Liquid Cooling Insights

Today's data centers are hotter, and more tightly packed than ever. While CPUs and GPUs may steal the thermal spotlight, they're not the only components demanding advanced cooling strategies.

Memory, storage, optical links, and power systems all contribute to rising heat loads, especially as newer server architectures compress more performance into smaller footprints, leaving less room for airflow. Even relatively low-power components can compromise performance or reliability if not adequately cooled. That’s why precision liquid cooling is no longer a niche solution; it’s becoming essential infrastructure.

Below, we explore where and why these cooling challenges are surfacing, and how targeted liquid cooling solutions can address them: 

Why is Liquid Cooling Essential for OPTICAL TRANCEIVERS?

The Challenge:

A single 1.6T optical module can generate up to 25W of heat. Modern switches can accommodate up to 64 pluggable modules per enclosure, leading to nearly 2 kilowatts of cumulative waste heat concentrated near the front panel. This creates significant temperature gradients that can challenge the cooling capacity, resulting in some transceivers operating near the upper limits of their temperature specifications. Operating at the edge of these specifications increases the risk of operational issues and instability.

The Solution:

High-quality cold plates, like Mikros Technologies’ designs,  can deliver uniform cooling across densely packed transceiver modules in high-density deployments, providing several benefits:

• Consistent signal integrity.

• Increased thermal budget.

• Layout design flexibility.
   

Why Does HBM MEMORY and DDR5 Require Better Cooling?

The Challenge:

High-bandwidth memory (HBM) and double data rate five (DDR5) modules can each draw 3 to 5 watts and are often located next to powerful heat-intensive processors. Compact layouts with limited airflow may potentially push temperatures above 85°C (185°F), leading to an increased risk of throttling, degraded performance, and even data corruption.

The Solution:

Liquid cooling maintains memory within safe operating temperatures, even under peak computational loads, thereby optimizing bandwidth and ensuring reliability and efficiency in high-performance systems.

Why is Liquid Cooling Now a Requirement for DATA CENTER STORAGE?

The Challenge:

Nonvolatile memory express (NVMe) is a high-performance storage protocol used in modern solid-state drives (SSDs) to deliver fast response times and high throughput across data center workloads. Each SSD typically draws between 5 and 10 watts, and in high-input/output operations per second (IOPS) environments, the cumulative thermal load can rise quickly. When SSD temperatures approach 70°C (158°F), drives begin to throttle, potentially reducing performance by up to 60% during sustained workloads.

The Solution:

Liquid cooling supports consistent performance in demanding high-throughput environments by minimizing thermal throttling and maintaining low latency. For hyperscale and AI workloads, liquid cooling allows your systems to perform at their peak. 

How Does Liquid Cooling Protect NETWORKING GEAR?

The Challenge:

Today’s 400G+ switches can draw between 500 and 800 watts when all ports are in use. With limited and restricted airflow in edge and modular deployments, internal temperatures can exceed 49°C (120°F), which accelerates component wear and reduces overall system reliability.

The Solution:

Liquid cooling extends the operational life of networking hardware by managing heat loads more effectively, resulting in:

• Higher thermal reliability.

• Improved system resilience and durability.

• Less system downtime.
   

Why is Liquid Cooling Critical for POWER DELIVERY?

The Challenge:

Power conversion components, such as voltage regulator modules (VRMs), can waste 2–5% of system power as heat. These parts are typically confined to tight board spaces, where inadequate thermal performance can restrict overall rack density or create hotspots.

The Solution:

Liquid cooling removes heat at the source, boosting power conversion efficiency and enabling greater rack-level density. By improving thermal performance in these often-overlooked areas, liquid cooling supports more scalable and reliable system designs.

At Mikros Technologies, we don’t just provide cooling hardware; we engineer integrated thermal solutions tailored to your application, performance goals, and market. From concept to deployment, we collaborate with your team to design high-efficiency liquid cooling systems, transforming potential thermal challenges into opportunities for enhanced performance, reliability, and density across your data center infrastructure.