“IMMERSION-COOLED SYSTEMS DO NOT REQUIRE CHILLERS, CRAC UNITS, RAISED FLOORING, ETC. THIS METHOD HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CUT IN HALF THE CONSTRUCTION COSTS…”

National Security Agency United States of America (NSA) Logo

Installation Details

  • Location: Undisclosed
  • Industry: Government & Military
  • Capacity (in MW): Undisclosed
  • Annual Energy Savings: Undisclosed
  • Customer Since: 2012

The Challenge

The National Security Agency’s Advanced Computing Research team at the Laboratory for Physical Sciences acquired and installed a GRC liquid-immersion cooling system to evaluate its pros and cons.

The GRC Solution

GRC’s ICEraQ™ liquid immersion cooling system offers amazing cooling energy cost savings of up to 95% and can increase cooling capacity up to 100kW per rack, resulting in a PUE of 1.05. Also utilizing ICEraQ significantly lessens data center white and grey space.

Results

  • Ultra-high, efficient data centers can be rapidly deployed virtually anywhere in the world the NSA needs them
  • Up to 60 % lower capital expenditures and total operating costs save a significant amount of tax payer dollars
  • Scalable racks allow the NSA the flexibility to add compute power on an as-needed basis
  • Immersion cooling eliminates dust and other data center contaminates, further reducing equipment replacement and maintenance costs

A Closer Look:

Testimonial:

“immersion-cooled systems do not require chillers, CRAC units, raised flooring, and temperature and humidity controls, etc., they offer a substantial reduction in capital expenditures over air-cooled systems.”

— David Prucnal, P.E. at NSA

About National Security Agency (NSA):

The National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) is home to America’s codemakers and codebreakers. The National Security Agency has provided timely information to U.S. decision makers and military leaders for more than half a century. The Central Security Service was established in 1972 to promote a full partnership between NSA and the cryptologic elements of the armed forces. NSA/CSS is unique among the U.S. defense agencies because of their government-wide responsibilities. NSA/CSS provides products and services to the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, government agencies, industry partners, and select allies and coalition partners. In addition to delivering critical strategic and tactical information to war planners and war fighters.

nsa.gov/research/tnw/tnw202/article4.shtml