Optimizing Containment: A Post-Installation Guide
Welcome to Keep Your Cool - a series tackling simple cooling optimization strategies for the busy data center operators.
This is the first of four articles on optimizing containment solutions.
Maintaining optimal Data Center performance is a constant challenge. Containment is a widely adopted strategy to enhance cooling efficiency, but the journey doesn't end with installation. To ensure sustained effectiveness, a post-installation assessment becomes paramount. In this guide, we'll explore what to look for after implementing a cold aisle containment solution.
What is Containment?
Containment is a strategy aimed at managing and controlling the airflow to optimize temperature conditions for electronic equipment, especially servers. The primary goal of containment is to improve energy efficiency, reduce cooling costs, and enhance the overall performance of data center environments.
There are two types of containment strategies used in data centers: cold aisle or hot aisle containment.
Example of Cold Aisle Containment (Raised Floor)
Example of Hot Aisle Containment (Raised Floor)
Cold Aisle Containment (CAC): In a CAC setup, server racks are arranged in alternating rows with the front side (cold aisle) facing each other. Cold air is then directed into this enclosed aisle, and the hot air generated by the servers is expelled into the surrounding open space. The physical barriers, such as plastic or glass panels, help segregate the cold and hot aisles, preventing the mixing of air and improving cooling efficiency.
Hot Aisle Containment (HAC): Hot Aisle Containment reverses the arrangement, with the rear side of server racks (hot aisle) facing each other. The hot air expelled from the servers is contained within this enclosed aisle, and cool air is supplied to the surrounding open space. Similar to CAC, physical barriers help in isolating the hot aisle, improving the efficiency of the cooling system.
Both types of containment aim to prevent the mixing of hot and cold air, ensuring that servers receive the appropriate temperature conditions for optimal performance. The choice between Cold Aisle Containment and Hot Aisle Containment depends on the specific layout and design of the data center.
Overall, containment is a critical component of modern data center design, contributing to energy savings, improved cooling efficiency, and the effective management of temperature-sensitive equipment.
Why Do You Need to Check My Containment?
With a million tasks and to-dos when running a data center, conducting a post-installation assessment may feel tedious. However it’s crucial that you regularly check your containment to see if there are any issues and to make sure your containment system continues to operate at peak efficiency. We’ve conducted thermal surveys of hundreds of contained aisles, and we’ve found that you can still have thermal issues even with containment.
Static Temperature Map #1 - Good Uniformity
Static Heat Map #2 - Poor Uniformity
Take for example, these two static temperature maps of two contained cold aisles. In both cases, we collected 1 minute readings at every cabinet at three heights across the contained cold aisle. In the first example, the environment looks good. The temperature across the aisle is uniform and there isn’t a wide range of colors. In the second example, there is a lot of variation across the aisle, which indicates a lot of variation and possible issues, like leaks, gaps or other obstructions. The goal when analyzing the static temperature maps is to achieve uniformity across the aisle.
What to Look For:
Missing or Improperly Installed Blanking Plates: Blanking plates are used to seal empty spaces in server racks, preventing hot air from recirculating to the cold aisle. If these plates are missing or installed incorrectly, it can lead to inefficiencies in the containment system.
Gaps at the Bottom of Cabinets: Any openings or gaps at the bottom of server cabinets can allow hot air to escape into the cold aisle, reducing the overall efficiency of the containment strategy.
Mismatched Cabinet Heights: Inconsistent heights of server cabinets can create uneven airflow patterns, disrupting the intended containment. It's essential to ensure uniformity in cabinet heights to maintain efficient cooling.
Inadequate Sealing of Containment Structure: The physical barriers used for containment, such as plastic or glass panels, need to be properly sealed. If there are gaps or leaks in the containment structure, it can compromise the separation of hot and cold air.
Incorrect Temperature Settings: Setting the wrong temperature parameters for the cold aisle can result in inadequate cooling or, conversely, excessive cooling. It's crucial to align the temperature settings with the specific requirements of the data center.
Lack of Regular Maintenance: Cold aisle containment systems require regular inspections and maintenance to identify and address issues promptly. Without consistent upkeep, problems may go unnoticed and lead to decreased efficiency over time.
Airflow Imbalances: Uneven airflow within the cold aisle, caused by factors like misplaced perforated floor tiles or obstructed airflow paths, can undermine the effectiveness of the containment system.
Server Configuration Changes: As data centers evolve and server configurations are adjusted, the original design of the containment system may no longer align with the new layout. This can result in mismatched airflow patterns and reduced efficiency.
Conclusion:
Ultimately, containment is a good solution for separating the cold and hot air from mixing. However, you still need to keep an eye on what’s happening post-installment. Conducting a quick audit periodically is the best step for getting ahead of any problems that might negatively impact your operations.