Data Center Stack

From chip to campus · Six layers, four systems across them

An AI data center stacks chips into servers, servers into racks, racks into clusters, clusters into buildings and buildings into campuses. Each step up multiplies power, from about 2 kW per chip to several gigawatts per campus, and network, power, cooling and software run through every layer.

The data center stack by power, on a log scale: an AI chip draws about 1 to 2.3 kW, an 8-GPU server about 15 kW, a rack 135 to 230 kW, a facility hundreds of megawatts and a campus up to several gigawatts; network, power distribution, cooling and software run across every layer THE STACK, BY POWER (LOG SCALE) 1 kW 1 MW 1 GW Chip Server Rack Cluster Facility Campus ACROSS EVERY LAYER Network Power Distribution Cooling Software Stack
Chip
~1-2.3 kW
Rack
135-600 kW
Campus
Up to 5+ GW
Pages
10
Hub
Stack

Stack pages

Six Layers and Four Systems

Each Stack page covers one layer or one system that runs through all of them, with a flagship site. Chip manufacturing is covered at SemiconductorX.

Data center stack pages and flagships
PageFlagshipCovers
Chip LayerNvidia Vera RubinAccelerator platforms; chip making at SemiconductorX
Server LayerGB200 NVL72 supplier ringWho builds AI servers
Rack LayerFirst Vera Rubin NVL72 at CoreWeave135-600 kW racks, 800 VDC
Cluster LayerAWS Project RainierScale-up, scale-out, scale-across
Network and FabricsNvidia Spectrum-XNVLink, Ethernet, InfiniBand, optics
Power DistributionMicrosoft Fairwater AtlantaSubstation to chip; buffering training swings
Facility LayerMicrosoft Fairwater WisconsinShells, floors, fire and security
Campus LayerMeta HyperionGigawatt campuses and their power
Software StackNvidia AI Factory Research CenterBuilding systems to model hub
CoolingSix cooling pagesAir, liquid, immersion, heat rejection, water

Shift

The Rack Became the Unit of Compute

  • Density: AI racks went from about 40 kW to 135-230 kW in two years and reach about 600 kW in 2027, while the typical enterprise rack is still about 11 kW.
  • Power: that density forces 800 VDC and ±400 VDC distribution, liquid cooling, reinforced floors and buildings where support gear takes more space than racks.
  • Scale: clusters of half a million accelerators span several buildings, and training now runs across sites hundreds of miles apart.
  • Software: Nvidia now owns a leading product at most software layers, from the facility digital twin to the scheduler.

Record

Dataset Record

Dataset
Index of data center stack layers and systems with flagships; data on each linked page
Sources
Listed on each Stack page
Last verified
October 2026