Equipment catalogue

What Qing knows how to buy — and what it will refuse to

categories
1478
freely routable
1283
no export gate on the item itself
classify before outreach
141
control depends on measured parameters
never routed
42
advanced-computing ECCNs

42 categories are refused at the catalogue, not escalated

A PRC-incorporated entity cannot lawfully be the seller of an advanced-computing item (ECCN 3A090 / 4A090) to any destination worldwide, non-US manufacture does not escape the Foreign Direct Product Rule, and every credible PRC accelerator vendor is Entity Listed. Qing refuses at the catalogue rather than opening a conversation and escalating, because the conversation itself creates a record. See the compliance perimeter →

12 near-duplicate pairs need curating — they are why a matched requirement sometimes comes back ambiguous

The importer collapses pure reorderings and empty qualifiers automatically. It will not decide whether “(x86)” distinguishes a product — that depends on whether an ARM variant exists, and guessing wrong destroys a real distinction. These are left for a human.

  • 1.001U dual-socket rack server (x86)↔2U dual-socket rack server (x86)
  • 1.001U tool-less ball-bearing slide rail kit↔2U tool-less ball-bearing slide rail kit
  • 1.00Active optical cable (AOC), 400G/800G↔Active optical cable (AOC), 400G/800G, 3-30 m
  • 1.00Cable management arm (CMA) 1U/2U↔Cable management arm (CMA)
  • 1.00Enterprise NVMe SSD, U.2/E1.S/E3.S, 3.84-30.72 TB↔Enterprise NVMe SSD, E3.S
  • 1.00Enterprise NVMe SSD, U.2/U.3↔Enterprise NVMe SSD, U.2/E1.S/E3.S, 3.84-30.72 TB
  • 1.00Enterprise NVMe SSD, U.2/U.3↔Enterprise NVMe SSD, E3.S
  • 1.00General-purpose 2U dual-socket rack server↔1U dual-socket rack server
  • 1.00High-capacity QLC NVMe SSD↔E1.L NVMe QLC high-capacity SSD
  • 1.00Type 2 surge protective device↔Surge protective device, Type 1+2 and Type 2
  • 0.88Rear-door heat exchanger, active (fan-assisted)↔Rear-door heat exchanger, active (fan-assisted), 60-100 kW
  • 0.88Single-phase immersion dielectric fluid, synthetic ester base↔Single-phase immersion dielectric fluid (synthetic hydrocarbon / ester)
All 1478Cooling 296Power 270IT hardware 240Facility systems 212White space 198Optics & cabling 111Compute 72Consumables 49Prefabricated 30

Prefabricated

Each carries the questions that make two quotes comparable, and the traps specific to it

showing 30
  • 20ft ISO all-in-one containerised data centre, air-cooled20尺一体化集装箱数据中心（风冷）
    PrefabricatedHS 9406.90 / 9406.90 / 0030contestedper setCN supply: dominant
    unrestricted
    3 questions ready3 of them decide comparabilitysee the question set →
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • Cooling sized at 25 °C, not at your real ambient. Chinese vendors habitually publish nominal cooling capacity at benign conditions. A DX in-row unit rated 40 kW at 35 °C outdoor may deliver 26–30 kW at 48 °C in the Gulf, and its condenser may trip on high pressure entirely. Demand the capacity table at YOUR site design ambient (dry bulb and wet bulb, 0.4% ASHRAE annual percentile), and make the derated figure the contractual number.
    • 'IP55' that is IP55 only on the shell. Aipu-Waton's own literature confirms IP65 is a customisation, not a default. Louvres, cable entries, condenser openings and door seals are where ingress actually happens. In sandstorm or coastal environments specify the filtration class (G4/F7), the coating system (C5-M per ISO 12944 for marine), and require an ingress test report on the assembled unit, not a component certificate.
    • No UL 2755 certification for a North American destination. UL 2755:2025 is the Outline of Investigation that US and Canadian AHJs now reference for prefabricated modular data centre systems. Almost no Chinese factory holds it as standard, and obtaining it retrospectively means factory inspection plus rework. Ask for the certificate number and the certifying body (UL Solutions, Intertek or CSA) before, not after, the PO.
    • Component CE certificates presented as an assembly CE mark. There is no unitary CE mark for a modular data centre. What is required is a technical file combining LVD, EMC, Machinery Directive (for moving parts), pressure equipment (for the cooling circuit), and construction product evidence for the enclosure, plus a Declaration of Conformity naming the assembly. A folder of supplier CE certificates for the UPS and the AC unit is not that.
    • Standards mismatch that voids your local design code. GB 50174-2017 explicitly excludes outdoor container-based facilities from its scope. If a supplier cites GB 50174 compliance for a container product, they are citing the wrong standard — the applicable Chinese document is GB/T 36448-2018, with GB/T 1413 and GB/T 5338 for the box itself. Neither maps cleanly onto EN 50600 or the Uptime Institute Tier system, and a container is very hard to certify as Tier III concurrently maintainable.
    • Rated payload exceeded, silently. A 40HQ has a rated payload around 26–28 t. A fully fitted 40ft data centre with racks, UPS, batteries, transformer and a filled liquid loop routinely exceeds it. The unit then cannot be stowed as ordinary FCL, cannot be lifted by standard terminal equipment, and cannot legally travel on many roads. Get the weight certificate — dry, and wet-and-populated — in writing before booking freight.
    • Out-of-gauge cargo discovered after signing. Anything wider than 2438 mm or taller than 2896 mm is out-of-gauge: flat-rack or breakbulk stowage, special handling, route survey, escorts and permits. Huawei's FusionDC1000B core module at 3600 mm high is already in this category. On difficult inland routes the freight and permit cost can approach the module price. Establish the transport envelope before the technical spec is frozen.
  • 40ft/40HQ ISO containerised data centre, air-cooled in-row40尺/40HQ集装箱数据中心（列间风冷）
    PrefabricatedHS 9406.90per setCN supply: dominant
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • Cooling sized at 25 °C, not at your real ambient. Chinese vendors habitually publish nominal cooling capacity at benign conditions. A DX in-row unit rated 40 kW at 35 °C outdoor may deliver 26–30 kW at 48 °C in the Gulf, and its condenser may trip on high pressure entirely. Demand the capacity table at YOUR site design ambient (dry bulb and wet bulb, 0.4% ASHRAE annual percentile), and make the derated figure the contractual number.
    • 'IP55' that is IP55 only on the shell. Aipu-Waton's own literature confirms IP65 is a customisation, not a default. Louvres, cable entries, condenser openings and door seals are where ingress actually happens. In sandstorm or coastal environments specify the filtration class (G4/F7), the coating system (C5-M per ISO 12944 for marine), and require an ingress test report on the assembled unit, not a component certificate.
    • No UL 2755 certification for a North American destination. UL 2755:2025 is the Outline of Investigation that US and Canadian AHJs now reference for prefabricated modular data centre systems. Almost no Chinese factory holds it as standard, and obtaining it retrospectively means factory inspection plus rework. Ask for the certificate number and the certifying body (UL Solutions, Intertek or CSA) before, not after, the PO.
    • Component CE certificates presented as an assembly CE mark. There is no unitary CE mark for a modular data centre. What is required is a technical file combining LVD, EMC, Machinery Directive (for moving parts), pressure equipment (for the cooling circuit), and construction product evidence for the enclosure, plus a Declaration of Conformity naming the assembly. A folder of supplier CE certificates for the UPS and the AC unit is not that.
    • Standards mismatch that voids your local design code. GB 50174-2017 explicitly excludes outdoor container-based facilities from its scope. If a supplier cites GB 50174 compliance for a container product, they are citing the wrong standard — the applicable Chinese document is GB/T 36448-2018, with GB/T 1413 and GB/T 5338 for the box itself. Neither maps cleanly onto EN 50600 or the Uptime Institute Tier system, and a container is very hard to certify as Tier III concurrently maintainable.
    • Rated payload exceeded, silently. A 40HQ has a rated payload around 26–28 t. A fully fitted 40ft data centre with racks, UPS, batteries, transformer and a filled liquid loop routinely exceeds it. The unit then cannot be stowed as ordinary FCL, cannot be lifted by standard terminal equipment, and cannot legally travel on many roads. Get the weight certificate — dry, and wet-and-populated — in writing before booking freight.
    • Out-of-gauge cargo discovered after signing. Anything wider than 2438 mm or taller than 2896 mm is out-of-gauge: flat-rack or breakbulk stowage, special handling, route survey, escorts and permits. Huawei's FusionDC1000B core module at 3600 mm high is already in this category. On difficult inland routes the freight and permit cost can approach the module price. Establish the transport envelope before the technical spec is frozen.
  • 40ft cold-plate liquid-cooled AI/GPU container40尺冷板式液冷AI算力集装箱/方舱
    PrefabricatedHS 9406.90 / 8419.50 / 8418.69contestedper setCN supply: strong
    classify first

    The compute itself (NVIDIA GB200/GB300 class) is US-controlled and is never included. Quote covers the empty thermal/electrical envelope only.

