cabling, Enclosures,
Cabinets & Racks
access to the equipment or cabling
sections. Without walls or side
panels, the hardware is accessible
from all angles, even after the
installation of the cabling and
active equipment.
The lack of side panels also
means that it is possible to use
wide and deep vertical cable
managers along both sides of
the frame, offering the perfect
cable management solution. For
example, when combined with
advanced vertical cable managers,
a 42U open frame rack can expand
density by up to 1,000 connections
(best achieved by using angled
patch panels) for both copper and
fibre cabling.
The ease of access provided
by open frame racks can reduce
the maintenance time - and the
associated costs - of any future
changes. The ability to access
cabling and equipment quickly
and easily can be extremely
advantageous in terms of the MTTR
(Mean Time To Repair), offering the
best chance of meeting key Service
Level Agreement (SLA) targets.
In essence, open frame racks
are cost effective, easily accessible
and durable, making them a sound
option for telecom equipment,
servers or networking with a
relative low power load where
cooling requirements are not a key
cause for concern.
However, the cost savings t hat
can be achieved through open
racks have to be weighed against
the potential for poor aesthetics
and a greater security problem.
The ease of access for open racks
poses a security risk for both
accidental and/or intentional
damage. Additionally, open frame
racks do not offer the same degree
of aesthetics as enclosed cabinets.
With equipment, cables and cable
managers all in plain sight, they
can be difficult to make attractive.
This problem becomes worse over
time if they are poorly maintained.
Finally, whilst by their very
nature open racks are designed to
provide unobstructed airflow, this
means that the active equipment
is exposed to dirt and debris, which
can cause irreversible damage to
the fans and the silicon technology.
Superior airflow
Enclosed cabinets offer much
better controlled airflow and the
potential for increased security
measures. The superior airflow
management offered by enclosed
cabinet solutions is becoming
increasingly important as demands
placed on the data centre result
in a greater reliance on the
infrastructure itself. With rack
power density continuing to rise,
cooling optimisation technologies
are becoming critical to ensure
greater efficiency and reliability.
Enclosed cabinets offer a
variety of highly effective air
segregation strategies from
cabinet level containment, to cold
aisle and hot aisle containment.
Cabinet level containment is
characterised by a vertical exhaust
duct (chimney) and combined with
specific accessories and defined
cabinet geometries to control the
airflow. Cold aisle containment is
defined by an aisle roof and two
aisle doors to create a segregated
cold aisle environment. Hot
aisle containment is created by
building a hot aisle exhaust system
connected to the return plenum
and two aisle doors to form a
segregated hot aisle environment.
Enclosed cabinets also offer
a much safer environment for
hosting sensitive data. A variety
of locking systems are available
to prevent unauthorised entry,
which has become a key concern
for many data centres and their
customers. Unfortunately, this
restricted access can cause
problems when it comes to
maintenance operations.
Efficient rack design
‘Selecting
the best
data centre
infrastructure
involves
more than
just choosing
between
racks,
enclosures
and cabinets.’
Some servers
will generate
more heat, while
others may need
more power.
Designing an IT infrastructure
that is going to work best for your
data centre involves more than
just choosing between racks,
enclosures and cabinets. It’s vital
to understand the thermal and
environmental performance of
your chosen infrastructure.
Keeping track of environment
variables will help create a more
efficient rack design. For example,
some servers will generate more
heat, while others may need more
power. By seeing what system
is taking up which resources,
administrators can better position
their environment for optimal use.
Today’s intelligent power
distribution units (PDUs)
can provide monitoring of
voltage, amperage, power and
energy at the input and branch
circuit levels with threshold
and notification capabilities.
This greater visibility allows a
proactive approach to reducing IT
equipment energy consumption.
When designing an IT
infrastructure and trying to choose
between enclosures, server
cabinets and racks, it is wise to
examine all the factors that will
play a major role in the lifetime
of the installation and look at
sourcing a complete solution
that will not only serve the core
requirements but create a data
centre that is ‘fit for the future’.
April 2017 | 27