54
54
COLD AISLE CONTAINMENT
TCO ( total cost of ownership ). A highly effective way of improving PUE is to use a cabinet system that utilises the seal , direct , contain and monitor approach .
Seal , direct , contain and monitor air flow Seal every gap for complete separation of cooling and exhaust air . Complete air sealing reduces air leakage throughout the cabinet structure .
Direct cold air to where it needs to go . Inlet ducts enable optimised containment by effectively directing airflow to improve equipment reliability .
Contain cooling and exhaust air for maximum cooling capacity efficiency and space utilisation . Exhaust and aisle containment systems eliminate hot air from recirculating and mixing with cold air , allowing room and chilled water temperature set points to be raised and PUE to be lowered ; enabling significant cooling system energy savings .
Monitor to maintain operational and energy efficiency : data centre managers are challenged to maintain and manage energy efficiency gains in a highly dynamic environment in which power consumption and environmental variables are constantly changing . Without the ability to monitor these variables in the data centre , efficiency gains , PUE reductions and capacity utilisation can erode over time , leading to higher TCO ( total cost of ownership ).
The challenge is to maximise the utilisation of available rack-space and cooling capacity , often increase the power density per cabinet . As cabinet power densities rise , containment architectures are the optimal approach , ensuring uniform cooling air temperature is delivered to equipment in high density PODs allowing full utilisation of available cabinet space and cooling capacity .
Passive cooling for high-density applications optimise cooling energy utilisation to support high-density heat loads to enable 30kW or greater per cabinet . VEDs passively separate hot exhaust air from cooling air and direct hot exhaust air from active equipment into the Computer Room Air Handler ( CRAH ) air return system .
Designed and configured correctly DCIM power solutions enable comprehensive energy and physical infrastructure efficiency in data centres . These focus visibility of power , capacity and environmental information that is accurate and actionable for operational optimisation . SynapSense takes the accumulated data from the sensors and processes it in real-time allowing the user to monitor , manage and control the cooling optimisation of the data centre .
DCIM power modules Using the latest scalable DCIM power modules , it ’ s possible to deliver advanced observations on vital power and environmental indicators . Operators can now have centralised , real-time and historical visibility of power , environmental conditions , capacity and security in the data centre or building , using granular operational data captured by the DCIM sensors and systems . Accumulating trend data allows the operator to drive increased efficiencies throughout the data centre .
The software monitors , documents and displays vital operational parameters surrounding energy consumption including load draw , kVA , kW , kW / hrs , RMS volts and amps and environmental status . It ’ s not only IT power and environmental monitoring that are tracked , the latest software provides reporting across all other critical areas found in data centre and enterprise facilities , aligning all the facilities and IT needs for optimal power , cooling and capacity planning .
Clear , easy to read dashboards and reports enable swift evaluation and well informed decision making regarding the condition of the data centre . The latest systems allow operators to drive enhanced programmes to advance sustainability and operational performance .
Operational issues are easily predicted and isolated preventing costly outages that affect performance , while the system allows improved cost allocation across entire facilities from individual rooms , servers , groups of racks and support services , including mandatory legislative reporting .
These DCIM solutions enable environmental monitoring of IT , cooling and supporting facilities equipment . Sensors connect to network gateways or directly to available sensor ports on network enabled rack PDU to capture and analyse real-time , historical and user defined performance data about operating temperatures , humidity and other environmental factors .
To ensure ease of use the latest systems employ gateway enabled rack power distribution units ( PDUs ) and inline meters to connect to the network through single gateway infrastructure topology . This simplifies the network by consolidating the monitoring and management of connected rack PDU devices , and other equipment , through a single IP Address . The reporting is available across a range of systems including control room consoles , desktop , laptop and tablets for on-site and off-site mobility .
A proactive approach To effectively control a data centre environment and maintain proactive management of the facility , cold aisle containment coupled with an appropriate DCIM solution provides the air separation to maintain equipment temperature control , and therefore performance and efficiency .
At the same time , DCIM allows for a real-time monitoring and analysis of the large volumes of data , ensuring up-tothe-minute situation analysis from key points around the site . Together these elements provide a highly efficient and effective control capability ensuring performance is maintained and PUE is optimised . n
www . networkseuropemagazine . com