The world’s most powerful IT enclosure system. Built for data centers and edge environments.
Higher Density
Twenty percent more space-efficient than a typical data center racking system, Vapor Chambers support up to 135 kW of critical IT load, which nets out to 2,100 Watts per square foot.
Edge-Ready
Vapor Chambers thrive in edge environments. Whether in equipment sheds at the base of cell towers or on rooftops in weatherproof enclosures, Vapor Chambers deliver efficiency, density and remote operation.
Software-Driven
Built-in software for self-monitoring and API-driven control means that Vapor-enabled data centers are highly-automated and capable of “lights out” remote operations.
Hyper-Efficient
Greater utilization, higher density and automation significantly reduce capex and opex costs in both centralized and edge environments. Operates at PUE 1.3 or better.
The Most Efficient Way to Build and Operate Edge Data Centers
The Vapor Chamber is a patented cylindrical enclosure system for IT equipment. It is designed to house equipment in a high-density way—up to 135 Kw of IT load (upwards of 15,000 CPU cores) in 9 feet diameter—and is tightly integrated with Vapor IO software for autonomic operation, remote “lights out” monitoring, and programmatic API-driven control.
Customers use Vapor Chambers to increase density and lower capex/opex investments when deploying compute and storage to edge locations.
Cylinders, Not Rectangles
Traditional rectangular IT racks, with their back-to-back hot-aisle/cold-aisle arrangements, create challenges in the data center. As densities increase, they become difficult to cool and require elaborate engineering, duct systems, and containment walls to manage airflow, leading to expensive HVAC systems and difficult-to-detect airflow problems.
The design of the Vapor Chamber, in contrast, positions six IT racks in a circular pattern, creating a fully-contained “hot aisle” chimney at the core. A software-and-sensor-controlled 22,000 CFM fan expertly pulls air from the surrounding room and passes it through the racks to cool the equipment. The resulting hot air is expelled out the top of the Chamber and can be routed directly into the HVAC return plenum.
Engineered for the Edge
The Vapor Chamber radically improves upon the capital and operational costs of traditional racking systems, making it much more cost-effective to deploy IT in edge locations.
Highly-Engineered
Designed using Computational Fluid Dynamics and extensive field testing, the patented shape and air baffles of the Vapor Chamber combine with temperature and pressure sensors and optimized software to ensure optimal airflow. Leveraging the Bernoulli principle and the Venturi effect, the Vapor Chamber evacuates hot air in a highly energy-efficient way.
Self-Contained and Self-Balancing
The pre-engineered and self-contained nature of the Vapor Chamber ensures predictable and reliable operation. Because of its software-controlled airflow system, the Vapor Chamber can be placed in a wide variety of operating environments with little or no additional site engineering.
Sensorized and Self-Monitoring
Dozens of sensors—for pressure, temperature, and other real-time conditions—are continuously monitored and evaluated by software on the embedded Vapor Edge Controller (VEC). Software on the VEC provides for autonomic self-regulation, remote operations and API-driven control.
Autonomic
The unique airflow design and self-monitoring software in the Vapor Chamber automatically accommodates a wide variety of rack and equipment configurations. Even when racks are unevenly loaded, IT equipment is kept properly cooled. Regardless of the equipment density or cabinet load, the self-balancing nature of the Vapor Chamber ensures proper cooling.
Vapor Chamber Stats
Sensors per Chamber
Racks per Chamber
kW of Critical IT Load
Days to Deploy
How the Vapor Chamber Works
The Vapor Chamber is a patented system of hardware and software technologies developed by VaporIO. It is a finely-tuned device for efficiently housing and cooling IT equipment.
Standing only 7 feet high, with a diameter of 9 feet, the Vapor Chamber can rest just as easily on a slab floor in an equipment room as it can in a traditional raised floor data center environment. It supports up to 135 kW of critical IT load, utilizing a 22,000 CFM software-controlled fan that cools equipment effectively by ejecting hot air air out of a central chimney at the top of the Chamber.
Wedge Racks
Each of the six wedge racks in a Vapor Chamber can accommodate 36 RU of equipment and up to 25 kW of IT load per rack.
The wedge rack supports IT equipment by providing power conversion, power rectification, power distribution and monitoring of rack-level temperature and differential pressure from front to rear of the cabinet. A highly-available software system provides for autonomic adjustments to the central fan as well as remote monitoring and control functions.
Each wedge rack floats on transfer bearings in the base, making it easy for a single technician to slide the racks out for maintenance and rear access.
Base Assembly
The base assembly of the Vapor Chamber anchors, locates and levels each of the wedge racks. The base is anchored to the floor and leveled to a single plane. Using transfer ball recessed into the base, the wedge racks can be slid into place and locked using drop-in pins.
