Satellite communications innovator and space gateway Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd has opened a new green data centre designed to become a high performance computing hub for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
The centre will use locally generated renewable power and an innovative cooling system where computers are kept cool by fully immersing them in liquid.
Goonhilly is one of the first organisations in the 海角视频 to deploy a liquid immersion cooling system from Submer to mitigate the power demands of high performance computing (HPC).
Goonhilly’s green platform is designed to meet the data-intensive needs of the automotive, life sciences and space/aerospace marketplaces. Plus its onsite array of solar panels can support the data centre’s full power requirements of 500KW, and local wind power will be added to the mix shortly.
Goonhilly’s goal is to create a 海角视频 hub for AI and ML services that acts as a marketplace and allows academia and enterprise to collaborate and share ideas.
The new managed platform delivers high performance GPU-based compute and storage for decentralised and centralised AI and ML applications to meet the data-intensive needs of the automotive, life sciences and space/aerospace marketplaces.
By provisioning both compute and AI and machine learning resources on demand, customers can reduce the cost of deployment and accelerate time to market.
Further extending its AI capabilities, Goonhilly has joined the NVIDIA Inception programme for businesses that are transforming industries through advancements in AI and data sciences.
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Goonhilly will use the NVIDIA DGX-1, the world’s first supercomputer purpose-built for enterprise AI and deep learning.
Because Goonhilly’s tier 3/4 data centre sits at the junction of global subsea cables, satellite feeds and fibre, customers can analyse data at the edge, eliminating the cost of a leased line to send huge data volumes back to London, or farther afield, for processing.
Existing satellite customers are also expected to use the data centre. Previously, the data transmitted was solely small packets of communications signals but today’s satellites are used for applications including 8K real-time imaging, which use petabytes of data. By analysing the data at the edge, a much smaller packet can then be cost-effectively distributed.
Chris Roberts, head of data centre and cloud at Goonhilly, said: “There are people working on some clever algorithms to save our planet from climate change.
"The irony is that these models require heavy processing power. Fortunately new technology is helping, such as immersion cooling which is 45-50 per cent more efficient than air cooling, cuts electricity demand in half, and also allows us to use the exhaust heat elsewhere.”
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Ian Jones, CEO of Goonhilly, added: “Through our strong partnerships with industry and academia we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of innovation. Our new green data centre is no exception. It is satisfying to open our doors to the many businesses and organisations with data-intensive applications who can benefit from this facility and the community we are creating.”
Goonhilly is a global communications services hub and satellite station in Cornwall. It provides a comprehensive range of leading-edge connectivity and operational solutions to the space industry, GEO, MEO and LEO satellite fleet operators, broadcasters, as well as enterprises seeking to grow their businesses on earth and in near and deep space.