    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • Cooling sized at 25 °C, not at your real ambient. Chinese vendors habitually publish nominal cooling capacity at benign conditions. A DX in-row unit rated 40 kW at 35 °C outdoor may deliver 26–30 kW at 48 °C in the Gulf, and its condenser may trip on high pressure entirely. Demand the capacity table at YOUR site design ambient (dry bulb and wet bulb, 0.4% ASHRAE annual percentile), and make the derated figure the contractual number.
    • 'IP55' that is IP55 only on the shell. Aipu-Waton's own literature confirms IP65 is a customisation, not a default. Louvres, cable entries, condenser openings and door seals are where ingress actually happens. In sandstorm or coastal environments specify the filtration class (G4/F7), the coating system (C5-M per ISO 12944 for marine), and require an ingress test report on the assembled unit, not a component certificate.
    • No UL 2755 certification for a North American destination. UL 2755:2025 is the Outline of Investigation that US and Canadian AHJs now reference for prefabricated modular data centre systems. Almost no Chinese factory holds it as standard, and obtaining it retrospectively means factory inspection plus rework. Ask for the certificate number and the certifying body (UL Solutions, Intertek or CSA) before, not after, the PO.
    • Component CE certificates presented as an assembly CE mark. There is no unitary CE mark for a modular data centre. What is required is a technical file combining LVD, EMC, Machinery Directive (for moving parts), pressure equipment (for the cooling circuit), and construction product evidence for the enclosure, plus a Declaration of Conformity naming the assembly. A folder of supplier CE certificates for the UPS and the AC unit is not that.
    • Standards mismatch that voids your local design code. GB 50174-2017 explicitly excludes outdoor container-based facilities from its scope. If a supplier cites GB 50174 compliance for a container product, they are citing the wrong standard — the applicable Chinese document is GB/T 36448-2018, with GB/T 1413 and GB/T 5338 for the box itself. Neither maps cleanly onto EN 50600 or the Uptime Institute Tier system, and a container is very hard to certify as Tier III concurrently maintainable.
    • Rated payload exceeded, silently. A 40HQ has a rated payload around 26–28 t. A fully fitted 40ft data centre with racks, UPS, batteries, transformer and a filled liquid loop routinely exceeds it. The unit then cannot be stowed as ordinary FCL, cannot be lifted by standard terminal equipment, and cannot legally travel on many roads. Get the weight certificate — dry, and wet-and-populated — in writing before booking freight.
    • Out-of-gauge cargo discovered after signing. Anything wider than 2438 mm or taller than 2896 mm is out-of-gauge: flat-rack or breakbulk stowage, special handling, route survey, escorts and permits. Huawei's FusionDC1000B core module at 3600 mm high is already in this category. On difficult inland routes the freight and permit cost can approach the module price. Establish the transport envelope before the technical spec is frozen.
  • 40ft single-phase immersion liquid cooling container40尺单相浸没式液冷集装箱
    PrefabricatedHS 9406.90per setCN supply: strong
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • Cooling sized at 25 °C, not at your real ambient. Chinese vendors habitually publish nominal cooling capacity at benign conditions. A DX in-row unit rated 40 kW at 35 °C outdoor may deliver 26–30 kW at 48 °C in the Gulf, and its condenser may trip on high pressure entirely. Demand the capacity table at YOUR site design ambient (dry bulb and wet bulb, 0.4% ASHRAE annual percentile), and make the derated figure the contractual number.
    • 'IP55' that is IP55 only on the shell. Aipu-Waton's own literature confirms IP65 is a customisation, not a default. Louvres, cable entries, condenser openings and door seals are where ingress actually happens. In sandstorm or coastal environments specify the filtration class (G4/F7), the coating system (C5-M per ISO 12944 for marine), and require an ingress test report on the assembled unit, not a component certificate.
    • No UL 2755 certification for a North American destination. UL 2755:2025 is the Outline of Investigation that US and Canadian AHJs now reference for prefabricated modular data centre systems. Almost no Chinese factory holds it as standard, and obtaining it retrospectively means factory inspection plus rework. Ask for the certificate number and the certifying body (UL Solutions, Intertek or CSA) before, not after, the PO.
    • Component CE certificates presented as an assembly CE mark. There is no unitary CE mark for a modular data centre. What is required is a technical file combining LVD, EMC, Machinery Directive (for moving parts), pressure equipment (for the cooling circuit), and construction product evidence for the enclosure, plus a Declaration of Conformity naming the assembly. A folder of supplier CE certificates for the UPS and the AC unit is not that.
    • Standards mismatch that voids your local design code. GB 50174-2017 explicitly excludes outdoor container-based facilities from its scope. If a supplier cites GB 50174 compliance for a container product, they are citing the wrong standard — the applicable Chinese document is GB/T 36448-2018, with GB/T 1413 and GB/T 5338 for the box itself. Neither maps cleanly onto EN 50600 or the Uptime Institute Tier system, and a container is very hard to certify as Tier III concurrently maintainable.
    • Rated payload exceeded, silently. A 40HQ has a rated payload around 26–28 t. A fully fitted 40ft data centre with racks, UPS, batteries, transformer and a filled liquid loop routinely exceeds it. The unit then cannot be stowed as ordinary FCL, cannot be lifted by standard terminal equipment, and cannot legally travel on many roads. Get the weight certificate — dry, and wet-and-populated — in writing before booking freight.
    • Out-of-gauge cargo discovered after signing. Anything wider than 2438 mm or taller than 2896 mm is out-of-gauge: flat-rack or breakbulk stowage, special handling, route survey, escorts and permits. Huawei's FusionDC1000B core module at 3600 mm high is already in this category. On difficult inland routes the freight and permit cost can approach the module price. Establish the transport envelope before the technical spec is frozen.
  • 40ft two-phase / phase-change immersion container40尺两相/相变浸没式液冷集装箱
    PrefabricatedHS 9406.90per setCN supply: moderate
    classify first

    Fluid supply is the binding constraint — see fluorinated fluid item. PFAS restriction in EU/UK makes this a poor choice for European destinations.

