从鞋盒到服务器机架：比特币采矿ASIC的下一个演变

随着ASIC制造商越来越多地押注后者，或者至少，水冷却服务器机架设计将成为比特币采矿机队的很大一部分。

In the beginning, there were only CPUs, then GPUs, for bitcoin mining. Then came the mighty ASIC in 2013, and with it, the “shoebox” form factor that has become emblematic of the bitcoin mining industry.

一开始，只有CPU，然后是GPU，用于比特币采矿。然后是2013年强大的ASIC，随之而来的是“鞋盒”的形式，它已成为比特币采矿业的象征。

What comes next? Will the shoebox design persist as standard for bitcoin mining ASICs? Or will another form factor that more resembles traditional datacenter servers win out?

接下来是什么？鞋盒设计是否会持续为比特币采矿ASIC的标准？还是更多类似于传统数据中心服务器获胜的另一个形式？

ASIC manufacturers are increasingly betting on the latter – or at least, that a hydro-cooled server rack design will become a substantial portion of bitcoin mining fleets. Moreover, they’re leaning into the “direct-to-chip” cooling for further efficiency gains.

ASIC制造商越来越多地押注后者，或者至少是，水冷却服务器机架设计将成为比特币采矿机队的很大一部分。此外，他们倾向于“直接芯片”冷却，以进一步提高效率。

Last September, Bitmain announced its model U3S21EXPH (a bit of a mouthful, eh?) developed in a partnership with Hut 8. Its U3 design means that one unit takes up three spaces in a traditional server rack. MicroBT soon followed with its M63 Hydro series, as did Bitdeer’s Sealminer A2 Hydro unit.

去年9月，Bitmain宣布了与Hut 8合作伙伴关系开发的U3S21EXPH（有点口，是吗？？）。其U3设计意味着一个单元在传统的服务器机架中占据了三个空间。 MicroBT很快就进行了M63水力系列，而Bitdeer的Sealminer A2水电单元也是如此。

Following suit, Auradine released its server rack model, the AH3880, this March. Its U2 design, which occupies two server slots, is a bit smaller, but it packs more hashrate per unit of space at 600 TH/s (or 300 TH/s per slot) versus Bitmain’s 860 TH/s (286.66 TH/s per slot).

紧随其后，奥拉丁（Auradine）于今年3月发布了其服务器机架型号AH3880。它的U2设计占两个服务器插槽，较小，但每单位空间的哈希酸盐以600 th/s（或每个插槽300 th/s）的速度与Bitmain的860 Th/s（每个插槽286.66/s）相比。

Shoebox out

鞋盒出去

So, what’s with the switch up from the traditional shoe box? For Auradine, it’s all about customer demand.

那么，从传统鞋盒上抬起的开关是什么？对于Auradine来说，这全都与客户需求有关。

“[Our new model is] based upon a lot of feedback that we got from our miner customers … we've been working with the miners even throughout the design process,” Auradine CSO Sanjay Gupta said on the most recent Mining Pod. “They indicated to us that they were looking for a quality hydro based miner.”

Auradine CSO Sanjay Gupta在最新的采矿舱中说：“ [我们的新模型]基于我们从矿工客户那里得到的很多反馈……在整个设计过程中，我们一直在与矿工合作。” “他们向我们表示，他们正在寻找一名优质水电矿工。”

In its partnership with Bitmain for the U3S21EXPH, “Hut 8 was instrumental in the custom design for the infrastructure, particularly the U form factor which is compatible with HPC style architecture,” Hut 8 Head of Investor Relations Sue Ennis told Blockspace last September. (More on the high performance computing angle later).

在与Bitmain的U3S21EXPH合作中，“ Hut 8在基础架构的定制设计中发挥了重要作用，尤其是与HPC风格体系结构兼容的U型，” Hut 8 Investment Relative Sue Ennis负责人Sue Ennis负责人Sue Ennis负责人Sue Ennis负责人。 （稍后有关高性能计算角度的更多信息）。

The benefit of a server rack ASIC lies in standardization. Bitcoin miners are increasingly marching in step with the traditional datacenter industry, and that industry could see 40% adoption of direct liquid-to-chip cooling by 2026, according to data center developer Cyrus One.

