HARTING Partners With Data Center Hyperscalers to Author New Industry Connectivity Standards

The Open Compute Project (OCP) was launched in 2011 with the goal of sharing designs of data center products among companies to drive innovation in the field of cloud computing. With rapid advancements in technology, the need for efficient, scalable, and customizable solutions became evident.

HARTING, a global pioneer in industrial connectivity and technology solutions, recognized the necessity for collaboration in technological ecosystems to enhance their offerings and meet the demands of modern data center infrastructures.

Through our decades-long partnership with the Open Compute Project — inspired by close collaboration with Microsoft on their Project Olympus initiative — we develop connectivity solutions to ensure that data centers get online faster and stay online more reliably.

Microsoft's Project Olympus is an open-source hardware design initiative aimed at transforming the infrastructure of data centers. Launched in 2017, Project Olympus was part of Microsoft’s broader strategy to build the next generation of cloud computing resources, enhancing both scale and efficiency in their data centers.

“Microsoft's big problem that they had is they wanted to install their data centers quicker, shorten the critical path for installation,” says Stewart. They also needed to accommodate more and more power over time, as demand steadily increased.

With these requirements in mind, HARTING recommended that Microsoft separate the rack PDU from the cable assembly to unlock product sourcing efficiencies.

"If we are able to separate the rack PDU from the cable assembly, now you can make a universal PDU that you can hold stock of and can be deployed anywhere in the world while making the cable assemblies," explains Stewart.

HARTING developed specialized connector solutions designed explicitly for the Project Olympus specifications — the Han-Eco® connector. These connectors were required to provide secure connections, handle high power amperages, and withstand harsh environmental conditions often present in data centers.

By adopting HARTING’s Han® Eco, Microsoft found the ideal rPDU connector to standardize in data centers across the globe. The rPDUs can be pre-assembled, stocked, and installed anywhere, even to different countries with varying power requirements.

“With standardization, you lower the lead time for install, bring things online faster, you get a more standardized equipment, which helps supply chain deploy quicker,” says Stewart.

What previously required up to 8 weeks to source now only took 2 weeks, contributing to Microsoft's overall goal of getting data centers online faster.

When OCP was made aware of the HARTING’s involvement in Project Olympus, they were impressed. While Microsoft uses PDUs for power, OCP was working on a solution distributing power for a PowerShelf application.

"The flagship architecture is what's called the Open Rack,” says Stewart. “Just recently launched was the Open Rack v3, or ORv3. And as the Open Compute Project is meant to do is to take ideas from their architectures and use the best ones so that everybody can enjoy the benefits."

Together with OCP, HARTING designed a robust Orv3 PowerShelf connector. The HARTING Han® Open Rack V3 (ORV3) is now the standard because of its innovative, right-angle hood (which helps route the cable through the tight rack environment) and high power capacity.