Dell Micro 815 Modular Data Center Brings Liquid Cooling to Extreme Edge

The Dell Micro 815 Modular Data Center (MDC) delivers one to three racks of gear to the most inhospitable environments in a relatively quick manner. The MDC is deployable anywhere, assuming the area has sufficient power and is within the impressive -40℃ to 50℃ external operating range.

Dell Micro 815 Modular Data Center

The Micro 815 addresses modern IT challenges that were less prevalent a few years ago. Rapid advancements in AI and high-performance computing have put a squeeze on traditional data centers and pushed data collection and analytics much further to the edge. Due to this, sometimes the better solution for infrastructure is a quickly deployed MDC.

Dell addressed this problem in the Micro 815 by implementing direct liquid cooling (DLC) to increase system capacity and power. Liquid cooling is the perfect way to cool extremely dense server solutions such as those within the 815, especially in harsh environments. Dell claims that their liquid cooling solution reduces cooling energy consumption up to 40-50% and improves power usage effectiveness. Immersion cooling and air cooling are also offered depending on customer needs.

Dell Micro 815 Mobile Data Center Liquid Manifold

In terms of the specific servers in this cluster, these are the Dell PowerEdge XE9640, a dual-socket 2U server with the choice of 4x NVIDIA H100 SXM NVLINK GPUs or 4x Intel Data Center Max Series 1550 OAM XeLink GPUs. The CPUs and GPUs are liquid-cooled in this platform, enabling the 2U density.

Time to delivery is a critical benefit of the MDC concept. Dell’s Micro 815 can be implemented in new or existing data centers in weeks. The units are pre-fabricated and assembled which significantly reduces the deployment time. MDCs are also flexible, and can easily be redeployed to where they’re needed. The units can even be refitted with equipment required for specific jobs if they need to service a diverse set of application needs.

Dell offers lots of customization for the Micro 815. The units can be tailored to specific needs ranging from AI/ML/HPC to SCIF/FISMA/FIPS compliance for FED. Monitoring and management, integrated security, and fire detection and suppression are also included.

Dell also offers a portfolio of MDCs including the Micro 415, a much smaller (17U of IT gear) version of the 815, and even a fully custom MDC (Flex and The Click) if organizations require larger systems or a higher degree of customization.

Dell Micro 815 Modular Data Center Key Features

Up to 48RU 750mm Rack with 40RU (typical) allocated for IT
Up to 80kW Power & Cooling options
- UPS with 5 minutes battery in N, N+1, 2N configurations
- Wall mount cooling unit for “all-in-one” deployment or split system for indoor deployments
- DLC options available
208/120V 4W+G, 60Hz 35kAIC input power (Option for 65kAIC input
- Optional: 415/240V 4W+G, 50Hz input
ASHRAE A2 internal operating range (ASHRAE A1 Optional]
-40°C to 50°C external operating range
UL Listed and CE Marked

Market Impact

Dell has offered “composable” data center blocks in their modular data center family for many years. The Micro 815 is compelling because they’re offering liquid cooling options (both plate and immersion), which lets those with an intensive data crunching need operate just about anywhere in the world, so long as adequate power is around.

While these solutions have been commonly used to support tasks like military operations, industrial, 5G deployments, and the like, there’s also a pretty compelling argument to stand these up as an alternative to data center investment. Because these can be delivered anywhere in the world very quickly, it may be more efficient to build with MDCs in some cases than traditional data center expansion. While we’re focusing on the Micro here, Dell offers much larger installments as well and actually has several customers that have deployed many of the large Dell Flex MDC solutions.

The MDC concept is clearly not for everyone, but is it a nice option in many use cases that need to rapidly deploy IT assets in areas where a data center isn’t feasible for one reason or another. Given the way we’ve built up the StorageReview Lab and our 8 racks of gear, the notion of being able to move our entire data center to a metal case in the outside parking lot that can handle liquid cooling is an amazing thought.

Dell MDC Page

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Ethan Beeler

Ethan Beeler is a Business Economics student at Miami University who possesses an unwavering love for technology. With a particular interest in the inner workings of cloud computing and the applications we utilize on a daily basis, Ethan is driven by a deep curiosity to understand the IT infrastructure that powers our digital world. He combines his passion for technology with a strong analytical mindset and a desire to explore the intersection of technology and business. Eager to stay ahead of the curve, Ethan actively engages with the latest tech advancements and seeks opportunities to apply his knowledge in real-world settings.