors are mounted on a cold plate for liquid cooling; and a liquid manifold shelf inserted into a vacant one of the standard slots, wherein the liquid manifold shelf comprises a pair of upstream supply ports and upstream return ports, and further comprises one or more pairs of downstream inlet ports and downstream outlet ports, wherein the upstream supply port is coupled to a facility liquid supply line to receive cooling liquid from an external cooling liquid source, and the upstream return port returns the cooling liquid to the external cooling liquid source, and At least some of the plurality of pairs of the downstream inlet ports and the downstream outlet ports are coupled to cold plates of some of the server racks to circulate the cooling liquid to provide liquid cooling to corresponding processors.

2. The electronic equipment rack according to claim 1, wherein: The upstream supply port and the upstream return port are coupled to the external cooling liquid source via one or more prefabricated segmented pipes.

3. The electronic equipment rack according to claim 2, wherein: Each of the segmented pipes includes a first end having a male connector and a second end having a female connector.

4. The electronic equipment rack according to claim 2, wherein: At least one of the segmented pipes includes a liquid pump integrated therein.

5. The electronic equipment rack according to claim 2, wherein: The segmented pipelines are configured in a one-to-N split or an N-to-one merge configuration.

6. The electronic equipment rack according to claim 2, wherein: At least one of the segmented conduits is of a curved or angled shape.

7. The electronic equipment rack according to claim 1, wherein: The upstream supply port and the upstream return port are coupled to an indoor coolant distribution unit located within a data center room housing a plurality of electronic equipment racks.

8. The electronic equipment rack of claim 1, further comprising a rack coolant distribution unit, wherein: The upstream supply port and the upstream return port of the liquid manifold shelf are coupled to the rack coolant distribution unit to form a secondary loop, and wherein the rack coolant distribution unit is also coupled to a facility liquid supply line and a facility liquid return line of the data center to form a primary loop.

9. The electronic equipment rack according to claim 8, wherein: The rack coolant distribution unit plugs into one of the standard racks.

10. The electronic equipment rack according to claim 8, wherein: The rack coolant distribution unit and the liquid manifold rack are integrated into a single unit that can be inserted into any of the standard racks.

11. The electronic equipment rack according to claim 8, wherein: The electronic equipment racks are disposed on a raised floor, and the rack coolant distribution unit is coupled to the facility liquid supply line and the facility liquid return line via a set of prefabricated segmented pipes disposed below the raised floor.

12. The electronic equipment rack according to claim 8, wherein: The rack coolant distribution unit is coupled to the facility liquid supply line and the facility liquid return line via a set of prefabricated segmented piping above the electronic equipment racks.

13. The electronic equipment rack of claim 1, wherein: The upstream supply port and the upstream return port of the liquid manifold shelf are coupled to a computer room air conditioning unit of the data center.

14. The electronic equipment rack of claim 1, wherein: The upstream supply port and the upstream return port of the liquid manifold shelf are coupled to an InRow air cooling unit of a data center room housing a plurality of electronic equipment racks.

15. A data center, comprising: A plurality of electronic equipment racks, wherein each of the electronic equipment racks comprises: a plurality of server racks, inserted into at least some of the plurality of standard slots, Each server rack includes one or more servers, and each server includes one or more processors, wherein at least some of the processors are mounted on a cold plate for liquid cooling; and a liquid manifold shelf inserted into a vacant one of the standard slots, wherein the liquid manifold shelf comprises a pair of upstream supply ports and upstream return ports, and further comprises one or more pairs of downstream inlet ports and downstream outlet ports, wherein the upstream supply port is coupled to a facility liquid supply line to receive cooling liquid from an external cooling liquid source, and the upstream return port returns the cooling liquid to the external cooling liquid source, and At least some of the plurality of pairs of the downstream inlet ports and the downstream outlet ports are coupled to cold plates of some of the server racks to circulate the cooling liquid to provide liquid cooling to corresponding processors.

16. The data center according to claim 15, wherein: The upstream supply port and the upstream return port are coupled to the external cooling liquid source via one or more prefabricated segmented pipes.

17. The data center according to claim 16, wherein: Each of the segmented pipes includes a first end having a male connector and a second end having a female connector.

18. The data center according to claim 16, wherein: At least one of the segmented pipes includes a liquid pump integrated therein.

19. The data center according to claim 16, wherein: The segmented pipelines are configured in a one-to-N split or an N-to-one merge configuration.

20. The data center of claim 16, wherein: At least one of the segmented conduits is of a curved or angled shape.

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