Innovation in Data Center Design and Operations: Highlights from Thésée Event

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to advance, data centers are evolving into dynamic command hubs designed to handle the massive data throughput and processing power required for advanced AI applications. These facilities are no longer just storage units; they are transforming into intelligent, self-optimizing "AI factories" that redefine efficiency and capability. Recently, we had the opportunity to witness this being prepared to life during an event hosted by Data Center Magazine at the Thésée Data Center. The insights shared at the event were too valuable not to share!

The event brought together key partners like France Télévisions, Thésée, Cadence, and WattDesign to explore the real-world application of Cadence's digital twin technology. Guests enjoyed a tour of the state-of-the-art facility, followed by a panel discussion that revealed just how transformative this technology is for designing and operating modern data centers. It was a fantastic showcase of innovation, demonstrating how digital twins are paving the way for a more efficient, secure, and sustainable future.

This post will walk you through the key takeaways from the event, explore how Thésée Data Center and France Télévisions are leveraging the Cadence Reality Digital Twin Platform, and look ahead to the exciting possibilities for AI factories.

A Look Inside the Thésée Data Center

Located just outside Paris, the Thésée Data Center is a prime example of a modern, premium colocation facility. It provides critical services for clients like France Télévisions, a public media provider that demands the highest levels of reliability and security. This is why the facility is certified as Tier IV by the Uptime Institute—the most stringent standard for data center uptime and resilience.

One of the project's core motivations was ecological responsibility. By using advanced design and operational strategies, the facility has achieved an impressively low power usage effectiveness (PUE), minimizing its environmental footprint. But what truly sets this project apart is its use of the Cadence Reality Digital Twin Platform from the very beginning.

The digital twin was seamlessly adapted for daily operations when the facility launched in 2021. This continuity between design and operation is a game-changer. Today, the digital twin is an essential tool for both IT and facility teams, enabling them to:

• Monitor in real-time: Key parameters like airflow, temperature, and energy consumption are tracked continuously, ensuring optimal performance.
• Optimize performance and cost: Elevate data center management with physics-based simulation and AI that enables precise forecasting of operational impacts, balancing cost efficiency, computational output, and uptime reliability.
• Enable remote management: The digital twin allows France Télévisions teams based in downtown Paris to manage the facility’s operations remotely. This capability is critical for maintaining efficiency and responsiveness without being physically on-site.

The system is integrated with the building management system and capacity planning tools, creating a unified platform for managing the entire facility. This integration has brought a new level of innovation and excitement to the teams, empowering them to plan capacity more effectively and maintain peak efficiency to reduce operational risks.

The Cadence Reality Digital Twin Platform

So, what exactly is this groundbreaking technology? The Cadence Reality Digital Twin Platform enables the creation of a high-fidelity virtual replica of a data center. Think of it as a living, breathing digital model that functions just like its physical counterpart.

Designers can simply drag and drop vendor-provided digital models of servers, cooling units, and other equipment into their virtual data center. These Cadence Reality DC Elements models are behaviorally accurate and star-rated to indicate levels of validation and modeling granularity. This physics-based solution allows engineers to design entire facilities that meet specific power, space, cooling, and performance requirements with incredible precision.

With just a few clicks, users can explore "what-if" scenarios, such as equipment failures or future upgrades, to understand the potential impact before any hardware is ever installed. Once the data center is operational, the same digital twin tracks performance and predicts cost-performance outcomes, enabling true optimization of operations, managing changes, and maintaining optimal efficiency throughout the facility's lifecycle. It’s a complete end-to-end solution that bridges the gap between design and operations. 

Powering the Next Generation of AI Factories

The demand for AI is creating a need for a new type of infrastructure: the AI factory. These are massive data centers specifically designed to handle the immense computational workloads required to train and deploy AI models. Building and operating them efficiently is a big challenge. This is where the Cadence Reality Digital Twin Platform truly shines. By modeling an entire AI factory before construction begins, organizations can accurately account for critical constraints like cost, space, energy, and cooling. This foresight is essential for deploying AI infrastructure at scale.

In a thrilling development, Cadence recently expanded its platform library with a Cadence Reality DC Elements model of the NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD with DGX GB200 systems. This is a huge breakthrough for AI infrastructure planning! The NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD is one of the world's most powerful accelerated computing platforms, and now data center designers can model its performance and requirements with complete accuracy.

This initiative allows organizations to deploy world-leading AI accelerators with confidence, ensuring their AI factories are built for success from day one.

The Future Is Digital and Intelligent

The event at Thésée Data Center was more than just a showcase; it was a glimpse into the future of digital infrastructure. The seamless integration of digital twin technology from design to operation sets a new standard for efficiency, reliability, and sustainability.

As AI continues to advance, the need for intelligent, adaptable data centers will only grow. The Cadence Reality Digital Twin Platform, now enhanced with models of cutting-edge hardware like the NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD with NVIDIA DGX GB200 systems, provides the tools necessary to build and manage the AI factories of tomorrow. The journey toward a smarter, AI-powered world is well underway, and we are incredibly excited to be a part of it!

Discover the future of data centers—don’t miss the highlights from the Thésée Data Center event! Watch the video now and experience innovation in action!