    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • Cooling sized at 25 °C, not at your real ambient. Chinese vendors habitually publish nominal cooling capacity at benign conditions. A DX in-row unit rated 40 kW at 35 °C outdoor may deliver 26–30 kW at 48 °C in the Gulf, and its condenser may trip on high pressure entirely. Demand the capacity table at YOUR site design ambient (dry bulb and wet bulb, 0.4% ASHRAE annual percentile), and make the derated figure the contractual number.
    • 'IP55' that is IP55 only on the shell. Aipu-Waton's own literature confirms IP65 is a customisation, not a default. Louvres, cable entries, condenser openings and door seals are where ingress actually happens. In sandstorm or coastal environments specify the filtration class (G4/F7), the coating system (C5-M per ISO 12944 for marine), and require an ingress test report on the assembled unit, not a component certificate.
    • No UL 2755 certification for a North American destination. UL 2755:2025 is the Outline of Investigation that US and Canadian AHJs now reference for prefabricated modular data centre systems. Almost no Chinese factory holds it as standard, and obtaining it retrospectively means factory inspection plus rework. Ask for the certificate number and the certifying body (UL Solutions, Intertek or CSA) before, not after, the PO.
    • Component CE certificates presented as an assembly CE mark. There is no unitary CE mark for a modular data centre. What is required is a technical file combining LVD, EMC, Machinery Directive (for moving parts), pressure equipment (for the cooling circuit), and construction product evidence for the enclosure, plus a Declaration of Conformity naming the assembly. A folder of supplier CE certificates for the UPS and the AC unit is not that.
    • Standards mismatch that voids your local design code. GB 50174-2017 explicitly excludes outdoor container-based facilities from its scope. If a supplier cites GB 50174 compliance for a container product, they are citing the wrong standard — the applicable Chinese document is GB/T 36448-2018, with GB/T 1413 and GB/T 5338 for the box itself. Neither maps cleanly onto EN 50600 or the Uptime Institute Tier system, and a container is very hard to certify as Tier III concurrently maintainable.
    • Rated payload exceeded, silently. A 40HQ has a rated payload around 26–28 t. A fully fitted 40ft data centre with racks, UPS, batteries, transformer and a filled liquid loop routinely exceeds it. The unit then cannot be stowed as ordinary FCL, cannot be lifted by standard terminal equipment, and cannot legally travel on many roads. Get the weight certificate — dry, and wet-and-populated — in writing before booking freight.
    • Out-of-gauge cargo discovered after signing. Anything wider than 2438 mm or taller than 2896 mm is out-of-gauge: flat-rack or breakbulk stowage, special handling, route survey, escorts and permits. Huawei's FusionDC1000B core module at 3600 mm high is already in this category. On difficult inland routes the freight and permit cost can approach the module price. Establish the transport envelope before the technical spec is frozen.
  • 40HQ high-density containerised data centre with rear-door heat exchangers40HQ高密度集装箱数据中心（背板/后门换热）
    PrefabricatedHS 9406.90per setCN supply: strong
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • Cooling sized at 25 °C, not at your real ambient. Chinese vendors habitually publish nominal cooling capacity at benign conditions. A DX in-row unit rated 40 kW at 35 °C outdoor may deliver 26–30 kW at 48 °C in the Gulf, and its condenser may trip on high pressure entirely. Demand the capacity table at YOUR site design ambient (dry bulb and wet bulb, 0.4% ASHRAE annual percentile), and make the derated figure the contractual number.
    • 'IP55' that is IP55 only on the shell. Aipu-Waton's own literature confirms IP65 is a customisation, not a default. Louvres, cable entries, condenser openings and door seals are where ingress actually happens. In sandstorm or coastal environments specify the filtration class (G4/F7), the coating system (C5-M per ISO 12944 for marine), and require an ingress test report on the assembled unit, not a component certificate.
    • No UL 2755 certification for a North American destination. UL 2755:2025 is the Outline of Investigation that US and Canadian AHJs now reference for prefabricated modular data centre systems. Almost no Chinese factory holds it as standard, and obtaining it retrospectively means factory inspection plus rework. Ask for the certificate number and the certifying body (UL Solutions, Intertek or CSA) before, not after, the PO.
    • Component CE certificates presented as an assembly CE mark. There is no unitary CE mark for a modular data centre. What is required is a technical file combining LVD, EMC, Machinery Directive (for moving parts), pressure equipment (for the cooling circuit), and construction product evidence for the enclosure, plus a Declaration of Conformity naming the assembly. A folder of supplier CE certificates for the UPS and the AC unit is not that.
    • Standards mismatch that voids your local design code. GB 50174-2017 explicitly excludes outdoor container-based facilities from its scope. If a supplier cites GB 50174 compliance for a container product, they are citing the wrong standard — the applicable Chinese document is GB/T 36448-2018, with GB/T 1413 and GB/T 5338 for the box itself. Neither maps cleanly onto EN 50600 or the Uptime Institute Tier system, and a container is very hard to certify as Tier III concurrently maintainable.
    • Rated payload exceeded, silently. A 40HQ has a rated payload around 26–28 t. A fully fitted 40ft data centre with racks, UPS, batteries, transformer and a filled liquid loop routinely exceeds it. The unit then cannot be stowed as ordinary FCL, cannot be lifted by standard terminal equipment, and cannot legally travel on many roads. Get the weight certificate — dry, and wet-and-populated — in writing before booking freight.
    • Out-of-gauge cargo discovered after signing. Anything wider than 2438 mm or taller than 2896 mm is out-of-gauge: flat-rack or breakbulk stowage, special handling, route survey, escorts and permits. Huawei's FusionDC1000B core module at 3600 mm high is already in this category. On difficult inland routes the freight and permit cost can approach the module price. Establish the transport envelope before the technical spec is frozen.
  • All-in-one edge cabinet (single-rack micro data centre)一体化边缘机柜 / 单柜微模块
    PrefabricatedHS 8471.90 / 9403.20contestedper cabinetCN supply: dominant
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • Cooling sized at 25 °C, not at your real ambient. Chinese vendors habitually publish nominal cooling capacity at benign conditions. A DX in-row unit rated 40 kW at 35 °C outdoor may deliver 26–30 kW at 48 °C in the Gulf, and its condenser may trip on high pressure entirely. Demand the capacity table at YOUR site design ambient (dry bulb and wet bulb, 0.4% ASHRAE annual percentile), and make the derated figure the contractual number.
    • 'IP55' that is IP55 only on the shell. Aipu-Waton's own literature confirms IP65 is a customisation, not a default. Louvres, cable entries, condenser openings and door seals are where ingress actually happens. In sandstorm or coastal environments specify the filtration class (G4/F7), the coating system (C5-M per ISO 12944 for marine), and require an ingress test report on the assembled unit, not a component certificate.
    • No UL 2755 certification for a North American destination. UL 2755:2025 is the Outline of Investigation that US and Canadian AHJs now reference for prefabricated modular data centre systems. Almost no Chinese factory holds it as standard, and obtaining it retrospectively means factory inspection plus rework. Ask for the certificate number and the certifying body (UL Solutions, Intertek or CSA) before, not after, the PO.
    • Component CE certificates presented as an assembly CE mark. There is no unitary CE mark for a modular data centre. What is required is a technical file combining LVD, EMC, Machinery Directive (for moving parts), pressure equipment (for the cooling circuit), and construction product evidence for the enclosure, plus a Declaration of Conformity naming the assembly. A folder of supplier CE certificates for the UPS and the AC unit is not that.
    • Standards mismatch that voids your local design code. GB 50174-2017 explicitly excludes outdoor container-based facilities from its scope. If a supplier cites GB 50174 compliance for a container product, they are citing the wrong standard — the applicable Chinese document is GB/T 36448-2018, with GB/T 1413 and GB/T 5338 for the box itself. Neither maps cleanly onto EN 50600 or the Uptime Institute Tier system, and a container is very hard to certify as Tier III concurrently maintainable.
    • Rated payload exceeded, silently. A 40HQ has a rated payload around 26–28 t. A fully fitted 40ft data centre with racks, UPS, batteries, transformer and a filled liquid loop routinely exceeds it. The unit then cannot be stowed as ordinary FCL, cannot be lifted by standard terminal equipment, and cannot legally travel on many roads. Get the weight certificate — dry, and wet-and-populated — in writing before booking freight.
    • Out-of-gauge cargo discovered after signing. Anything wider than 2438 mm or taller than 2896 mm is out-of-gauge: flat-rack or breakbulk stowage, special handling, route survey, escorts and permits. Huawei's FusionDC1000B core module at 3600 mm high is already in this category. On difficult inland routes the freight and permit cost can approach the module price. Establish the transport envelope before the technical spec is frozen.
  • Commissioning, integrated systems test (IST), documentation and training package调试 / 整体系统测试 / 文档与培训服务
    Prefabricatedper lotCN supply: moderate
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • The 'manufacturer' that is a trading company. On Alibaba and Made-in-China this is the default state for racks, containment, rack PDUs, cabling and small cooling accessories. The distinguishing evidence: (a) 经营范围 in the business licence says 销售/贸易 but not 生产; (b) the 'factory address' equals the registered office and is in an office tower, not an industrial park; (c) no 生产许可 or product certification is held in the seller's own name — certificates show a different company; (d) they are not in any CIOE/China Refrigeration/CDCC exhibitor list; (e) they quote across five unrelated categories. Always cross-check the 统一社会信用代码 on gsxt.gov.cn.
    • The reverse trap: assuming a trader is always bad. For a 20-line mixed BOM, a competent Guangdong trading company is often the only party that will handle consolidation, export documentation and one invoice. The trap is paying manufacturer margins for trader service, or letting the trader hide who actually made the goods so warranty has no counterparty.
    • Cooling capacity quoted at undeclared conditions. A '100 kW' CRAH at 15/21C chilled water is a different machine from a '100 kW' CRAH at 12/18C, and a '35 kW' passive rear door at 12C water is not the same product as one at 18C. Chinese quotes routinely omit the conditions and Western buyers routinely compare the headline number.
    • CDU kW ratings with only one loop temperature. A CDU is defined by primary in, primary out, secondary in, secondary out and both flow rates. A single number is not a specification and cannot be compared across vendors.
    • Residual air heat in liquid-cooled racks. Vendors state '90% heat captured to liquid' and buyers size the room for 10%. In practice the uncaptured fraction is often 15-25% under real workloads, and a 120 kW rack then dumps 25 kW into a hall designed for 12. Ask for kW of residual air heat per chassis, in writing.
    • Filled floor loading for immersion tanks. A filled immersion tank can exceed 2,000 kg/m2. Chinese quotes give the dry weight. The building, not the tank, is what fails.
    • Aluminium substituted for copper in busbar, busway and switchgear. It is legal, it meets the current rating, and it is not what the buyer priced. Specify conductor material and cross-section, and weigh a sample on arrival.
  • Containerised data centre, 20ft/40ft, air or liquid cooled集装箱数据中心 20尺/40尺
    PrefabricatedHS 9406.90per unitCN supply: dominant
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • Capacity quoted without an approach temperature. This is the single biggest trap in CDU sourcing. A CDU rated '800 kW' at a 5 K approach may deliver only 500-550 kW at the 3 K approach your design actually needs. Two quotes are not comparable until both state the approach.
    • Air-cooling capacity quoted at a 35C return-air temperature. Chinese precision-AC datasheets commonly use a warmer return condition than Western practice, which inflates the sensible kW by 20-30%. Always restate the capacity at your own hall condition.
    • Sensible versus total cooling capacity. A total-cooling number includes latent capacity you will never use in a data centre. Insist on sensible-only.
