The industry has made its decision and in the UK at least , we all love the standard style ANSI / EIA- 301-E 19in network rack . These racks , from many different vendors , are used in hundreds of different types of deployments , but a key market for their use is within the data centre . In this market they can be deployed in their thousands . With such vast numbers being used in these facilities it ’ s easy when commissioning a deployment to look at the initial cost of the racks and not so much at the total long term return on investment ( ROI ). Once the equipment is loaded and powered up , it will start to try and cool itself through its internal fans , which will draw ambient air through the unit . These units are fundamentally , from a physical point of view , made as individual items . Yet from a service point of view , they are also made to work in networks , clusters and together .
From a physical point of view one switch or server taking in ambient air , which is then cooled and expelled , is no problem . However , the issues arise in ‘ the real world ’ as they are deployed in their masses , along with other systems and machines in confined spaces , ie . the racks , to create networks .
This heated air can recirculate around installed equipment within a rack creating a potentially increasing ambient temperature and this can result in the overheating of IT equipment .
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With the correct airflow management system , racks can help control the ambient temperature of equipment . |
Airflow management systems
However , the racks that the IT equipment is installed in can help , with the deployment of airflow management systems , to control the ambient temperature of air running through the equipment and mitigate recirculation of warm air .
All vertical U spacing that is not populated with equipment should have a blanking panel fitted stopping warm air from easily traversing back to the front of the rack . These blanking panels can be fitted to cover several U with just one panel , for example 6U . However , it is said that using 1U panels could well be the best way to approach this . 1U panels allow for any MACs to be undertaken without issue , avoiding scenarios where a new 1U server needs fitting in a section of a rack that has a 6U plate fitted .
The same issues can happen within racks where there is
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space for air ingress at the sides of mounted equipment . Facilities decide on a specific rack manufacturer for many different reasons . A particular feature rich rack may be chosen for use and provide the best fit , however it may come with a compromise .
Equipment deployed may be , and most probably will be , from numerous vendors with different mounting systems . This makes it virtually impossible for items to be housed uniformly to discourage air infiltration on the vertical plane .
Vertical baffle systems can very simply remedy this issue . Systems can be fitted where all apertures are blocked off . These systems fit between the outside of the profiles and side panels down the entire height of the rack . These systems can also infill small gaps between the struts that are intrinsic to the construction of the rack as well as the very top and bottom , which are areas that sit outside of the U profiles and where blanking panels simply cannot be fitted – creating a wall around the installed products therefore driving airflow to exactly where it needs to go – through the equipment .
This all leads towards one thing . Strategy , airflow strategy . Racks deployed with ergonomically designed airflow management and flexible solutions in a strategic way can help create more efficient , effective solutions and reduce the power usage effectiveness ( PUE ) of a data centre .
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April 2017 | 25 |