Data Center Containment Best Practices: Key
Considerations to Maximize ROI
Lars Strong, Senior Engineer and Company Science
Officer, Upsite Technologies
Airflow Management Awareness Month
June 7th – Data Center Containment Best Practices: Key Considerations to
Maximize ROI
Lars Strong, Senior Engineer and Company Science Officer, Upsite Technologies
June 14th – How Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Can
Optimize Data Center Performance
Lars Strong, Senior Engineer and Company Science Officer, Upsite Technologies
Tracy Collins, Vice President of Sales, Americas, EkkoSense
June 21st – Data Center Risk Management: The Importance of Mitigating
Risk to Maximize Resiliency
Mark Acton, Independent Consultant, Non Executive Director, EkkoSense
June 28th – How Modernization and New Digital Demands Have Impacted
(and Changed) The Data Center
Bill Kleyman, Executive Vice President of Digital Solutions, Switch
Speaker Background
Thought leader and recognized expert on data center
optimization with over 20 years of experience
Certified US Department of Energy Data Center Energy
Practitioner (DCEP) HVAC and IT Specialist
Presented on various topics around the world:
How IT Decisions Impact Facilities: The Benefit of Mutual
Understanding
Designing, Deploying and Managing Efficient Data
Centers
Myths of Data Center Containment
Understanding the Science Behind Data Center Airflow Lars Strong, P.E.
Management Senior Engineer and
Data Center Cooling Efficiency: Understanding the Company Science Officer,
Science of the 4 Delta T’s Upsite Technologies
Agenda
The 4 R’s of Airflow Management™
Lesser Known Row Airflow Management Best Practices
Data Center Containment Best Practices
The Science of Data Center Containment
Modular Containment vs. Rigid Containment
Containment Installation Considerations
Matching Cooling Capacity with IT Load
Cooling Optimization
Fan Laws
The Four Delta T’s (ΔT)
Questions
The 4 R’s of Airflow Management
With so many variables affecting airflow within a
data center, it can be daunting to know where to
start and how to get the most out of airflow
management improvements
The 4 R’s of Airflow Management™ is a holistic
methodology for identifying and implementing
changes to optimize the data center’s cooling
infrastructure and realize energy savings
The 4 R’s are: the Raised Floor, the Rack, the Row,
and the Room
Row Airflow Management
Improving cold aisle and hot aisle separation at
the row level is “Row Airflow Management”
Gaps underneath cabinets
Gaps between cabinets
Open aisle-ends
Open space above hot or cold aisles
Row Airflow Management Configurations
For hot aisle containment this generally involves
utilizing the ceiling plenum as an exhaust air
return path, ducting cooling units to the ceiling
plenum, installing doors on the ends of hot aisles
and baffles or a full chimney to the ceiling
For cold aisles this involves installing doors on the
ends of cold aisles and baffles or a full roof over
the cold aisle
Typical Hot and Cold Aisle Configuration
With Poor Airflow Management
We want to go from this:
HOT COLD HOT COLD
AISLE AISLE AISLE AISLE
Ideal Hot and Cold Aisle Configuration
With Good Airflow Management
To this:
HOT COLD HOT COLD
AISLE AISLE AISLE AISLE
Lesser Known Row Airflow Management Best Practices
Block Open Spaces Underneath Racks
Usually ranging in size from half an inch to two inches, this space
allows IT equipment exhaust air to travel underneath the rack and
ultimately back into the IT equipment air inlets
Block Open Spaces Underneath Racks
To address this, blocking these open spaces with Under Rack Panels
is an easy and cost-effective solution that can have a profound impact
on reducing IT equipment inlet temperatures
Seal Spaces in Cabinet Rows
There are many cases where
large gaps in between
cabinets are present and have
not been sealed off
These gaps are usually due to
a building column or a
cabinet that has been
removed
Seal Spaces in Cabinet Rows
To address this issue,
blocking off any open space
in between cabinets, whether
it’s just a couple inches or a
few feet, with Rack Gap
Panels or sealing foam will
dramatically impact IT
equipment intake
temperatures at a reasonable
cost
Rack Gap Panel
Seal Spaces at the Ends of Cabinet Rows
In cases where there is a
missing cabinet at the end of
an aisle, causing uneven aisle
lengths, an Adjustable
Mounting Post or a custom-
sized rigid panel to make up
the offset/difference is
necessary to be able to install
aisle-end doors
Adjustable Mounting Post w/ Rack Gap Panel
Data Center Containment Best Practices
Install Aisle-End Containment Doors
