upvote
It is a pretty clever design

> When it is detected that the PDB starts to detach from the interface, the hot-swap controller quickly turns off the MOSFET to block the discharge path from Cin to the system. After the main power path is completely disconnected, the interface is physically detached, and no current flows at this time

> For insertion, long pins (typically for ground and control signals) make contact first to establish a stable reference and enable pre-insertion checks, while short pins (for power or sensitive signals) connect later once conditions are safe; during removal, the sequence is reversed, with short pins disconnecting first to minimize interference.

reply
Yes, I read that. There had better be a backup system. MOSFETs tend to fail ON, and there's a megawatt going into each rack.

Somehow this seems the wrong approach to AI.

reply
Fail spectacularly

Data center workers are gonna need those big yoink sticks and those thick arc-fault bibs that furnace operators wear.

reply
McMaster-Carr has the personal protective equipment required for 800V: Flash protection face shields [1] and Class 0 electrical protection gloves.[2]

It's not that bad. It's just ordinary industrial protective gear.

[1] https://www.mcmaster.com/products/arc-flash-protection-face-...

[2] https://www.mcmaster.com/products/electrical-protection-glov...

reply
An EV fast charger can do 1000V, so with a bit of logic that sounds doable.
reply
EV chargers take a different approach. There is no power on the connector while you're plugging it in. It then locks in place before the contactor closes and power is delivered. Unplugging is the same, power is removed before the plug is unlocked for release.
reply
The power connectors will be on the far side of the rack from the service side so shouldn’t be a problem for humans touching the third rail so to speak.

With that sort of voltage you should be able to use a capacitive or inductive sensor to activate a relay.

reply
With a power rail that could supply kiloamps of fault current, thus megajoules of energy into an arc, I wouldn't be so sure of that.

Copper vapor inhalation is a definite possibility and a horrible way to die.

reply
Or maybe you can require technicians to be in full-protection electrical suits.
reply
As long as you can control for fire, electrical safety seems like a temporary condition as robots and intelligent machines are cheaper and more available long term solution to hot swap blades in datacenter racks.
reply
I think you're being downvoted for speaking of a complex future possibility ("robots and intelligent machines ... solution") as if it was a proven commodity. There will be many twists and turns in the path to the possible reliability, scalability, and cost effectiveness of robots and intelligent machines.
reply
It is a proven commodity already. Just not in our behind-the-curve country.

Look at NTT Data or SoftBank.

https://www.softbank.jp/en/sbnews/entry/20250917_01

reply
Yea I literally said long term but HN voters have such a hate boner for anything adjacent to AI
reply
Dear downvoters: softbank has been optimizing their datacenters for robotic technicians since 2020.

They are about to have fully human free datacenters by the end of this year.

When you are designing long term goals with datacenters, as I explicitly mentioned talking about, you can't ignore automation.

reply