服务器机架ASIC的好处在于标准化。根据数据中心开发商Cyrus One，比特币矿工越来越多地与传统的数据中心行业一起逐步发展，该行业到2026年可以看到40％的液体到芯片冷却。

If miners adopt this design, then theoretically, they can optimize their supply chains by converging on server designs that are becoming best practice in the big-boy data center sector.

如果矿工采用这种设计，那么从理论上讲，他们可以通过在大男孩数据中心领域成为最佳实践的服务器设计来优化供应链。

This could make building and repairing bitcoin mines easier. And it could also make mining companies more nimble if they want to flex out of bitcoin mining and into other forms of compute.

这可能会使建筑物和修理比特币矿山更容易。如果矿业公司想摆脱比特币采矿并进入其他形式的计算，这也可能使他们更加灵活。

Enter AI and HPC

输入AI和HPC

As with so much mining news today, of course the spectre of AI is looming in the background.

与今天的采矿新闻一样，当然，AI的幽灵在后台也迫在眉睫。

If miners construct their data centers with traditional server rack designs, there is one less pain point if they want to retrofit these sites for AI and HPC loads. Of course, they’d still need to augment the sinews, muscles and veins of their operations with more robust networking and electrical infrastructure, but server racks would provide a backbone for AI/HPC services that requires less restructuring than legacy bitcoin mines. As Ennis put it, “the U form factor … is compatible with HPC style architecture.”

如果矿工使用传统的服务器机架设计构建其数据中心，那么如果他们想为AI和HPC负载改造这些站点，就会有一个较小的痛点。当然，他们仍然需要通过更强大的网络和电气基础设施来扩大其操作的正弦，肌肉和静脉，但是服务器机架可以为AI/HPC服务提供骨干，而AI/HPC服务比旧币矿山需要更少的重组。正如恩尼斯（Ennis）所说，“ U型……与HPC样式体系结构兼容。”

Echoing this, Gupta said in our Mining Pod interview that “[The U form factor has] been used for the AI data center. It’s easy to adjust. It’s got a high [power] density to it … [it] is extremely relevant for AI data centers as well, and we are looking at a joint strategy between AI for HPC and Bitcoin mining. So the U form factor works well with that.”

Gupta在回声时说：“ [U形式]已用于AI数据中心。它很容易进行调整。它具有很高的[功率]密度……[它]也与AI数据中心非常相关，我们正在与HPC和Bitcoin Mining for HPC和Bitcoin Mining for u so n of u sops of u so Work。

Who’s buying it?

谁在买它？

Perhaps needless to say, the server rack form factor for bitcoin mining is still in its infancy, and while there is promise that such a design could win out, there’s no guarantee.

也许不用说，比特币挖掘的服务器机架外形还处于起步阶段，尽管有保证这种设计可以胜出，但不能保证。

To start, bitcoin miners will not only need to rework the internals of their mines but also completely rewire their electrical infrastructure (which is unlikely to happen at existing mines).

首先，比特币矿工不仅需要重新设计其内部矿山，而且还需要完全重新连接其电气基础设施（这不太可能在现有矿山发生）。

Cholla’s Brad Cuddy, which operates hydro-cooled ASIC miners, said last September that “he’s excited to see the shift from the shoebox design to the [server rack] form factor.” But he said the U3S21EXPH’s voltage range is incompatible with certain electrical infrastructure that miners use with other Bitmain models.

Cholla的Brad Cuddy经营着水力冷却的ASIC矿工，去年9月说：“他很高兴看到从鞋盒设计到[服务器机架]外形的转变。”但他说，U3S21EXPH的电压范围与矿工与其他Bitmain型号使用的某些电气基础设施不相容。

“The restricted range of 380 to 415 volts reduces its compatibility for retrofitting. I would have liked to see the voltage range go all the way up to 480 volts to allow for more interoperability with current infrastructure deployments

“限制范围为380至415伏，降低了其改造的兼容性。我希望看到电压范围一直达到480伏，以允许与当前基础设施部署的更多互操作性