Data centre liquid cooling infrastructure

CDU & Liquid Cooling

Precision Thermal Management for AI, Cloud, and HPC Infrastructure

CDUs are the core thermal infrastructure for liquid-cooled data centres. As AI GPU servers now generate 40 to 120+ kW per rack, air cooling is no longer sufficient. CDUs enable direct liquid cooling for AI training clusters, hyperscale cloud deployments, and high-performance computing environments where heat density exceeds what any air-based system can handle reliably.

Xfinite Trading sources CDUs from established manufacturers in China, Taiwan, Germany, and the United States. We supply in-rack, in-row, centralised, and immersion cooling configurations with distribution across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and global markets.

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What Is a CDU?

A Coolant Distribution Unit acts as the intermediary between the facility water supply and the heat loads generated by IT equipment. It contains a heat exchanger that transfers heat from the IT cooling loop to the facility loop, then returns chilled coolant to the servers, storage, or GPU nodes in a continuous closed loop. The unit manages flow rates, pressures, temperatures, and pump operation to maintain stable thermal conditions regardless of changes in IT load.

Liquid is approximately 1,000 times more effective at absorbing heat than air. This physical advantage allows CDUs to remove 80 to 90% of total heat load directly at the source, before it enters the room environment. The result is lower PUE, reduced dependence on CRACs and chillers, and the ability to support rack densities that air cooling cannot reach.

Core Components

The key subsystems inside a CDU and the function each one performs.

Component	Function
Plate Heat Exchanger	Transfers heat from IT loop to facility loop. 316L stainless steel plates standard.
Redundant Pumps (N+1)	Variable-speed drive pumps for coolant circulation. Run/standby or parallel operation.
Coolant Reservoir	Maintains system volume, compensates for thermal expansion.
Flow Control Valves	Modulating valves regulate coolant flow to match real-time thermal demand.
Filtration System	Inline 25 to 50 micron filters for particulate removal.
Pressure/Temperature Sensors	Continuous monitoring of supply/return temperatures, differential pressure, and flow rates.
Intelligent Controller	PLC or microcontroller managing pump speeds, valve positions, and alarms. Protocols: Modbus, SNMP, BACnet.
Leak Detection	Spot or cable-based sensors with automatic isolation valve triggers.

CDU Types & Capacity

Four CDU configurations covering edge deployments through hyperscale campuses.

CDU Type	Capacity	Use Case	Heat Rejection
In-Rack CDU	20 to 110 kW	Retrofit, edge sites	Liquid-to-air or liquid-to-liquid
In-Row CDU	300 to 1,350 kW	Medium to large data halls, colocation	Liquid-to-liquid (facility water)
Centralised / Facility CDU	1 MW to 10+ MW	Hyperscale campuses, AI data centres	Liquid-to-liquid (chiller plant)
Immersion Cooling CDU	100 to 500 kW	Single-phase and two-phase immersion tanks	Liquid-to-liquid with dielectric fluid

Key Technical Specifications

Typical performance and configuration parameters across the CDU range.

Specification	Typical Range
Cooling Capacity	22 kW (in-rack) to 10+ MW (centralised)
Coolant Flow Rate	50 to 3,600 LPM
Pump Redundancy	N+1 (dual VSD pumps)
Supply Temperature	5°C to 50°C
Head Pressure	2 to 6 bar (30 to 90 PSI)
Coolant Compatibility	Deionised water, water-glycol (PG/EG), dielectric fluids
Heat Exchanger Material	316L stainless steel
Filtration	25 to 50 micron inline filters
Power Consumption	1 to 5% of rated cooling capacity
Monitoring	Modbus TCP/IP, SNMP, BACnet, REST API
Approach Temperature	2°C to 7°C typical

Sourcing Origins

We source CDUs from four manufacturing regions, giving buyers access to the right combination of price, lead time, and performance.

🇨🇳

China

Cost-competitive, full-chain liquid cooling capability, large-scale production. Market growing at approximately 27% CAGR.

Mid-range to Premium

🇹🇼

Taiwan

Strong thermal engineering heritage, brazed plate heat exchanger expertise, competitive APAC pricing.

Mid-range to Premium

🇩🇪

Germany

Precision engineering, mission-critical reliability, established track record in high-availability data centre environments.

Premium

🇺🇸

United States

Broadest portfolios, global service networks, OEM partnerships with all major GPU and server vendors.

Premium

Compliance & Documentation

Technical and quality documentation to support procurement, installation, and commissioning.

Technical Certification

Data centre cooling standards, ASHRAE guidelines, equipment certifications. Provided per unit on request.

Quality Documentation

Factory acceptance test reports, commissioning protocols, and performance verification data for each CDU supplied.

Project Support

CDU sizing calculations, cooling load analysis, and integration specifications to support project engineering teams.

Why Choose Xfinite Trading

What we bring to CDU procurement beyond the product itself.

Multi-Origin Sourcing

Access to CDU manufacturers across four regions for the best combination of price, lead time, and performance for your project.

Technical Pre-Sales

We help size CDUs to your rack density, power envelope, and cooling architecture before you commit to a purchase.

APAC Distribution

Stockholding and logistics from Singapore with delivery to data centre sites across Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

Coolant Distribution Units (CDU) for Data Centre Liquid Cooling