Learn about the full scope of early containment planning, including: Overview of strategies, challenges and best practices, planning considerations. Impact of containment

1. 800-834-4969 | www.chatsworth.com An Employee-Owned Company
Early Containment Planning in the
Data Center
Samuel Rodriguez, RCDD
Senior Product Manager – Cabinet and Thermal Management Systems
Chatsworth Products Inc.

2. 800-834-4969 | www.chatsworth.com An Employee-Owned Company
Average power allocation for 12 benchmarked data centers (LBNL 2007a).
Average Data Center Power Allocation
Thermal Trends in the Data Center
How Can You Dramatically Reduce
Your Costs Starting Today?

3. 800-834-4969 | www.chatsworth.com An Employee-Owned Company
• Many data centers use 20 – 50% of the total electrical supply
just for cooling
• Looking at technology and components, cooling is becoming
more critical as densities continue to increase
• Typical data centers operate in the range of 50 – 200 watts per
sq ft (0.09 m); industry trends show that these values could
DOUBLE in the future!
• What can we do given current carbon footprint concerns and
potential costs associated with implementing an efficient energy
efficient system?
Current Status

4. 800-834-4969 | www.chatsworth.com An Employee-Owned Company
Cooling Methods
Traditional Hot/Cold Aisle
Designed around TIA-942 and ASHRAE
standards
Close Coupled Cooling (In-Row,
Overhead)
Cooling is moved to heat, producing equipment
shortening delivery and return air paths
Hot Aisle Containment (HAC)
Hot aisle is enclosed, usually at the rear edge
of the cabinets and sides
Cold Aisle Containment (CAC)
Similar to HAC, except containment is usually
at the front edge of the cabinet and includes a
roof across the cabinet rows
Passive Cooling Containment Similar to HAC/CAC but dramatically different

5. 800-834-4969 | www.chatsworth.com An Employee-Owned Company
• What design elements of my facility impacts containment?
• Overhead cabling and power distribution
• Overhead return air plenum
• Raised floor vs. concrete floor
• Fire suppression considerations
• Wet sprinkler vs. gas
• Ability to expand existing system
• Performance goals
• Mitigate hot spots
• Increase density
• Add economization
• Maximize thermal efficiency
• Maximize long-term return on investment
Major Considerations for Efficient Data
Center Cooling

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Traditional Hot Aisle/Cold Aisle
• Oversupply required
• No airflow strategy
• Hot / chilled air mixing occurs
• No economization options
• Lowest thermal performance

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Close-Coupled Cooling
• Cooling placed in the rows
• Reduces airflow delivery and return paths
• Reduces cabinet count per row
• Requires fire suppression changes with aisle roof
• Smallest volume of ride through air capacity

8. 800-834-4969 | www.chatsworth.com An Employee-Owned Company
Hot Aisle Containment
• Requires clear path from cabinet to ceiling
• High temperature in hot aisle during servicing
• Complete isolation prevents mixing
• Facilitates all economization techniques
• High ride through air capacity

9. 800-834-4969 | www.chatsworth.com An Employee-Owned Company
Cold Aisle Containment
• Complete isolation prevents mixing
• Aisle roof reduces interference with room structures
• Fire suppression must be added to aisle
• Facilitates all economization techniques
• Smaller ride through air capacity

10. 800-834-4969 | www.chatsworth.com An Employee-Owned Company
Passive Cooling
• Complete isolation prevents mixing
• Facilitates all economization techniques
• Least cost to deploy (1 cabinet at a time)
• High ROI
• Comfortable work environment

11. 800-834-4969 | www.chatsworth.com An Employee-Owned Company
Limitations of Various Systems
Isolation Strategy Major Limitations
Traditional Hot/Cold Aisle • No air management
• Economization options limited as return air
temperatures are too low
Close Coupled Cooling • Only allows water side economization
• Reduces aisle space for equipment
• Reduces ride-through air capacity
Hot Aisle Containment • Requires unobstructed path to plenum
• Hot work environment during service
• Deploy by complete POD
Cold Aisle Containment • Requires fire suppression changes
• Smallest ride through air capacity
• Deploy by complete POD
Passive Cooling • Requires overhead return plenum
• Requires clear path for vertical duct

12. 800-834-4969 | www.chatsworth.com An Employee-Owned Company
Containment Comparison Summary
Traditional
HA/CA
Close Coupled
Cooling
Cold Aisle
Containment
Hot Aisle
Containment
Passive Cooling
Vertical Exhaust
Ducted
End of Row Doors
Initial Cost * *
High Efficiency * * * *
Highest ROI * * *
Facilitates
Economization * * * *
Ride Through
Air Reserve * *
Fire Suppression * * * *
Flexibility to Deploy * *
Allows Increased
Chilled Water
Setpoint * * * *
Reduces Overall
Cooling
Requirements * * *
Room Comfort * * *
Quantity
Cabinets/Row * * * * *

13. 800-834-4969 | www.chatsworth.com An Employee-Owned Company
Conclusions Summary
Cold Aisle
Containment
Hot Aisle
Containment
Passive Cooling
Vertical Exhaust
Ducted
Initial Cost *
High Efficiency * * *
Highest ROI * * *
Facilitates
Economization * * *
Ride Through Air
Reserve * *
Fire Suppression * *
Flexibility to Deploy *
Allows Increased
Chilled Water Setpoint * * *
Reduces Overall
Cooling Requirements * * *
Room Comfort *
Quantity Cabinets/Row
* * *

14. • A range of data center architectures were studied to determine thermal performance/cooling
cost impact
– Hot Aisle/Cold Aisle (no containment strategy)
– End of row doors
– Complete Hot Aisle Containment with Vertical Exhaust Ducted Return
• Six 45U high-performance cabinets in a 3x3 configuration were used
for all tests
• For all test cases, the loading conditions were constant
– 72kW total IT load via TTV load banks
– 12kW IT load per cabinet
– 1200 CFM of airflow per cabinet
• All energy exchanges were measured to determine total system efficiency
and airflow leakage
– Chilled water to CRAH
– CRAH to Cabinet Supply
– Cabinet Exhaust to CRAH
• Various airflow return conditions were also tested
– Room return
– Ceiling return
– Airflow supply vs.demand was balanced (positive room pressure)
Containment Strategy Lab TestingContainment Strategy Lab Testing

15. 800-834-4969 | www.chatsworth.com An Employee-Owned Company15
Legacy Chiller Plant and CRAH Conditioned Air Delivery
Containment Strategy
Yearly Cooling Cost
per Cabinet ($/Cab)
Hot Aisle Containment with Vertical Exhaust
Duct
$1,579
End of Row Doors Ceiling Return $1,786
End of Row Doors Room Return $2,246
Legacy HA/CA Ceiling Return $2,251
Legacy HA/CA Room Return $2,257
Cost Per Containment Strategy

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Data Center Solutions

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Contact Information
Sam Rodriguez
RCDD
Senior Product Manager for
Cabinets and Thermal Management Products
Content support provided by:
Steven R. Bornfield
Senior Data Center Consultant
Chatsworth Products Inc.

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