    • Pump curves given on water at 20C when the fluid is 25% glycol at 45C. The viscosity penalty is real and vendors rarely volunteer the corrected curve. Your flow will be short and nobody will know why until commissioning.
    • 'Supports Modbus' with no register map supplied. This is near-universal among Chinese CDU vendors and it strands the DCIM integration for months. Make the documented register map, BACnet object list and SNMP MIB explicit PO deliverables with payment tied to them.
    • Filter micron ratings quoted as nominal, not absolute. A 50-micron nominal filter passes particles that block a 0.3 mm microchannel cold plate. Specify absolute and demand the beta ratio.
    • Coolant sold as concentrate and diluted on site with local tap water. This destroys the inhibitor package, introduces chlorides and hardness, and is the most common root cause of first-year corrosion in Chinese liquid-cooling installations. Buy premixed with DI water, in sealed IBCs.
  • Containerised data centre, 20ft or 40ft集装箱数据中心 20尺/40尺
    PrefabricatedHS 8609.00per containerCN supply: dominant
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • The 'manufacturer' that is a trading company. On Alibaba and Made-in-China this is the default state for racks, containment, rack PDUs, cabling and small cooling accessories. The distinguishing evidence: (a) 经营范围 in the business licence says 销售/贸易 but not 生产; (b) the 'factory address' equals the registered office and is in an office tower, not an industrial park; (c) no 生产许可 or product certification is held in the seller's own name — certificates show a different company; (d) they are not in any CIOE/China Refrigeration/CDCC exhibitor list; (e) they quote across five unrelated categories. Always cross-check the 统一社会信用代码 on gsxt.gov.cn.
    • The reverse trap: assuming a trader is always bad. For a 20-line mixed BOM, a competent Guangdong trading company is often the only party that will handle consolidation, export documentation and one invoice. The trap is paying manufacturer margins for trader service, or letting the trader hide who actually made the goods so warranty has no counterparty.
    • Cooling capacity quoted at undeclared conditions. A '100 kW' CRAH at 15/21C chilled water is a different machine from a '100 kW' CRAH at 12/18C, and a '35 kW' passive rear door at 12C water is not the same product as one at 18C. Chinese quotes routinely omit the conditions and Western buyers routinely compare the headline number.
    • CDU kW ratings with only one loop temperature. A CDU is defined by primary in, primary out, secondary in, secondary out and both flow rates. A single number is not a specification and cannot be compared across vendors.
    • Residual air heat in liquid-cooled racks. Vendors state '90% heat captured to liquid' and buyers size the room for 10%. In practice the uncaptured fraction is often 15-25% under real workloads, and a 120 kW rack then dumps 25 kW into a hall designed for 12. Ask for kW of residual air heat per chassis, in writing.
    • Filled floor loading for immersion tanks. A filled immersion tank can exceed 2,000 kg/m2. Chinese quotes give the dry weight. The building, not the tank, is what fails.
    • Aluminium substituted for copper in busbar, busway and switchgear. It is legal, it meets the current rating, and it is not what the buyer priced. Specify conductor material and cross-section, and weigh a sample on arrival.
  • Containerised network / meet-me-room module集装箱式网络舱/MMR舱
    PrefabricatedHS 9406.90per moduleCN supply: dominant
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • Cooling sized at 25 °C, not at your real ambient. Chinese vendors habitually publish nominal cooling capacity at benign conditions. A DX in-row unit rated 40 kW at 35 °C outdoor may deliver 26–30 kW at 48 °C in the Gulf, and its condenser may trip on high pressure entirely. Demand the capacity table at YOUR site design ambient (dry bulb and wet bulb, 0.4% ASHRAE annual percentile), and make the derated figure the contractual number.
    • 'IP55' that is IP55 only on the shell. Aipu-Waton's own literature confirms IP65 is a customisation, not a default. Louvres, cable entries, condenser openings and door seals are where ingress actually happens. In sandstorm or coastal environments specify the filtration class (G4/F7), the coating system (C5-M per ISO 12944 for marine), and require an ingress test report on the assembled unit, not a component certificate.
    • No UL 2755 certification for a North American destination. UL 2755:2025 is the Outline of Investigation that US and Canadian AHJs now reference for prefabricated modular data centre systems. Almost no Chinese factory holds it as standard, and obtaining it retrospectively means factory inspection plus rework. Ask for the certificate number and the certifying body (UL Solutions, Intertek or CSA) before, not after, the PO.
    • Component CE certificates presented as an assembly CE mark. There is no unitary CE mark for a modular data centre. What is required is a technical file combining LVD, EMC, Machinery Directive (for moving parts), pressure equipment (for the cooling circuit), and construction product evidence for the enclosure, plus a Declaration of Conformity naming the assembly. A folder of supplier CE certificates for the UPS and the AC unit is not that.
    • Standards mismatch that voids your local design code. GB 50174-2017 explicitly excludes outdoor container-based facilities from its scope. If a supplier cites GB 50174 compliance for a container product, they are citing the wrong standard — the applicable Chinese document is GB/T 36448-2018, with GB/T 1413 and GB/T 5338 for the box itself. Neither maps cleanly onto EN 50600 or the Uptime Institute Tier system, and a container is very hard to certify as Tier III concurrently maintainable.
    • Rated payload exceeded, silently. A 40HQ has a rated payload around 26–28 t. A fully fitted 40ft data centre with racks, UPS, batteries, transformer and a filled liquid loop routinely exceeds it. The unit then cannot be stowed as ordinary FCL, cannot be lifted by standard terminal equipment, and cannot legally travel on many roads. Get the weight certificate — dry, and wet-and-populated — in writing before booking freight.
    • Out-of-gauge cargo discovered after signing. Anything wider than 2438 mm or taller than 2896 mm is out-of-gauge: flat-rack or breakbulk stowage, special handling, route survey, escorts and permits. Huawei's FusionDC1000B core module at 3600 mm high is already in this category. On difficult inland routes the freight and permit cost can approach the module price. Establish the transport envelope before the technical spec is frozen.
  • DDR5 data buffer (DB) / MDB for MRDIMMDDR5 数据缓冲器（DB/MDB）
    PrefabricatedHS 8542.39per pcCN supply: moderate
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • ES/QS samples sold as retail 散片. Intel states engineering samples remain Intel property, are supplied under NDA or special loan terms, and are not for sale or resale. Identification: no brand string or base-frequency marking on the IHS, an 'Intel Confidential' label, or a four/five-digit Q-spec where a production part carries a five-digit S-spec. ES 不显 parts show 0000 in CPU-Z; ES 正显 and QS parts display correct strings and are the ones that actually fool buyers. QS is stepping-identical to retail and often perfectly stable — which is exactly why it is sold as retail. Neither carries warranty and neither can support an enterprise RMA obligation.
    • AMD Platform Secure Boot vendor lock. When PSB is enabled on an OEM platform, one-time fuses permanently bind the CPU to that vendor's BIOS signing key. A Dell-locked EPYC will not POST on a Supermicro or Gigabyte board, and the fusing is irreversible. A large share of cheap EPYC 7003/9004 secondary stock is locked, and the seller frequently does not know or does not say. Make it an explicit RFQ field and demand video proof of POST on a generic board.
    • Tray processors quoted with implied manufacturer warranty. Intel warrants boxed processors (typically three years, some one year); tray processors sold by resellers or system builders carry no Intel warranty at all — the only warranty is the reseller's. Chinese quotes for 散片 routinely say '原厂保三年' when the part is tray. Ask who honours the warranty by name.
    • 拆机 pulls sold as new. Decommissioned hyperscaler and enterprise fleets feed an enormous pull market in both CPUs and DIMMs. The parts are often genuine and often fine — the fraud is grade misrepresentation. Tells: contact-pad wear or discoloration on the CPU underside, cured thermal compound residue, missing carrier clips, loose ESD bagging instead of manufacturer trays, and wide manufacture-date spread across a single lot.
    • Label-vs-SPD mismatch on DDR5 modules. Counterfeiters batch-print thousands of identical labels with the same serial number but cannot rewrite the serial stored in each module's SPD hub. If the software-read serial differs from the printed one, the module is counterfeit. CRC errors, 'Generic' or 'Unknown' manufacturer fields, or SPD parameters that contradict the claimed speed bin all indicate crude SPD tampering.
    • Ground-off and remarked DRAM dies. A common construction is server-decommissioned downgraded chips or cheap clone dies with original markings ground away and a counterfeit vendor label applied. Defence: photograph the FBGA marking on the DRAM packages and run it through Micron's official FBGA decoder or SK hynix's part-number decoder, then confirm the resulting die matches the claimed module MPN and speed bin.
    • '128GB DDR5 RDIMM' hiding two different products. The same capacity is built either as 2Rx4 on 32Gb monolithic dies or as 4Rx4 TSV 3DS. They differ in price, achievable speed, channel loading and platform support. A quote that states only capacity and speed is not comparable to another quote of the same nominal spec.
  • DDR5 module PMIC and SPD hubDDR5 内存条电源管理芯片与 SPD Hub
    PrefabricatedHS 8542.39per pcCN supply: moderate
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • ES/QS samples sold as retail 散片. Intel states engineering samples remain Intel property, are supplied under NDA or special loan terms, and are not for sale or resale. Identification: no brand string or base-frequency marking on the IHS, an 'Intel Confidential' label, or a four/five-digit Q-spec where a production part carries a five-digit S-spec. ES 不显 parts show 0000 in CPU-Z; ES 正显 and QS parts display correct strings and are the ones that actually fool buyers. QS is stepping-identical to retail and often perfectly stable — which is exactly why it is sold as retail. Neither carries warranty and neither can support an enterprise RMA obligation.
    • AMD Platform Secure Boot vendor lock. When PSB is enabled on an OEM platform, one-time fuses permanently bind the CPU to that vendor's BIOS signing key. A Dell-locked EPYC will not POST on a Supermicro or Gigabyte board, and the fusing is irreversible. A large share of cheap EPYC 7003/9004 secondary stock is locked, and the seller frequently does not know or does not say. Make it an explicit RFQ field and demand video proof of POST on a generic board.
    • Tray processors quoted with implied manufacturer warranty. Intel warrants boxed processors (typically three years, some one year); tray processors sold by resellers or system builders carry no Intel warranty at all — the only warranty is the reseller's. Chinese quotes for 散片 routinely say '原厂保三年' when the part is tray. Ask who honours the warranty by name.
    • 拆机 pulls sold as new. Decommissioned hyperscaler and enterprise fleets feed an enormous pull market in both CPUs and DIMMs. The parts are often genuine and often fine — the fraud is grade misrepresentation. Tells: contact-pad wear or discoloration on the CPU underside, cured thermal compound residue, missing carrier clips, loose ESD bagging instead of manufacturer trays, and wide manufacture-date spread across a single lot.
    • Label-vs-SPD mismatch on DDR5 modules. Counterfeiters batch-print thousands of identical labels with the same serial number but cannot rewrite the serial stored in each module's SPD hub. If the software-read serial differs from the printed one, the module is counterfeit. CRC errors, 'Generic' or 'Unknown' manufacturer fields, or SPD parameters that contradict the claimed speed bin all indicate crude SPD tampering.
    • Ground-off and remarked DRAM dies. A common construction is server-decommissioned downgraded chips or cheap clone dies with original markings ground away and a counterfeit vendor label applied. Defence: photograph the FBGA marking on the DRAM packages and run it through Micron's official FBGA decoder or SK hynix's part-number decoder, then confirm the resulting die matches the claimed module MPN and speed bin.
    • '128GB DDR5 RDIMM' hiding two different products. The same capacity is built either as 2Rx4 on 32Gb monolithic dies or as 4Rx4 TSV 3DS. They differ in price, achievable speed, channel loading and platform support. A quote that states only capacity and speed is not comparable to another quote of the same nominal spec.
