Huawei AI Data Center Reference Design

Overview

Every design lists module count and kW, liquid-cooled and network rack counts, ride-through time, and transformer, generator, UPS power module, fan-wall and TMU/CDU quantities with redundancy, plus cooling-tower or air-cooled chiller sizing. The prefab solution covers 1.74-7.15 MW of IT and claims construction cut from 18 to 6 months. Power distribution supports 2N, distributed redundant (DR) and block redundant (BR) architectures.

Numeric examples make the designs concrete. The 50 kW/rack prefab module is 872 kW per module with 16 liquid-cooled racks plus 6 network racks at 12 kW, and 10 min of IT and cooling backup. The RD 01 plant has 3 x 1.8 MW power modules, 3 x 2000 kVA transformers, 3 x 2000 kW DCC generators, fan walls of 210 kW each (4+1) and TMU 360 kW (2+1) x 2. The 132 kW/rack module is 1176 kW with 8 liquid racks; steel-structure halls use air:liquid ratios of 2:8 or 3:7 (range 1:9-3:7).

Equipment conditions are in the datasheets at the end. The TMU/CDU rated condition is primary 37/45 C water and secondary 40/50 C deionised water, with a primary inlet range of 10-50 C and secondary supply of 20-60 C. The SmartLi example gives 300 kW for 10 min or 200 kW for 15 min, operating at 0-40 C with 20-25 C recommended. The fan wall nominal condition is 36 C return air and 20/28 C water.

Key points

1. Prefab solution covers 1.74-7.15 MW IT and claims construction cut from 18 to 6 months.
2. 50 kW/rack module: 872 kW per module, 16 liquid-cooled racks plus 6 network racks at 12 kW; 10 min IT/cooling backup.
3. RD 01: 3 x 1.8 MW power modules, 3 x 2000 kVA transformers, 3 x 2000 kW DCC generators, fan walls 210 kW (4+1), TMU 360 kW (2+1) x 2.
4. Power distribution supports 2N, DR and BR architectures.
5. 132 kW/rack module: 1176 kW with 8 liquid racks; steel halls use air:liquid 2:8 or 3:7 (range 1:9-3:7).
6. TMU/CDU rating: primary 37/45 C, secondary 40/50 C deionised water; primary inlet 10-50 C, secondary supply 20-60 C.
7. SmartLi: 300 kW for 10 min or 200 kW for 15 min; operating 0-40 C, 20-25 C recommended.
8. Fan wall nominal condition: 36 C return air, 20/28 C water.

Using it in design

• Import RD 01-21 as parametric AI-hall templates (rack kW, racks per module, module kW, redundancy of fan walls/TMUs/towers, generator and transformer counts) and as golden test cases for capacity math.
• Add an architecture enum {2N, DR, BR} and an air:liquid ratio per hall.
• Check secondary-loop temperatures against CDU limits.
• Default UPS/battery autonomy to 10 min for AI IT and cooling.

Who should read it

Designers choosing between prefabricated and steel-structure AI-hall architectures, and teams that need reference cases to validate capacity calculations.

Related standards

• IEC 62040-3
• TIA-942
• Uptime Tier

Publication details

Authors

Huawei Digital Power

Publisher

Huawei Digital Power

Year

2025

Document language

English

Source type

Manufacturer

Access

Free to read

Licence

Copyright retained; citation only — the publisher’s terms apply to the original document

Citation