Central Exhaust Cell
The Central Exhaust Cell (CEC) attaches to the base assembly and acts as a heat evacuation chimney. A specialized fan in the upper chamber operates under software control and efficiently evacuates hot air out of the CEC and away from the 6 racks surrounding it. Swappable wall panels make it easy to blank off a rack position when a rack is removed or balance airflow with perforated panels. The CEC is also responsible for supporting the upper chamber.
Upper Chamber and Fan
The upper assembly at the top of the Vapor Chamber houses the exhaust fan. This fan, capable of moving 22,000+CFM of air, evacuates hot air out of the Central Exhaust Cell.
Temperature and pressure sensors inside the Vapor Chamber work in concert with software to maintain ideal air pressure differentials and optimally evacuate hot exhaust. The upper chamber also provides four 3 RU mini racks suitable for top of rack switches or other low-powered IT equipment.
Sensors
Temperature sensors installed along the entire height of the Vapor Chamber offer a real-time view of its thermal characteristics. Temperature sensors also monitor the exhaust air and, In advanced installations, sensor readings from individual motherboards of supported servers may be incorporated as well.
Airflow sensors monitor the velocity of exhaust air, and differential pressure sensors compare readings from outside the rack to readings between the rear of the rack and the CEC wall, informing algorithms for fan speed. Other sensors, such as humidity, particulate, and vibration, are present for safety.
Sensors in the Vapor Chamber are monitored continuously and software algorithms adjust the fan speed to equalize pressure and optimize cooling. Any sensor reading or combination of readings can be used to trigger actions, and all of the sensor readings can be queried remotely using the OpenDCRE API.
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Vapor Software
Each Vapor Chamber has a fully-integrated Vapor Edge Controller (VEC). The VEC is a highly-redundant and highly-available embedded subsystem that monitors the Vapor Chamber, continuously adjusts fan speed, and supports the Vapor Chamber control plane and API for remote operations.
Vapor IO software continuously monitors equipment and makes automatic adjustments or issues warnings based on the status of the integrated sensors. The software also supports remote operations via an API built atop OpenDCRE. A human-friendly web-based application for operators connects directly to the Vapor Chamber, making it easy to monitor multiple locations, create dashboards and reports, and perform enhanced remote hands operations.
Vapor Chamber Specs
| Form Factor | Standard 19” Rack Compatible Open19 Compatible |
| Height | 36RU (Rack Units 19” x 1.75”) |
| Depth | Total Equipment Depth: 37” 19” Front Rail to Back Rail Distance: 25.5” |
| Mobility | (6) Heavy duty casters per Wedge Rack Wedge Racks include slots for pallet jack forks |
| Empty Weight | ~181kg (400 lbs.) |
| Additional Features | Leveling, Alignment, and Weight Distributing Base Cable Management and Quick Disconnect in Top for Power and Data All Front-Side Serviceability |
| Floor Level Requirement | Floor will require maximum ¼” level across 10’. Leveling feet adjust to 1” difference but will require the use of a pallet jack to install wedge racks. |
| Accepted Hardware | All 19” Rackmount hardware with front to rear fan direction Open19 Equipment OCP Equipment |
| Rack Level/Monitoring/Control | Vapor Edge Controller (VEC) |
| Input Requirements | (6x) 3 Phase 400-415VAC 50/60 Hz with 60A breakers, 150kW total chamber max. OR (6x) 3 Phase 208VAC 50/60 Hz with 80A breakers OR (18x) Single Phase 208-240VAC 50/60 Hz with 60A breakers, 150kW total chamber max. OR (18x) Single Phase 90-140VAC 50/60 Hz with 60A breakers, 72kW total chamber max. + Central fan requires 3 Phase 460-480V 50/60 Hz, 3 Phase 400-415VAC 50/60 Hz, 3 Phase 208VAC 50/60 Hz, or Single Phase 208-240VAC 50/60 Hz |
| Storage Temperature | -40C (-40F) to +85C (185F) |
| Operational Temperature Rating | -10C (14F) to +40C (104F) |
| Humidity | Operating: 20-80% noncondensing Non-operating: 5%-95% noncondensing |
| Spacing | Clearance of 1.82m (4 ft.) on all sides |
| Noise Level | Motor RPM dbA @ 3ft 100%: 90 75%: 83 50%: 72 25%: 65 Note: Noise level will decrease when installed in ductwork/HVAC system. |
Patent protected: https://www.vapor.io/ip/patents/
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Not everybody wants to build, own and operate their own data centers. Many customers want to deploy their own IT gear into edge data centers owned and operated by another party. That’s why we’ve created Project Volutus, the world’s largest collection of multi-tenant data centers at the edge of the network.
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