  • DDR5 RCD / DB / SPD-hub / PMIC chipset (module BOM)DDR5内存接口芯片（RCD/DB/PMIC）
    PrefabricatedHS 8542.39per pcCN supply: strong
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • 'OEM' means the opposite of what you think. A Chinese seller saying OEM almost always means 代工/贴牌 — they will build or relabel to your spec, with no brand IP behind it. A Western buyer hears 'made by Dell/HPE'. Never accept the word; ask which factory designed the board and which built it, and get FCC ID / CMIIT ID and PCB silkscreen photos.
    • Engineering samples sold as production silicon. ES/QS CPUs are typically 30-50% below retail, carry no vendor warranty, and can be unstable in specific workloads. Intel states the S-spec is printed only on the IHS, that 'Intel Confidential' or a missing brand string identifies an ES, and that it may retain or destroy re-marked product. QS is nearer retail but is still a sample. Demand IHS photos and an ES/QS exclusion clause with lot-level return.
    • 拆机件 sold as new. Decommissioned DDR4 RDIMMs, RAID cards and drives are a huge, largely legitimate market — the fraud is the relabelling. Refurbishers are documented as resurfacing bad sectors, zeroing power-on hours and swapping model labels. Require original sealed packaging, single-lot date codes, and per-unit health logs.
    • SMART is not proof of a new drive. Commercial tools reset SMART attributes to factory defaults in one click. On Seagate drives the FARM log is a second, harder-to-scrub record: FARM hours exceeding SMART hours indicates tampering. On SSDs, firmware can misreport capacity and health outright, so a clean SMART page means very little.
    • Altered labels defeat verification portals. Scammers copy serials from newer drives onto old units and reprint QR codes so that vendor verification appears to pass. Verify serials yourself at the OEM portal (verify.seagate.com, cway.cisco.com/sncheck, Intel's FPO/ATPO lookup), and cross-check that the serial's warranty start date is consistent with a genuinely new unit.
    • Remarked memory. A DDR5-4800 module relabelled as 6400, or SK hynix dies under a Samsung label, is caught only by comparing three layers: printed module label, SPD dump, and the die markings on the chips themselves. Any disagreement across those three is disqualifying.
    • Vendor-locked parts that boot nowhere. AMD PSB-locked EPYCs, crossflashed RAID cards and OEM-keyed drives are common in pulled stock and are functionally worthless outside their original platform. Ask about lock status explicitly; a seller who does not understand the question is a reseller, not a builder.
  • DDR5 registering clock driver (RCD) / MRCDDDR5 寄存时钟驱动器（RCD/MRCD）
    PrefabricatedHS 8542.39per pcCN supply: moderate
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • ES/QS samples sold as retail 散片. Intel states engineering samples remain Intel property, are supplied under NDA or special loan terms, and are not for sale or resale. Identification: no brand string or base-frequency marking on the IHS, an 'Intel Confidential' label, or a four/five-digit Q-spec where a production part carries a five-digit S-spec. ES 不显 parts show 0000 in CPU-Z; ES 正显 and QS parts display correct strings and are the ones that actually fool buyers. QS is stepping-identical to retail and often perfectly stable — which is exactly why it is sold as retail. Neither carries warranty and neither can support an enterprise RMA obligation.
    • AMD Platform Secure Boot vendor lock. When PSB is enabled on an OEM platform, one-time fuses permanently bind the CPU to that vendor's BIOS signing key. A Dell-locked EPYC will not POST on a Supermicro or Gigabyte board, and the fusing is irreversible. A large share of cheap EPYC 7003/9004 secondary stock is locked, and the seller frequently does not know or does not say. Make it an explicit RFQ field and demand video proof of POST on a generic board.
    • Tray processors quoted with implied manufacturer warranty. Intel warrants boxed processors (typically three years, some one year); tray processors sold by resellers or system builders carry no Intel warranty at all — the only warranty is the reseller's. Chinese quotes for 散片 routinely say '原厂保三年' when the part is tray. Ask who honours the warranty by name.
    • 拆机 pulls sold as new. Decommissioned hyperscaler and enterprise fleets feed an enormous pull market in both CPUs and DIMMs. The parts are often genuine and often fine — the fraud is grade misrepresentation. Tells: contact-pad wear or discoloration on the CPU underside, cured thermal compound residue, missing carrier clips, loose ESD bagging instead of manufacturer trays, and wide manufacture-date spread across a single lot.
    • Label-vs-SPD mismatch on DDR5 modules. Counterfeiters batch-print thousands of identical labels with the same serial number but cannot rewrite the serial stored in each module's SPD hub. If the software-read serial differs from the printed one, the module is counterfeit. CRC errors, 'Generic' or 'Unknown' manufacturer fields, or SPD parameters that contradict the claimed speed bin all indicate crude SPD tampering.
    • Ground-off and remarked DRAM dies. A common construction is server-decommissioned downgraded chips or cheap clone dies with original markings ground away and a counterfeit vendor label applied. Defence: photograph the FBGA marking on the DRAM packages and run it through Micron's official FBGA decoder or SK hynix's part-number decoder, then confirm the resulting die matches the claimed module MPN and speed bin.
    • '128GB DDR5 RDIMM' hiding two different products. The same capacity is built either as 2Rx4 on 32Gb monolithic dies or as 4Rx4 TSV 3DS. They differ in price, achievable speed, channel loading and platform support. A quote that states only capacity and speed is not comparable to another quote of the same nominal spec.
  • Indoor micro-module, double row with cold-aisle containment (10–28 racks)双排微模块数据中心（封闭冷通道）
    PrefabricatedHS 9403.20 / 8471.90contestedper moduleCN supply: dominant
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • Cooling sized at 25 °C, not at your real ambient. Chinese vendors habitually publish nominal cooling capacity at benign conditions. A DX in-row unit rated 40 kW at 35 °C outdoor may deliver 26–30 kW at 48 °C in the Gulf, and its condenser may trip on high pressure entirely. Demand the capacity table at YOUR site design ambient (dry bulb and wet bulb, 0.4% ASHRAE annual percentile), and make the derated figure the contractual number.
    • 'IP55' that is IP55 only on the shell. Aipu-Waton's own literature confirms IP65 is a customisation, not a default. Louvres, cable entries, condenser openings and door seals are where ingress actually happens. In sandstorm or coastal environments specify the filtration class (G4/F7), the coating system (C5-M per ISO 12944 for marine), and require an ingress test report on the assembled unit, not a component certificate.
    • No UL 2755 certification for a North American destination. UL 2755:2025 is the Outline of Investigation that US and Canadian AHJs now reference for prefabricated modular data centre systems. Almost no Chinese factory holds it as standard, and obtaining it retrospectively means factory inspection plus rework. Ask for the certificate number and the certifying body (UL Solutions, Intertek or CSA) before, not after, the PO.
    • Component CE certificates presented as an assembly CE mark. There is no unitary CE mark for a modular data centre. What is required is a technical file combining LVD, EMC, Machinery Directive (for moving parts), pressure equipment (for the cooling circuit), and construction product evidence for the enclosure, plus a Declaration of Conformity naming the assembly. A folder of supplier CE certificates for the UPS and the AC unit is not that.
    • Standards mismatch that voids your local design code. GB 50174-2017 explicitly excludes outdoor container-based facilities from its scope. If a supplier cites GB 50174 compliance for a container product, they are citing the wrong standard — the applicable Chinese document is GB/T 36448-2018, with GB/T 1413 and GB/T 5338 for the box itself. Neither maps cleanly onto EN 50600 or the Uptime Institute Tier system, and a container is very hard to certify as Tier III concurrently maintainable.
    • Rated payload exceeded, silently. A 40HQ has a rated payload around 26–28 t. A fully fitted 40ft data centre with racks, UPS, batteries, transformer and a filled liquid loop routinely exceeds it. The unit then cannot be stowed as ordinary FCL, cannot be lifted by standard terminal equipment, and cannot legally travel on many roads. Get the weight certificate — dry, and wet-and-populated — in writing before booking freight.
    • Out-of-gauge cargo discovered after signing. Anything wider than 2438 mm or taller than 2896 mm is out-of-gauge: flat-rack or breakbulk stowage, special handling, route survey, escorts and permits. Huawei's FusionDC1000B core module at 3600 mm high is already in this category. On difficult inland routes the freight and permit cost can approach the module price. Establish the transport envelope before the technical spec is frozen.
  • Indoor micro-module, single row (5–10 racks)单排微模块数据中心
    PrefabricatedHS 9403.20 / 8471.90contestedper moduleCN supply: dominant
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • Cooling sized at 25 °C, not at your real ambient. Chinese vendors habitually publish nominal cooling capacity at benign conditions. A DX in-row unit rated 40 kW at 35 °C outdoor may deliver 26–30 kW at 48 °C in the Gulf, and its condenser may trip on high pressure entirely. Demand the capacity table at YOUR site design ambient (dry bulb and wet bulb, 0.4% ASHRAE annual percentile), and make the derated figure the contractual number.
    • 'IP55' that is IP55 only on the shell. Aipu-Waton's own literature confirms IP65 is a customisation, not a default. Louvres, cable entries, condenser openings and door seals are where ingress actually happens. In sandstorm or coastal environments specify the filtration class (G4/F7), the coating system (C5-M per ISO 12944 for marine), and require an ingress test report on the assembled unit, not a component certificate.
    • No UL 2755 certification for a North American destination. UL 2755:2025 is the Outline of Investigation that US and Canadian AHJs now reference for prefabricated modular data centre systems. Almost no Chinese factory holds it as standard, and obtaining it retrospectively means factory inspection plus rework. Ask for the certificate number and the certifying body (UL Solutions, Intertek or CSA) before, not after, the PO.
    • Component CE certificates presented as an assembly CE mark. There is no unitary CE mark for a modular data centre. What is required is a technical file combining LVD, EMC, Machinery Directive (for moving parts), pressure equipment (for the cooling circuit), and construction product evidence for the enclosure, plus a Declaration of Conformity naming the assembly. A folder of supplier CE certificates for the UPS and the AC unit is not that.
    • Standards mismatch that voids your local design code. GB 50174-2017 explicitly excludes outdoor container-based facilities from its scope. If a supplier cites GB 50174 compliance for a container product, they are citing the wrong standard — the applicable Chinese document is GB/T 36448-2018, with GB/T 1413 and GB/T 5338 for the box itself. Neither maps cleanly onto EN 50600 or the Uptime Institute Tier system, and a container is very hard to certify as Tier III concurrently maintainable.
    • Rated payload exceeded, silently. A 40HQ has a rated payload around 26–28 t. A fully fitted 40ft data centre with racks, UPS, batteries, transformer and a filled liquid loop routinely exceeds it. The unit then cannot be stowed as ordinary FCL, cannot be lifted by standard terminal equipment, and cannot legally travel on many roads. Get the weight certificate — dry, and wet-and-populated — in writing before booking freight.
    • Out-of-gauge cargo discovered after signing. Anything wider than 2438 mm or taller than 2896 mm is out-of-gauge: flat-rack or breakbulk stowage, special handling, route survey, escorts and permits. Huawei's FusionDC1000B core module at 3600 mm high is already in this category. On difficult inland routes the freight and permit cost can approach the module price. Establish the transport envelope before the technical spec is frozen.
  • Micro modular data centre, single or double row微模块数据中心（单排/双排）
    PrefabricatedHS 8537.10per moduleCN supply: dominant
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • The 'manufacturer' that is a trading company. On Alibaba and Made-in-China this is the default state for racks, containment, rack PDUs, cabling and small cooling accessories. The distinguishing evidence: (a) 经营范围 in the business licence says 销售/贸易 but not 生产; (b) the 'factory address' equals the registered office and is in an office tower, not an industrial park; (c) no 生产许可 or product certification is held in the seller's own name — certificates show a different company; (d) they are not in any CIOE/China Refrigeration/CDCC exhibitor list; (e) they quote across five unrelated categories. Always cross-check the 统一社会信用代码 on gsxt.gov.cn.
