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Eaton, an intelligent power management company, recently announced a new solution to identify large fluctuations in energy demand by AI computing infrastructure, known as AI power bursts.
Data center operators gain solution to AI demand-related energy concerns
The solution helps detect potential subsynchronous oscillations (SSOs) in data centers, enabling users to protect critical infrastructure and enhance resiliency as AI energy needs grow. The edge-based solution is available via a firmware update for the Eaton Power Xpert quality (PXQ) event analysis system.
“The energy demands of AI workloads surpass anything data centers and the grid have encountered before, with load fluctuations that can exceed the limits of existing infrastructure,” said JP Buzzell, vice president and chief data center architect at Eaton. “By enabling customers to harness their existing PXQ technology in new ways, we’re delivering a market-first capability to effectively respond to AI power bursts. Our SSO detection solution marks a major milestone in our grid-to-chip strategy, which empowers data center operators with innovative tools to address and manage the energy challenges posed by AI.”
SSO, Eaton notes, can cause severe, costly damage to both data center infrastructure and the grid, which may not be equipped to handle large load swings. It’s crucial for operators to identify and mitigate SSO bursts before they lead to costly outages due to transformer overheating, ferroresonant damage, and other impacts to equipment.
The PXQ is a power quality meter for switchgear, switchboards, and power distribution units (PDUs) that integrates edge analytics to streamline the identification and resolution of power quality events, such as sags, swells, transients, and harmonics. Through the remote firmware upgrade, customers can leverage their system to detect SSO and allow operators to be proactive in resolving issues before they cause lasting damage to data centers and the grid.
Eaton’s data center infrastructure push
Eaton has made continued efforts to help organizations meet the infrastructure demands of next-generation data centers.
The organization recently announced a collaboration with NVIDIA on design best practices, reference architectures, and innovative power management solutions for supporting high-density GPU deployments, such as NVIDIA Kyber rack-scale systems with NVIDIA Rubin Ultra GPUs.
“With our decades of expertise in electrical power management innovation and broad solution portfolio, Eaton is uniquely positioned to support the demands of data centers in the AI era,” said Heath Monesmith, president and chief operating officer (COO), Electrical Sector, Eaton. “Joining NVIDIA and other industry leaders enables us to further advance our strategy of providing systems that meet the demanding power, cooling, and operational requirements of data centers and AI factories.”
Eaton has also recently partnered with Siemens Energy on a fast-track approach to building data centers with integrated onsite power.
Together, the two will address urgent market needs by offering reliable, grid-independent energy supplies and standardized, modular systems to facilitate swift data center construction and deployment.
“Our approach of letting customers pick the right balance of energy sources is very flexible, and construction to start-up time is swift with options to reduce emissions in both the short and long term,” said Cyrille Brisson, global segment leader, data centers, Eaton. “Crucially, our approach offers data center owners and developers the opportunity to build capacity and bring it online fast in any location where they have land available that is close to gas, water, and fiber.”
Unlocking AI-ready data centers for channel partners is critical for establishing new business opportunities. Learn more about how Eaton’s White Space Team is helping channel partners optimize AI-ready data centers.
