#Industry News
Complete Guide to CDU: The Core Heart of Modern AI Data Center Liquid Cooling Systems
Liquid-to-Liquid, Air-to-Liquid and Liquid-to-Refrigerant: The Complete CDU Classification and Selection Guide
The CDU serves as the absolute core heart of AI data center liquid cooling, bridging server cold plates, rear door heat exchangers and facility cold sources for closed-loop coolant circulation, with four core advantages: transferring massive heat out of IT cabinets, physically isolating IT-side and facility-side loops to prevent impurities and pressure fluctuations, intelligent sensor-driven dynamic flow and temperature adjustment, and modular design enabling ultra-high-density deployment and flexible expansion. CDUs are classified by heat exchange principle—liquid-to-liquid, air-to-liquid and liquid-to-refrigerant, plus single-phase and two-phase routes. Air-to-liquid units suit legacy renovation and edge scenarios without chilled water infrastructure, while liquid-to-liquid CDUs dominate new large-scale construction supporting over 100kW per rack. EXTRCOOL provides one-stop liquid cooling solutions.