Cabinets at the ends of rows are the most vulnerable to increased
IT equipment intake temperatures because of the large potential for
hot exhaust air to wrap around the ends of rows
Whether applied to hot or cold aisles, aisle-end doors yield huge
benefits by eliminating exhaust air recirculation or the premature loss
of conditioned air
Aisle-end doors are an effective solution that can be applied in
singularity and still be extremely effective in reducing IT equipment
intake temperatures and creating the opportunity for optimization
Aisle-End Containment Examples
Swing Doors Bi-Directional Doors and Sliding Doors Single Hinge Doors Curtains
Install Top-of-Rack Containment
Typically deployed in situations of high cabinet densities or when the
highest possible efficiency is desired
In cold aisles, this involves some form of partitions, baffles, or roofing
over the aisle to contain conditioned supply air
In hot aisles, a configuration of baffles or duct work runs from the hot
aisle to the returns of the cooling units
Top-of-Rack Containment – Cold Aisle Examples
Rack Top Angled Baffles
Ceiling with Rigid Panels
Top-of-Rack Containment – Hot Aisle Examples
Rack Top Vertical Baffles
Chimney with Rigid Panels
Top-of-Rack Containment – Cooling Unit Examples
Cooling Unit Extension
Cooling Unit Extension
The Science of Data Center Containment
Hot Aisle vs. Cold Aisle Containment – Benefits
Hot Aisle Containment
Open area of room is the “cold” environment
Leakage from raised floor openings in the larger area of the room goes
into the cold space
Generally more effective, more likely to be implemented fully
Hot aisle containment will be more forgiving for network racks and
stand-alone equipment
Hot aisle containment can perform well in a slab environment
With a well-designed space, a standard grid fire suppression system could
be installed around a hot aisle containment array of barriers and meet code
Enables more surface area / building mass for “cold storage” in cold area
Hot Aisle vs. Cold Aisle Containment – Benefits
Cold Aisle Containment
Generally easier to implement
Only requires doors at aisle ends and cap on top
Generally less expensive to implement
Cold aisle containment is typically going to be easier to retrofit in an
existing data center
Cold aisle containment doesn’t absolutely need to be on a raised floor,
but it typically is because of challenges associated with delivering
supply air to the contained space(s)
Hot Aisle vs. Cold Aisle Containment – Challenges
Hot Aisle Containment
Requires a contained path for air to flow from the hot aisle back to the
cooling units
Generally more expensive
May require modifications to fire suppression system, more gas
required
High temperatures in the hot aisle create uncomfortable conditions for
technicians working on IT gear
Hot Aisle vs. Cold Aisle Containment – Challenges
Cold Aisle Containment
Remainder of data center becomes the hot aisle and that space should
be dramatically hot
There may not be any space with a suitable temperature profile for
equipment that for whatever reason is not compatible with living in the
containment arrangement
Conditioned air leaking from the raised floor enters the exhaust air
paths returning to cooling units
Requires consideration of fire suppression system (drop away panels,
mechanical system opens ceiling upon smoke detection)
Rigid Hot Aisle Containment
Requires full ducting of racks to the
ceiling plenum as well as ducting the
returns of CRAC/CRAH units to the
same overhead plenum
Requires installation crew for
construction – either internal crew
with required skill set or experienced
3rd party or vendor
Modular Hot Aisle Containment
Offers the core benefits of hot aisle
containment with greater flexibility
and at a lower cost
Doors and baffles attach
magnetically, eliminating the need
for 3rd party installation
Can be installed, removed, and re-
installed by on-staff team members
Rigid Cold Aisle Containment
Utilizes aisle-end doors and optional
drop-away “roof” panels that cap
the cold aisle for complete cold-aisle
containment
Requires installation crew for
construction – either internal crew
with required skill set or experienced
3rd party or vendor
Modular Cold Aisle Containment
Offers the core benefits of cold aisle
containment with greater flexibility
and at a lower cost
Doors and baffles attach
magnetically, eliminating the need
for 3rd party installation
Can be installed, removed, and re-
installed by on-staff team members
Matching Cooling Capacity with IT Load (Cooling Optimization)
What is Cooling Optimization?
