When I first got into the computer industry the fastest computer in the world was the Cray-1, recognizable to this day for it’s unique C shape cabinetry. The Cray-1 marked the height of the supercomputer era and pushed the limits of engineering. Even the distinct shape was an example of the extreme engineering that went into the system. Arranging the cabinets in a C shortened signal times so the machine could run faster. Equally unique, though less visible, was the liquid cooling system that allowed packing the maximum number of components in the smallest space.

Supercomputers like the Cray eventually faded into history with the development of microprocessors, PCs and eventually parallel computing. At the time, I thought I’d seen my last liquid cooled computer as well. I was wrong.

A recent quote from Google’s Rhett Weiss in the Charleston Post and Courier, shows that liquid cooling is strategic again - though this time at the data center level. When asked how the company would use water and electricity at it’s new data center, Mr. Weiss responded:

“We’re in a highly competitive industry and, frankly, one or two little pieces of information like that in the hands of our competitors can do us considerable damage. So we can’t discuss it.”

Mr Weiss makes it clear that Google, the quintessential internet company, sees operations as strategic. So much so, that they even assemble their own servers. Steve Duplessie touched on why building data centers and computers is strategic when he wrote recently

“the overwhelming majority of data centers contain infrastructure products that were all designed for a different era.”

“This could well be the biggest inflection point in tech history…”