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Data Center Digital Twin Operational Modeling
NVIDIA deployed the Jacobs Data Center Digital Twin across an artificial intelligence research facility to model real-time power, thermal, and mechanical performance.
www.jacobs.com
Jacobs entered a three-year software-as-a-service agreement with NVIDIA to deploy an operational digital twin for a large-scale artificial intelligence research and development facility in the United States. The system models high-density infrastructure behavior to support operational planning, cooling efficiency, and power distribution across accelerated computing environments.
Industrial Challenge in Accelerated Computing Infrastructure
High-performance computing and machine learning workloads generate non-linear power spikes and extreme thermal dissipation requirements. Managing these facilities requires real-time coordination between dynamic computational loads and mechanical cooling loops. Static engineering models fail to account for live variations in power draw, liquid cooling distribution, and equipment stress, creating operational risks in mission-critical digital infrastructure.
Technical Architecture and Operational Responsibilities
The Jacobs Data Center Digital Twin operates on NVIDIA Omniverse software libraries to construct a synchronized virtual representation of the physical facility. Jacobs integrates static computational engineering models, operational technology telemetry, and streaming building management data into a unified platform.
The software continuously aggregates live operational data across electrical, mechanical, and IT subsystems. By linking physical telemetry with physics-based simulation models, the platform calculates transient thermal loads and electrical demands across distinct compute clusters. NVIDIA provides the underlying simulation libraries and facility environment, while Jacobs delivers the software integration, systems engineering, and model deployment under the software-as-a-service framework.
Engineering Use Cases and Facility Integration
The platform provides operators with computational simulation tools to evaluate mechanical and electrical limits under varying compute loads. Specific functional capabilities include:
- Dynamic Power Load Balancing: Simulating computational distribution against electrical feeder capacities and substation constraints.
- Thermal and Leak Monitoring: Monitoring liquid cooling loops and sensor arrays to identify pressure drops and fluid containment risks.
- Energy Forecasting: Projecting facility power utilization effectiveness based on scheduled training workloads and external ambient temperatures.
- Predictive Maintenance: Identifying anomalous vibration, heat generation, or pressure signatures in critical pump and chiller infrastructure before component degradation occurs.
- Operational Simulation: Enabling personnel to run offline failure scenarios and system modifications without exposing physical hardware to downtime.
Autonomous Infrastructure Optimization
The integration establishes a foundation for predictive building management systems. By processing streaming operational telemetry, the platform supports software agents that model automated responses to sudden workload fluctuations, shifting cooling resources dynamically to match server rack heat dissipation.
“Jacobs is integrating real-time data and simulation technologies to help NVIDIA advance the next generation of AI infrastructure management,” said Amer Battikhi, Executive Vice President at Jacobs. “Operators need smarter and more connected ways to optimize performance and manage energy demand, while improving resiliency.”
The implementation demonstrates the application of real-time simulation platforms for complex industrial automation, shifting facility maintenance from scheduled physical inspections to parameter-driven algorithmic monitoring.
Edited by Evgeny Churilov, Induportals Media - Adapted by AI.
www.jacobs.com
The integration establishes a foundation for predictive building management systems. By processing streaming operational telemetry, the platform supports software agents that model automated responses to sudden workload fluctuations, shifting cooling resources dynamically to match server rack heat dissipation.
“Jacobs is integrating real-time data and simulation technologies to help NVIDIA advance the next generation of AI infrastructure management,” said Amer Battikhi, Executive Vice President at Jacobs. “Operators need smarter and more connected ways to optimize performance and manage energy demand, while improving resiliency.”
The implementation demonstrates the application of real-time simulation platforms for complex industrial automation, shifting facility maintenance from scheduled physical inspections to parameter-driven algorithmic monitoring.
Edited by Evgeny Churilov, Induportals Media - Adapted by AI.
www.jacobs.com