Cooling optimization is the process of making adjustments to the cooling
system controls to improve energy efficiency resulting in reduced operating
costs, improve cooling capacity, and deferred capital expenditure
Provide appropriate IT equipment intake air conditions and redundant cooling
capacity, with the lowest possible flow rate of conditioned air at the warmest
possible temperature
Cooling optimization is often an iterative process of making adjustments to
controls, allowing the system to equalize, and then making additional
adjustments, and so on
Each time additional airflow management improvements are implemented, or
significant IT equipment changes occur, there are opportunities for refining
the cooling optimization
Why is Cooling Optimization Important?
Without cooling optimization, airflow management improvements are
primarily an expense
Cooling optimization is the only way to achieve a return on investment
from airflow management improvements
“ You can’t purchase efficiency… Efficiency has to be managed.”
How Cooling Optimization Works
This figure shows typical
airflow patterns before
airflow management and
cooling optimization
How Cooling Optimization Works
This figure shows typical
airflow patterns after airflow
management, but before
cooling optimization
How Cooling Optimization Works
This figure shows typical
airflow patterns after both
airflow management and
cooling optimization
Conditioned airflow supplied
by the cooling unit has been
reduced by 50% (from 10
units to 5 units)
Fan Laws
Airflow is directly proportional to fan
speed
If the fan speed is reduced by 10%, the
flow rate will decrease by 10%
Pressure is proportional to the fan
speed squared
If the fans speed is reduced by 10%,
pressure will decrease by 19%
Fan energy consumption is proportional
to the fan speed cubed
If the fan speed is reduced by 10%, the
energy consumption will decrease by
27%
Fan Energy Savings
10-30 ton (105 kW) cooling units
10 hp (7.5 kW) fan motors
$0.10/kWhr
Fan speed Energy Energy Total Energy Cost of
Fan Motor Size # of Cooling Savings
Reduction Reduction Reduction/Unit Reduction Electricity
(kW) Units ($/Year)
(%) (%) (kW) (kW) ($/kWhr)
10% 27.1% 7.5 2.0 10 20.3 0.1 $ 17,805
25% 57.8% 7.5 4.3 10 43.4 0.1 $ 37,983
50% 87.5% 7.5 6.6 10 65.6 0.1 $ 57,488
The Four Delta T’s (ΔT)
1. Though IT equipment
2. IT equipment exhaust to
cooling unit
3. Through cooling unit
4. Cooling unit supply to IT
equipment intake
The Four Delta T’s (ΔT)
1. Though IT equipment
2. IT equipment exhaust to
cooling unit
3. Through cooling unit
4. Cooling unit supply to IT
equipment intake
Key Takeaways
Row level airflow management is not all about containment – there are
other areas in the row such as underneath cabinets and in between
adjacent cabinets that need to be sealed to manage airflow at the row
level effectively
Modular containment is extremely effective at reducing IT equipment
intake temperatures
In situations when cabinet densities are high enough, or a high level of
efficiency is desired, full hot or cold aisle containment is necessary
Optimization needs to be part of your airflow management
improvement process – provide appropriate IT intake air temperatures
with the lowest fan speeds and warmest set points possible
Questions?
Lars Strong Facebook Twitter LinkedIn
Upsite Technologies
info@[Link]
888.982.7800 YouTube Instagram Upsite Blog