    • The reverse trap: assuming a trader is always bad. For a 20-line mixed BOM, a competent Guangdong trading company is often the only party that will handle consolidation, export documentation and one invoice. The trap is paying manufacturer margins for trader service, or letting the trader hide who actually made the goods so warranty has no counterparty.
    • Cooling capacity quoted at undeclared conditions. A '100 kW' CRAH at 15/21C chilled water is a different machine from a '100 kW' CRAH at 12/18C, and a '35 kW' passive rear door at 12C water is not the same product as one at 18C. Chinese quotes routinely omit the conditions and Western buyers routinely compare the headline number.
    • CDU kW ratings with only one loop temperature. A CDU is defined by primary in, primary out, secondary in, secondary out and both flow rates. A single number is not a specification and cannot be compared across vendors.
    • Residual air heat in liquid-cooled racks. Vendors state '90% heat captured to liquid' and buyers size the room for 10%. In practice the uncaptured fraction is often 15-25% under real workloads, and a 120 kW rack then dumps 25 kW into a hall designed for 12. Ask for kW of residual air heat per chassis, in writing.
    • Filled floor loading for immersion tanks. A filled immersion tank can exceed 2,000 kg/m2. Chinese quotes give the dry weight. The building, not the tank, is what fails.
    • Aluminium substituted for copper in busbar, busway and switchgear. It is legal, it meets the current rating, and it is not what the buyer priced. Specify conductor material and cross-section, and weigh a sample on arrival.
  • Micro-module data centre pod, 6/8/10 racks, integrated cooling微模块数据中心 6/8/10柜
    PrefabricatedHS 8537.10 / 9403.20contestedper moduleCN supply: dominant
    unrestricted
    1 question ready1 of them decide comparabilitysee the question set →
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • Capacity quoted without an approach temperature. This is the single biggest trap in CDU sourcing. A CDU rated '800 kW' at a 5 K approach may deliver only 500-550 kW at the 3 K approach your design actually needs. Two quotes are not comparable until both state the approach.
    • Air-cooling capacity quoted at a 35C return-air temperature. Chinese precision-AC datasheets commonly use a warmer return condition than Western practice, which inflates the sensible kW by 20-30%. Always restate the capacity at your own hall condition.
    • Sensible versus total cooling capacity. A total-cooling number includes latent capacity you will never use in a data centre. Insist on sensible-only.
    • Pump curves given on water at 20C when the fluid is 25% glycol at 45C. The viscosity penalty is real and vendors rarely volunteer the corrected curve. Your flow will be short and nobody will know why until commissioning.
    • 'Supports Modbus' with no register map supplied. This is near-universal among Chinese CDU vendors and it strands the DCIM integration for months. Make the documented register map, BACnet object list and SNMP MIB explicit PO deliverables with payment tied to them.
    • Filter micron ratings quoted as nominal, not absolute. A 50-micron nominal filter passes particles that block a 0.3 mm microchannel cold plate. Specify absolute and demand the beta ratio.
    • Coolant sold as concentrate and diluted on site with local tap water. This destroys the inhibitor package, introduces chlorides and hardness, and is the most common root cause of first-year corrosion in Chinese liquid-cooling installations. Buy premixed with DI water, in sealed IBCs.
  • Outdoor multi-cabinet micro-module (2–6 racks, IP55 shell)户外型微模块 2-6柜
    PrefabricatedHS 9406.90per moduleCN supply: dominant
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • Cooling sized at 25 °C, not at your real ambient. Chinese vendors habitually publish nominal cooling capacity at benign conditions. A DX in-row unit rated 40 kW at 35 °C outdoor may deliver 26–30 kW at 48 °C in the Gulf, and its condenser may trip on high pressure entirely. Demand the capacity table at YOUR site design ambient (dry bulb and wet bulb, 0.4% ASHRAE annual percentile), and make the derated figure the contractual number.
    • 'IP55' that is IP55 only on the shell. Aipu-Waton's own literature confirms IP65 is a customisation, not a default. Louvres, cable entries, condenser openings and door seals are where ingress actually happens. In sandstorm or coastal environments specify the filtration class (G4/F7), the coating system (C5-M per ISO 12944 for marine), and require an ingress test report on the assembled unit, not a component certificate.
    • No UL 2755 certification for a North American destination. UL 2755:2025 is the Outline of Investigation that US and Canadian AHJs now reference for prefabricated modular data centre systems. Almost no Chinese factory holds it as standard, and obtaining it retrospectively means factory inspection plus rework. Ask for the certificate number and the certifying body (UL Solutions, Intertek or CSA) before, not after, the PO.
    • Component CE certificates presented as an assembly CE mark. There is no unitary CE mark for a modular data centre. What is required is a technical file combining LVD, EMC, Machinery Directive (for moving parts), pressure equipment (for the cooling circuit), and construction product evidence for the enclosure, plus a Declaration of Conformity naming the assembly. A folder of supplier CE certificates for the UPS and the AC unit is not that.
    • Standards mismatch that voids your local design code. GB 50174-2017 explicitly excludes outdoor container-based facilities from its scope. If a supplier cites GB 50174 compliance for a container product, they are citing the wrong standard — the applicable Chinese document is GB/T 36448-2018, with GB/T 1413 and GB/T 5338 for the box itself. Neither maps cleanly onto EN 50600 or the Uptime Institute Tier system, and a container is very hard to certify as Tier III concurrently maintainable.
    • Rated payload exceeded, silently. A 40HQ has a rated payload around 26–28 t. A fully fitted 40ft data centre with racks, UPS, batteries, transformer and a filled liquid loop routinely exceeds it. The unit then cannot be stowed as ordinary FCL, cannot be lifted by standard terminal equipment, and cannot legally travel on many roads. Get the weight certificate — dry, and wet-and-populated — in writing before booking freight.
    • Out-of-gauge cargo discovered after signing. Anything wider than 2438 mm or taller than 2896 mm is out-of-gauge: flat-rack or breakbulk stowage, special handling, route survey, escorts and permits. Huawei's FusionDC1000B core module at 3600 mm high is already in this category. On difficult inland routes the freight and permit cost can approach the module price. Establish the transport envelope before the technical spec is frozen.
  • Paired IT + support container set (2-container configuration)IT舱+配套舱 双箱组合
    PrefabricatedHS 9406.90per set (2 containers)CN supply: dominant
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • Cooling sized at 25 °C, not at your real ambient. Chinese vendors habitually publish nominal cooling capacity at benign conditions. A DX in-row unit rated 40 kW at 35 °C outdoor may deliver 26–30 kW at 48 °C in the Gulf, and its condenser may trip on high pressure entirely. Demand the capacity table at YOUR site design ambient (dry bulb and wet bulb, 0.4% ASHRAE annual percentile), and make the derated figure the contractual number.
    • 'IP55' that is IP55 only on the shell. Aipu-Waton's own literature confirms IP65 is a customisation, not a default. Louvres, cable entries, condenser openings and door seals are where ingress actually happens. In sandstorm or coastal environments specify the filtration class (G4/F7), the coating system (C5-M per ISO 12944 for marine), and require an ingress test report on the assembled unit, not a component certificate.
    • No UL 2755 certification for a North American destination. UL 2755:2025 is the Outline of Investigation that US and Canadian AHJs now reference for prefabricated modular data centre systems. Almost no Chinese factory holds it as standard, and obtaining it retrospectively means factory inspection plus rework. Ask for the certificate number and the certifying body (UL Solutions, Intertek or CSA) before, not after, the PO.
    • Component CE certificates presented as an assembly CE mark. There is no unitary CE mark for a modular data centre. What is required is a technical file combining LVD, EMC, Machinery Directive (for moving parts), pressure equipment (for the cooling circuit), and construction product evidence for the enclosure, plus a Declaration of Conformity naming the assembly. A folder of supplier CE certificates for the UPS and the AC unit is not that.
    • Standards mismatch that voids your local design code. GB 50174-2017 explicitly excludes outdoor container-based facilities from its scope. If a supplier cites GB 50174 compliance for a container product, they are citing the wrong standard — the applicable Chinese document is GB/T 36448-2018, with GB/T 1413 and GB/T 5338 for the box itself. Neither maps cleanly onto EN 50600 or the Uptime Institute Tier system, and a container is very hard to certify as Tier III concurrently maintainable.
    • Rated payload exceeded, silently. A 40HQ has a rated payload around 26–28 t. A fully fitted 40ft data centre with racks, UPS, batteries, transformer and a filled liquid loop routinely exceeds it. The unit then cannot be stowed as ordinary FCL, cannot be lifted by standard terminal equipment, and cannot legally travel on many roads. Get the weight certificate — dry, and wet-and-populated — in writing before booking freight.
    • Out-of-gauge cargo discovered after signing. Anything wider than 2438 mm or taller than 2896 mm is out-of-gauge: flat-rack or breakbulk stowage, special handling, route survey, escorts and permits. Huawei's FusionDC1000B core module at 3600 mm high is already in this category. On difficult inland routes the freight and permit cost can approach the module price. Establish the transport envelope before the technical spec is frozen.
  • Prefabricated compact substation (box-type), MV/LV预装式变电站 / 箱式变电站 (YB 系列)
    PrefabricatedHS 8537.20per setCN supply: dominant
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • kVA quoted where kW is meant. A 500 kVA UPS at 0.9 output power factor delivers 450 kW. Chinese modular UPS is now usually unity-PF, but older platforms and cheap bids are not, and the 10% gap is invisible until commissioning. Always demand both numbers and the output PF.
    • Battery quoted in ampere-hours. UPS batteries are sized in watts per cell at a specified end voltage for a specified time, because data centre autonomies are short and high-rate. An Ah figure tells you almost nothing about whether the string will hold the load for 10 minutes. A supplier who quotes only Ah either does not understand UPS duty or is hoping you do not.
    • Autonomy quoted at nameplate, not at end of life or at the real ambient. Ten minutes at a new battery at 25 C can be six or seven minutes at end of warranty in a 35 C battery room. Specify the sizing conditions in the RFQ.
    • Transformer losses that fail EU Ecodesign Tier 2. The standard Chinese SCB13 dry-type is a fine transformer that in many ratings simply cannot be legally placed on the EU market under Regulation (EU) 548/2014 as amended by 2019/1783. Buyers discover this after the letter of credit is open. Ask for guaranteed watt figures, not a class name, and check them against the regulation before ordering.
    • SF6 ring main units quoted into the EU. The F-gas Regulation (EU) 2024/573 restricts new SF6 MV switchgear placed on the EU market. A Chinese supplier's default RMU is SF6. The SF6-free alternative exists but Chinese depth in it is much thinner and the type-test evidence is often a family read-across rather than a test of the quoted model.
    • Genset emission tier assumed transferable. India's CPCB IV+ has applied to DG sets since July 2023 and disqualifies most Chinese-packaged engines outright. EU Stage V and US EPA Tier 4 are separate hurdles again. An engine certified for the Chinese domestic non-road standard is not installable in these markets, and no amount of documentation fixes it after shipment. This is the single most expensive mistake in the category.
    • Busway quoted without a common routing drawing. Straight lengths are the cheap, easy-to-compare part. Elbows, tees, offsets, expansion joints, fire barriers, end feeds and hangers frequently exceed the cost of the straights and vary enormously between bidders reading the same layout differently. Issue one routing drawing revision and require an itemised bill of fittings against it, or the tender is theatre.
  • Prefabricated cooling module / chiller plant skid预制冷站模块 / 冷源预制舱
    PrefabricatedHS 8418.69per moduleCN supply: strong
    classify first

