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From 2003 to 2008, data center
managers invested big to expand
their IT equipment and supporting
infrastructures. This expansion was a
response to exploding capacity
demands sparked by the growing use
of digital media and content requiring
ever-increasing compute power.
Given that data center infrastructure
investments typically follow a 10- to
15-year planning cycle, many data
centers today are being supported by
power and thermal management
systems originally designed with this
growth in mind.
While these systems adequately
addressed demands during that time,
they lag behind modern systems in
their ability to solve the challenges
data center managers now face, such
as reducing operating costs, which
only became a major business
challenge in recent years. Typically,
systems installed in that time period
of explosive growth are less efficient,
more costly to operate and often
underperform by the intended design,
which at that time was to ensure the
highest availability at any cost.
Fortunately, there are a number of
modernization opportunities to help
data center and IT professionals
ensure their data center is as dynamic
and cost sensitive as their business is
today. Often, these opportunities can
be realized by implementing industry
best practices or updating/replacing
this older legacy equipment. This
article focuses on strategies and steps
to implement the thermal
management and power best
practices and technologies that can
help you improve efficiency and asset
utilization, which in turn reduce
operating and capital expenses.
THERMAL
MANAGEMENT
Data center thermal management has
traditionally consumed the highest
amount of energy in the data center,
with compressors, fans and very low
recommended operating
temperatures contributing to energy
burdens. Employing new thermal
management technologies and best
practices can dramatically improve
efficiency, performance and visibility.
Modernizing a thermal management
strategy can:
• Cut cooling energy costs by 60
percent
• Increase cooling capacity by 40
percent
• Provide a higher level of IT
equipment protection
• Deliver greater visibility and insight
into data center operations
A variety of opportunities exist to tap
these benefits.
DEPLOY HOT-AISLE OR
COLD-AISLE CONTAINMENT
Containment keeps hot and cold air
from mixing, which increases the
temperature of the return air (the hot
air that is expelled from the server
racks and circulated back to the heat
removal equipment). Higher return air
temperatures allow heat removal units
to operate more efficiently. A 10° F
increase in return air temperature can
increase unit capacity 38 percent,
boosting efficiency in the process.
In addition, with containment, the
thermal management system no
longer has to control conditions
across the entire facility. Instead,
temperatures in an aisle can be
precisely controlled based on
conditions in that aisle. If the aisle is
filled with high density racks and all IT
systems in the aisle are working at or
close to capacity, the system can
focus heat removal to maintain
7X24 MAGAZINE SPRING 2015
by
John Peter Valiulis
and
David Sonner
Modern IT InfrasTrucTures
supercharge daTa cenTer effIcIency,
resIlIency and cosT effecTIveness
Without aisle containment, return air
temperature is near 75° F.
With containment, return air temperature can
be raised to 80° F and fan speed reduced, which
increases energy efficiency.