As AI workloads surge, the pressure on data centres is hitting a boiling point—literally. Power consumption and heat output from modern AI hardware are far exceeding the capabilities of traditional air-cooled systems, creating bottlenecks in infrastructure deployment. Now, Supermicro is stepping in with a powerful solution tailored for the AI age.
The company, known for its high-performance computing infrastructure, has launched its DLC-2 liquid cooling solution alongside its Data Centre Building Block Solutions (DCBBS) to help companies meet the growing demands of AI processing—efficiently, quietly, and sustainably.
Why Supermicro’s DLC-2 Liquid Cooling System Stands Out
Modern AI accelerators can exceed 700 watts per chip—about seven times the heat output of standard processors from a decade ago. Air cooling simply can’t keep up. That’s why liquid cooling has become a game-changer, offering far better thermal efficiency than traditional methods.
Supermicro’s DLC-2 system takes this to the next level. By using specialised cold plates mounted directly onto CPUs and GPUs, the DLC-2 system can capture up to 98% of the heat generated by GPUs, which are often the hottest components in AI servers.
This not only reduces noise by up to 50 decibels, but also cuts water consumption by 40% by enabling warm-water cooling—a significant leap in operational sustainability. The system is compatible with Nvidia Blackwell B200 GPU architecture and supports dense configurations with eight GPUs and dual Intel Xeon 6 CPUs, all in a compact 4U chassis.
Key advantages of Supermicro’s DLC-2:
- Captures 98% of GPU heat
- Reduces data centre noise levels by 50dB
- Enables inlet water temps up to 45°C for 40% water savings
- Up to 40% power savings across the facility
“With demand for liquid-cooled data centres expected to hit 30% of all installations, legacy technologies simply aren’t enough,” says Supermicro CEO Charles Liang. “DLC-2 is engineered for today’s AI-centric computing needs.”
Fast-Tracking AI Infrastructure With Modular Data Centres
In addition to cooling innovations, Supermicro is launching a comprehensive, modular approach to data centre design through its Data Centre Building Block Solutions (DCBBS). The DCBBS framework extends the company’s modular philosophy from servers to full data centre deployments—covering everything from power distribution and cooling to networking and layout.
These pre-architected, ready-to-deploy blueprints are designed to accelerate the timeline for bringing AI infrastructure online. With DCBBS, Supermicro claims data centres can go from concept to deployment in as little as three months.
Key benefits of DCBBS:
- Faster time-to-market and reduced time-to-online
- Modular, high-quality, scalable infrastructure
- Retrofit or greenfield-ready
- Up to 60% reduction in data centre footprint
- Up to 20% lower total cost of ownership (TCO)
By standardising every layer of data centre design—from rack-level cooling to facility-wide architecture—DCBBS offers a plug-and-play solution for enterprises looking to scale AI quickly without starting from scratch.
“With DLC-2 and DCBBS, our customers can achieve significant cost, energy, and space savings—without compromising on performance,” adds Liang.
As the race to scale AI infrastructure accelerates, Supermicro’s liquid cooling and modular data centre innovations aim to help organisations build faster, run cooler, and grow smarter.