    If pre-charged with refrigerant, F-gas quota applies at import into the EU.

    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • The 'manufacturer' that is a trading company. On Alibaba and Made-in-China this is the default state for racks, containment, rack PDUs, cabling and small cooling accessories. The distinguishing evidence: (a) 经营范围 in the business licence says 销售/贸易 but not 生产; (b) the 'factory address' equals the registered office and is in an office tower, not an industrial park; (c) no 生产许可 or product certification is held in the seller's own name — certificates show a different company; (d) they are not in any CIOE/China Refrigeration/CDCC exhibitor list; (e) they quote across five unrelated categories. Always cross-check the 统一社会信用代码 on gsxt.gov.cn.
    • The reverse trap: assuming a trader is always bad. For a 20-line mixed BOM, a competent Guangdong trading company is often the only party that will handle consolidation, export documentation and one invoice. The trap is paying manufacturer margins for trader service, or letting the trader hide who actually made the goods so warranty has no counterparty.
    • Cooling capacity quoted at undeclared conditions. A '100 kW' CRAH at 15/21C chilled water is a different machine from a '100 kW' CRAH at 12/18C, and a '35 kW' passive rear door at 12C water is not the same product as one at 18C. Chinese quotes routinely omit the conditions and Western buyers routinely compare the headline number.
    • CDU kW ratings with only one loop temperature. A CDU is defined by primary in, primary out, secondary in, secondary out and both flow rates. A single number is not a specification and cannot be compared across vendors.
    • Residual air heat in liquid-cooled racks. Vendors state '90% heat captured to liquid' and buyers size the room for 10%. In practice the uncaptured fraction is often 15-25% under real workloads, and a 120 kW rack then dumps 25 kW into a hall designed for 12. Ask for kW of residual air heat per chassis, in writing.
    • Filled floor loading for immersion tanks. A filled immersion tank can exceed 2,000 kg/m2. Chinese quotes give the dry weight. The building, not the tank, is what fails.
    • Aluminium substituted for copper in busbar, busway and switchgear. It is legal, it meets the current rating, and it is not what the buyer priced. Specify conductor material and cross-section, and weigh a sample on arrival.
  • Prefabricated cooling skid / plant room module (预制舱)预制舱式冷源模块
    PrefabricatedHS 9406.90per moduleCN supply: dominant
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • Capacity quoted without an approach temperature. This is the single biggest trap in CDU sourcing. A CDU rated '800 kW' at a 5 K approach may deliver only 500-550 kW at the 3 K approach your design actually needs. Two quotes are not comparable until both state the approach.
    • Air-cooling capacity quoted at a 35C return-air temperature. Chinese precision-AC datasheets commonly use a warmer return condition than Western practice, which inflates the sensible kW by 20-30%. Always restate the capacity at your own hall condition.
    • Sensible versus total cooling capacity. A total-cooling number includes latent capacity you will never use in a data centre. Insist on sensible-only.
    • Pump curves given on water at 20C when the fluid is 25% glycol at 45C. The viscosity penalty is real and vendors rarely volunteer the corrected curve. Your flow will be short and nobody will know why until commissioning.
    • 'Supports Modbus' with no register map supplied. This is near-universal among Chinese CDU vendors and it strands the DCIM integration for months. Make the documented register map, BACnet object list and SNMP MIB explicit PO deliverables with payment tied to them.
    • Filter micron ratings quoted as nominal, not absolute. A 50-micron nominal filter passes particles that block a 0.3 mm microchannel cold plate. Specify absolute and demand the beta ratio.
    • Coolant sold as concentrate and diluted on site with local tap water. This destroys the inhibitor package, introduces chlorides and hardness, and is the most common root cause of first-year corrosion in Chinese liquid-cooling installations. Buy premixed with DI water, in sealed IBCs.
  • Prefabricated electrical e-house / power skid (walk-in)预制舱式变电站 / 电力预制舱 (可进入式)
    PrefabricatedHS 8537.20per e-houseCN supply: dominant
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • kVA quoted where kW is meant. A 500 kVA UPS at 0.9 output power factor delivers 450 kW. Chinese modular UPS is now usually unity-PF, but older platforms and cheap bids are not, and the 10% gap is invisible until commissioning. Always demand both numbers and the output PF.
    • Battery quoted in ampere-hours. UPS batteries are sized in watts per cell at a specified end voltage for a specified time, because data centre autonomies are short and high-rate. An Ah figure tells you almost nothing about whether the string will hold the load for 10 minutes. A supplier who quotes only Ah either does not understand UPS duty or is hoping you do not.
    • Autonomy quoted at nameplate, not at end of life or at the real ambient. Ten minutes at a new battery at 25 C can be six or seven minutes at end of warranty in a 35 C battery room. Specify the sizing conditions in the RFQ.
    • Transformer losses that fail EU Ecodesign Tier 2. The standard Chinese SCB13 dry-type is a fine transformer that in many ratings simply cannot be legally placed on the EU market under Regulation (EU) 548/2014 as amended by 2019/1783. Buyers discover this after the letter of credit is open. Ask for guaranteed watt figures, not a class name, and check them against the regulation before ordering.
    • SF6 ring main units quoted into the EU. The F-gas Regulation (EU) 2024/573 restricts new SF6 MV switchgear placed on the EU market. A Chinese supplier's default RMU is SF6. The SF6-free alternative exists but Chinese depth in it is much thinner and the type-test evidence is often a family read-across rather than a test of the quoted model.
    • Genset emission tier assumed transferable. India's CPCB IV+ has applied to DG sets since July 2023 and disqualifies most Chinese-packaged engines outright. EU Stage V and US EPA Tier 4 are separate hurdles again. An engine certified for the Chinese domestic non-road standard is not installable in these markets, and no amount of documentation fixes it after shipment. This is the single most expensive mistake in the category.
    • Busway quoted without a common routing drawing. Straight lengths are the cheap, easy-to-compare part. Elbows, tees, offsets, expansion joints, fire barriers, end feeds and hangers frequently exceed the cost of the straights and vary enormously between bidders reading the same layout differently. Issue one routing drawing revision and require an itemised bill of fittings against it, or the tender is theatre.
  • Prefabricated power module (skid or enclosure)预制舱式电力模块
    PrefabricatedHS 8537.10per moduleCN supply: strong
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • The 'manufacturer' that is a trading company. On Alibaba and Made-in-China this is the default state for racks, containment, rack PDUs, cabling and small cooling accessories. The distinguishing evidence: (a) 经营范围 in the business licence says 销售/贸易 but not 生产; (b) the 'factory address' equals the registered office and is in an office tower, not an industrial park; (c) no 生产许可 or product certification is held in the seller's own name — certificates show a different company; (d) they are not in any CIOE/China Refrigeration/CDCC exhibitor list; (e) they quote across five unrelated categories. Always cross-check the 统一社会信用代码 on gsxt.gov.cn.
    • The reverse trap: assuming a trader is always bad. For a 20-line mixed BOM, a competent Guangdong trading company is often the only party that will handle consolidation, export documentation and one invoice. The trap is paying manufacturer margins for trader service, or letting the trader hide who actually made the goods so warranty has no counterparty.
    • Cooling capacity quoted at undeclared conditions. A '100 kW' CRAH at 15/21C chilled water is a different machine from a '100 kW' CRAH at 12/18C, and a '35 kW' passive rear door at 12C water is not the same product as one at 18C. Chinese quotes routinely omit the conditions and Western buyers routinely compare the headline number.
    • CDU kW ratings with only one loop temperature. A CDU is defined by primary in, primary out, secondary in, secondary out and both flow rates. A single number is not a specification and cannot be compared across vendors.
    • Residual air heat in liquid-cooled racks. Vendors state '90% heat captured to liquid' and buyers size the room for 10%. In practice the uncaptured fraction is often 15-25% under real workloads, and a 120 kW rack then dumps 25 kW into a hall designed for 12. Ask for kW of residual air heat per chassis, in writing.
    • Filled floor loading for immersion tanks. A filled immersion tank can exceed 2,000 kg/m2. Chinese quotes give the dry weight. The building, not the tank, is what fails.
    • Aluminium substituted for copper in busbar, busway and switchgear. It is legal, it meets the current rating, and it is not what the buyer priced. Specify conductor material and cross-section, and weigh a sample on arrival.
  • Resistive load bank, 100–500 kW, for FAT and SAT电阻式负载箱 100-500kW（工厂及现场测试用）
    PrefabricatedHS 8533.29 / 9030.31contestedper unit (or rental day)CN supply: dominant
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • Cooling sized at 25 °C, not at your real ambient. Chinese vendors habitually publish nominal cooling capacity at benign conditions. A DX in-row unit rated 40 kW at 35 °C outdoor may deliver 26–30 kW at 48 °C in the Gulf, and its condenser may trip on high pressure entirely. Demand the capacity table at YOUR site design ambient (dry bulb and wet bulb, 0.4% ASHRAE annual percentile), and make the derated figure the contractual number.
    • 'IP55' that is IP55 only on the shell. Aipu-Waton's own literature confirms IP65 is a customisation, not a default. Louvres, cable entries, condenser openings and door seals are where ingress actually happens. In sandstorm or coastal environments specify the filtration class (G4/F7), the coating system (C5-M per ISO 12944 for marine), and require an ingress test report on the assembled unit, not a component certificate.
    • No UL 2755 certification for a North American destination. UL 2755:2025 is the Outline of Investigation that US and Canadian AHJs now reference for prefabricated modular data centre systems. Almost no Chinese factory holds it as standard, and obtaining it retrospectively means factory inspection plus rework. Ask for the certificate number and the certifying body (UL Solutions, Intertek or CSA) before, not after, the PO.
