1U/2U Server Cooling Solution

|  Basic market situation

With the advent of the digital age, data center servers have experienced rapid and continuous development and are playing an increasingly important role, providing powerful computing capabilities for applications such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and big data. As servers continue to evolve and expand in scale, their processing power and storage capacity continue to increase, and their heat dissipation requirements are getting higher and higher. Traditional air cooling methods can no longer meet the growing heat dissipation needs. In order to solve this problem, server liquid cooling solution emerged.

|  Market pain points

There are the following difficulties in implementing a liquid cooling solution in 1U/2U server:

1.The problem of limited design space: The original air-cooling design solution is relatively mature. If you want to add a liquid cooling solution while maintaining the original design solution, the layout space for the liquid cooling solution will be very limited. 1U server Height = 4.445 cm, 2U server height = 4.445*2 = 8.89 cm.

2.Sealing and anti-leakage issues: Liquid cooling systems involve the use of a large amount of liquid media, and the core component in the server is the chip (CPU and GPU, etc.). Once the chip comes into contact with liquid, there is a risk of burning, resulting in The entire server is damaged, so it’s crucial to ensure the fluid circulation system is air-tightness and leak-proof.

3.Heat dissipation efficiency and performance issues: More than 55% of chip failures are caused by heat transfer failure or temperature rise. If the chip is above 70 degrees, its reliability will be reduced by 50% for every 10 degrees of temperature increase. Once the quality of the components in the cooling assembly is not good or the circulation design is not effective, there is a possibility of unstable product performance, which will lead to local overheating or insufficient cooling, thus affecting the normal operation of the server.

|  TOPSFLO Solution

In order to meet the needs of cold-plate liquid-cooled servers, Topsflo Pump has specially designed a water pump with a unique flat design for them, which can better solve the problems currently encountered by server manufacturers:

1.The TDC thickness of the micro water pump is as low as 36mm and the overall size is small. The solution of combining the pump and the cold plate can be customized to help save space in the data center. Compared with bulky traditional cooling equipment, the compact design of micro water pumps makes server liquid cooling systems easier to deploy in limited spaces.

2.Water pump static seal design, imported PPS high-quality materials, high-precision molds, 100% strict air tightness testing of the water pump through high-standard air tightness testing equipment imported from France, effectively reducing the risk of leakage to ensure the safety of the server system performance and reliability.

3.Adopt unique rotor suspension technology and select high-wear-resistant imported graphite bushings and high-precision ceramic shafts to resist long-term operation and inevitable wear, ensure stable performance and operating status of the water pump, and reduce server system failures and downtime.

4.According to the heat dissipation requirements of the server, the micro water pump TDC is customized with a maximum flow rate of 8L/min and a maximum water head of 5M. The flow rate and water head are optimized in a compact size to meet the heat dissipation needs of the system. At the same time, the built-in smart chip can customize intelligent speed regulation and signal feedback functions to meet the needs of real-time intelligent monitoring of servers and help achieve more precise temperature control and stability of the server system.

Dive into the Evolution of High-Density Server Liquid Cooling Systems: A Journey through Innovation

Why Liquid Cooling Is Becoming Essential in Modern Data Centers

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and high-performance computing (HPC) is driving unprecedented increases in data center power density. Traditional air cooling methods are increasingly challenged in maintaining optimal operating temperatures.

Data Center Energy Consumption Continues to Rise

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), data centers currently account for approximately 1%–1.5% of global electricity consumption, with cooling systems representing up to 40% of a data center’s total energy use.

As computational workloads continue to expand, improving cooling efficiency has become one of the most effective ways to reduce operational costs and enhance sustainability.

Source: International Energy Agency (IEA), Electricity 2024 – Analysis and Forecast to 2026.

AI Workloads Are Driving Higher Rack Power Density

The emergence of generative AI has dramatically increased server heat loads.

According to research from Dell’Oro Group, traditional enterprise server racks typically operated at power densities of around 5–10 kW per rack. However, AI server deployments increasingly require 30–50 kW per rack, while some advanced AI clusters already exceed 100 kW per rack.

At these heat densities, conventional air cooling approaches become difficult to scale efficiently.

Source: Dell’Oro Group, Data Center Physical Infrastructure Reports.

Liquid Cooling Can Improve Energy Efficiency

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) notes that liquid cooling technologies provide significantly higher heat transfer capabilities than air cooling.

Industry studies indicate that liquid cooling can reduce cooling-related energy consumption by 30%–40%, depending on system architecture and operating conditions.

This improved efficiency contributes to lower operating costs and better Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE).

Source: ASHRAE Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments.

The Liquid Cooling Market Is Experiencing Rapid Growth

The global liquid cooling market for data centers is expanding rapidly as organizations upgrade their infrastructure to support AI applications.

According to MarketsandMarkets, the global data center liquid cooling market is projected to grow from approximately USD 4.9 billion in 2024 to more than USD 21 billion by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) exceeding 25%.

This growth highlights the increasing adoption of liquid cooling technologies across hyperscale, enterprise, and colocation facilities.

Source: MarketsandMarkets, Data Center Liquid Cooling Market Forecast.

Why Reliable Cooling Pumps Matter in Data Center Liquid Cooling Systems

While cold plates and heat exchangers often receive the most attention, the circulation pump serves as the “heart” of the liquid cooling loop.

A reliable server cooling pump directly affects:

• Coolant flow stability

• Heat transfer efficiency

• System uptime

• Energy consumption

• Maintenance frequency

• Overall cooling reliability

Even minor fluctuations in coolant flow can impact component temperatures and reduce computing performance under sustained workloads.

For mission-critical environments such as AI clusters and cloud data centers, pump reliability is therefore a fundamental requirement rather than an optional feature.

TOPSFLO Supports the Future of Data Center Cooling

As liquid cooling adoption accelerates, pump manufacturers must meet increasingly demanding requirements for efficiency, durability, and intelligent control.

TOPSFLO server cooling pumps are engineered to address these challenges through:

• High-efficiency brushless DC motor technology

• Leak-resistant magnetic-drive structures

• Long service life exceeding  >30,000 hours

• PWM, FG, and I²C intelligent control options

• Compatibility with multiple coolant media

• Compact designs suitable for dense server architectures

These capabilities help system integrators and equipment manufacturers build reliable thermal management systems capable of supporting next-generation computing applications.

References
International Energy Agency (IEA). Electricity 2024: Analysis and Forecast to 2026.
ASHRAE. Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments.
Dell’Oro Group. Data Center Physical Infrastructure Reports.
MarketsandMarkets. Data Center Liquid Cooling Market Forecast.
Uptime Institute. Global Data Center Survey.