    • Component CE certificates presented as an assembly CE mark. There is no unitary CE mark for a modular data centre. What is required is a technical file combining LVD, EMC, Machinery Directive (for moving parts), pressure equipment (for the cooling circuit), and construction product evidence for the enclosure, plus a Declaration of Conformity naming the assembly. A folder of supplier CE certificates for the UPS and the AC unit is not that.
    • Standards mismatch that voids your local design code. GB 50174-2017 explicitly excludes outdoor container-based facilities from its scope. If a supplier cites GB 50174 compliance for a container product, they are citing the wrong standard — the applicable Chinese document is GB/T 36448-2018, with GB/T 1413 and GB/T 5338 for the box itself. Neither maps cleanly onto EN 50600 or the Uptime Institute Tier system, and a container is very hard to certify as Tier III concurrently maintainable.
    • Rated payload exceeded, silently. A 40HQ has a rated payload around 26–28 t. A fully fitted 40ft data centre with racks, UPS, batteries, transformer and a filled liquid loop routinely exceeds it. The unit then cannot be stowed as ordinary FCL, cannot be lifted by standard terminal equipment, and cannot legally travel on many roads. Get the weight certificate — dry, and wet-and-populated — in writing before booking freight.
    • Out-of-gauge cargo discovered after signing. Anything wider than 2438 mm or taller than 2896 mm is out-of-gauge: flat-rack or breakbulk stowage, special handling, route survey, escorts and permits. Huawei's FusionDC1000B core module at 3600 mm high is already in this category. On difficult inland routes the freight and permit cost can approach the module price. Establish the transport envelope before the technical spec is frozen.
  • Sea-fastening, lashing and shock/tilt monitoring package海运绑扎加固及冲击/倾斜记录仪套件
    PrefabricatedHS 9031.80contestedper per moduleCN supply: dominant
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • Cooling sized at 25 °C, not at your real ambient. Chinese vendors habitually publish nominal cooling capacity at benign conditions. A DX in-row unit rated 40 kW at 35 °C outdoor may deliver 26–30 kW at 48 °C in the Gulf, and its condenser may trip on high pressure entirely. Demand the capacity table at YOUR site design ambient (dry bulb and wet bulb, 0.4% ASHRAE annual percentile), and make the derated figure the contractual number.
    • 'IP55' that is IP55 only on the shell. Aipu-Waton's own literature confirms IP65 is a customisation, not a default. Louvres, cable entries, condenser openings and door seals are where ingress actually happens. In sandstorm or coastal environments specify the filtration class (G4/F7), the coating system (C5-M per ISO 12944 for marine), and require an ingress test report on the assembled unit, not a component certificate.
    • No UL 2755 certification for a North American destination. UL 2755:2025 is the Outline of Investigation that US and Canadian AHJs now reference for prefabricated modular data centre systems. Almost no Chinese factory holds it as standard, and obtaining it retrospectively means factory inspection plus rework. Ask for the certificate number and the certifying body (UL Solutions, Intertek or CSA) before, not after, the PO.
    • Component CE certificates presented as an assembly CE mark. There is no unitary CE mark for a modular data centre. What is required is a technical file combining LVD, EMC, Machinery Directive (for moving parts), pressure equipment (for the cooling circuit), and construction product evidence for the enclosure, plus a Declaration of Conformity naming the assembly. A folder of supplier CE certificates for the UPS and the AC unit is not that.
    • Standards mismatch that voids your local design code. GB 50174-2017 explicitly excludes outdoor container-based facilities from its scope. If a supplier cites GB 50174 compliance for a container product, they are citing the wrong standard — the applicable Chinese document is GB/T 36448-2018, with GB/T 1413 and GB/T 5338 for the box itself. Neither maps cleanly onto EN 50600 or the Uptime Institute Tier system, and a container is very hard to certify as Tier III concurrently maintainable.
    • Rated payload exceeded, silently. A 40HQ has a rated payload around 26–28 t. A fully fitted 40ft data centre with racks, UPS, batteries, transformer and a filled liquid loop routinely exceeds it. The unit then cannot be stowed as ordinary FCL, cannot be lifted by standard terminal equipment, and cannot legally travel on many roads. Get the weight certificate — dry, and wet-and-populated — in writing before booking freight.
    • Out-of-gauge cargo discovered after signing. Anything wider than 2438 mm or taller than 2896 mm is out-of-gauge: flat-rack or breakbulk stowage, special handling, route survey, escorts and permits. Huawei's FusionDC1000B core module at 3600 mm high is already in this category. On difficult inland routes the freight and permit cost can approach the module price. Establish the transport envelope before the technical spec is frozen.
  • Two-year spares and consumables package两年期备件与耗材包
    Prefabricatedper lotCN supply: dominant
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • The 'manufacturer' that is a trading company. On Alibaba and Made-in-China this is the default state for racks, containment, rack PDUs, cabling and small cooling accessories. The distinguishing evidence: (a) 经营范围 in the business licence says 销售/贸易 but not 生产; (b) the 'factory address' equals the registered office and is in an office tower, not an industrial park; (c) no 生产许可 or product certification is held in the seller's own name — certificates show a different company; (d) they are not in any CIOE/China Refrigeration/CDCC exhibitor list; (e) they quote across five unrelated categories. Always cross-check the 统一社会信用代码 on gsxt.gov.cn.
    • The reverse trap: assuming a trader is always bad. For a 20-line mixed BOM, a competent Guangdong trading company is often the only party that will handle consolidation, export documentation and one invoice. The trap is paying manufacturer margins for trader service, or letting the trader hide who actually made the goods so warranty has no counterparty.
    • Cooling capacity quoted at undeclared conditions. A '100 kW' CRAH at 15/21C chilled water is a different machine from a '100 kW' CRAH at 12/18C, and a '35 kW' passive rear door at 12C water is not the same product as one at 18C. Chinese quotes routinely omit the conditions and Western buyers routinely compare the headline number.
    • CDU kW ratings with only one loop temperature. A CDU is defined by primary in, primary out, secondary in, secondary out and both flow rates. A single number is not a specification and cannot be compared across vendors.
    • Residual air heat in liquid-cooled racks. Vendors state '90% heat captured to liquid' and buyers size the room for 10%. In practice the uncaptured fraction is often 15-25% under real workloads, and a 120 kW rack then dumps 25 kW into a hall designed for 12. Ask for kW of residual air heat per chassis, in writing.
    • Filled floor loading for immersion tanks. A filled immersion tank can exceed 2,000 kg/m2. Chinese quotes give the dry weight. The building, not the tank, is what fails.
    • Aluminium substituted for copper in busbar, busway and switchgear. It is legal, it meets the current rating, and it is not what the buyer priced. Specify conductor material and cross-section, and weigh a sample on arrival.
  • Weatherproof inter-module coupling kit (power, pipe, fibre)舱间互联防水连接组件（电力/管路/光纤）
    PrefabricatedHS 8536.90 / 8419.90 / 8544.70contestedper kit per interfaceCN supply: strong
    unrestricted
    7 ways buyers get burned here
    • Cooling sized at 25 °C, not at your real ambient. Chinese vendors habitually publish nominal cooling capacity at benign conditions. A DX in-row unit rated 40 kW at 35 °C outdoor may deliver 26–30 kW at 48 °C in the Gulf, and its condenser may trip on high pressure entirely. Demand the capacity table at YOUR site design ambient (dry bulb and wet bulb, 0.4% ASHRAE annual percentile), and make the derated figure the contractual number.
    • 'IP55' that is IP55 only on the shell. Aipu-Waton's own literature confirms IP65 is a customisation, not a default. Louvres, cable entries, condenser openings and door seals are where ingress actually happens. In sandstorm or coastal environments specify the filtration class (G4/F7), the coating system (C5-M per ISO 12944 for marine), and require an ingress test report on the assembled unit, not a component certificate.
    • No UL 2755 certification for a North American destination. UL 2755:2025 is the Outline of Investigation that US and Canadian AHJs now reference for prefabricated modular data centre systems. Almost no Chinese factory holds it as standard, and obtaining it retrospectively means factory inspection plus rework. Ask for the certificate number and the certifying body (UL Solutions, Intertek or CSA) before, not after, the PO.
    • Component CE certificates presented as an assembly CE mark. There is no unitary CE mark for a modular data centre. What is required is a technical file combining LVD, EMC, Machinery Directive (for moving parts), pressure equipment (for the cooling circuit), and construction product evidence for the enclosure, plus a Declaration of Conformity naming the assembly. A folder of supplier CE certificates for the UPS and the AC unit is not that.
    • Standards mismatch that voids your local design code. GB 50174-2017 explicitly excludes outdoor container-based facilities from its scope. If a supplier cites GB 50174 compliance for a container product, they are citing the wrong standard — the applicable Chinese document is GB/T 36448-2018, with GB/T 1413 and GB/T 5338 for the box itself. Neither maps cleanly onto EN 50600 or the Uptime Institute Tier system, and a container is very hard to certify as Tier III concurrently maintainable.
    • Rated payload exceeded, silently. A 40HQ has a rated payload around 26–28 t. A fully fitted 40ft data centre with racks, UPS, batteries, transformer and a filled liquid loop routinely exceeds it. The unit then cannot be stowed as ordinary FCL, cannot be lifted by standard terminal equipment, and cannot legally travel on many roads. Get the weight certificate — dry, and wet-and-populated — in writing before booking freight.
    • Out-of-gauge cargo discovered after signing. Anything wider than 2438 mm or taller than 2896 mm is out-of-gauge: flat-rack or breakbulk stowage, special handling, route survey, escorts and permits. Huawei's FusionDC1000B core module at 3600 mm high is already in this category. On difficult inland routes the freight and permit cost can approach the module price. Establish the transport envelope before the technical spec is frozen.
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