Ducting hot IT-equipment exhaust to a drop ceiling can be an effective air management strategy, improving the reliability and energy efficiency of a data center. Typical approaches include ducting either individual racks or entire hot aisles and may be passive (ducting only) or active (include fans). This paper examines available ducting options and explains how such systems should be deployed and operated. Practical cooling limits are established and best-practice recommendations are provided.
Row-based data center cooling is normally regarded as
a “cold air supply” architecture that uses row-based
coolers. However, row-based cooling is actually a “hot
air capture” architecture that neutralizes hot air from IT
equipment before it has a chance to mix with the
surrounding air in the room. This paper discusses
common misconceptions aboutrow-based cooling,
explains how row-based cooling removes hot air, and
describes key design attributes that maximize the
effectiveness of this approach.
Implementing Hot and Cold Air Containment in Existing Data CentersSchneider Electric
Containment solutions can eliminate hot spots and provide energy savings over traditional uncontained data center designs. The best containment solution for an existing facility will depend on the constraints of the facility. While ducted hot aisle containment is preferred for highest efficiency, cold aisle containment tends to be easier and more cost effective for facilities with existing raised floor air distribution. This presentation investigates the constraints, reviews all available containment methods, and provides recommendations for determining the best containment approach.
High Efficiency Indirect Air Economizer Based Cooling for Data CentersSchneider Electric
Of the various economizer (free cooling) modes for data centers, using fresh air is often viewed as the most energy efficient approach. However, this paper shows how indirect air economizer-based cooling produces similar or better energy savings while eliminating risks posed when outside fresh air is allowed directly into the IT space.
Data Center Floor Design - Your Layout Can Save of Kill Your PUE & Cooling Ef...Maria Demitras
Implementing data center best practices and using CFD models allowed Great Lakes to suggest a data center layout that would improve PUE and efficiency. Jason Hallenbeck, DCDC, explains the concepts behind how data center floor design can save or kill your PUE and cooling efficiency—as found in this proposal. Find Jason presenting at the BICSI Fall Conference on September 14th at 1:30 pm.
Data Center Lessons Learned at an Intel data center. Innovations in cost and energy savings in high-density data centers including: air economizer, retrofit of factory builiding, high efficiency air-cooled cabinets, and a container data center proof-of-concept.
Data Center Cooling Design - Datacenter-serverroommarlisaclark
Keep your data center cool and healthy with our smart Data Center Cooling Design which makes sure your data centers never get exhausted and work efficiently. Visit: http://www.datacenter-serverroom.com/rack-row-room-data-center-cooling
sehubungan dengan kebutuhan Internet of things (IoT) di segala bidang, maka diperlukan data center yang memenuhi standar, salah satu bagian vital pada data center yaitu bagian HVACnya, berikut saya lampirkan PPT pemaparan singkat mengenai HVAC pada data center, mohon maaf PPTnya masih acak-acak2an :D
semogaa bermanfaat
Row-based data center cooling is normally regarded as
a “cold air supply” architecture that uses row-based
coolers. However, row-based cooling is actually a “hot
air capture” architecture that neutralizes hot air from IT
equipment before it has a chance to mix with the
surrounding air in the room. This paper discusses
common misconceptions aboutrow-based cooling,
explains how row-based cooling removes hot air, and
describes key design attributes that maximize the
effectiveness of this approach.
Implementing Hot and Cold Air Containment in Existing Data CentersSchneider Electric
Containment solutions can eliminate hot spots and provide energy savings over traditional uncontained data center designs. The best containment solution for an existing facility will depend on the constraints of the facility. While ducted hot aisle containment is preferred for highest efficiency, cold aisle containment tends to be easier and more cost effective for facilities with existing raised floor air distribution. This presentation investigates the constraints, reviews all available containment methods, and provides recommendations for determining the best containment approach.
High Efficiency Indirect Air Economizer Based Cooling for Data CentersSchneider Electric
Of the various economizer (free cooling) modes for data centers, using fresh air is often viewed as the most energy efficient approach. However, this paper shows how indirect air economizer-based cooling produces similar or better energy savings while eliminating risks posed when outside fresh air is allowed directly into the IT space.
Data Center Floor Design - Your Layout Can Save of Kill Your PUE & Cooling Ef...Maria Demitras
Implementing data center best practices and using CFD models allowed Great Lakes to suggest a data center layout that would improve PUE and efficiency. Jason Hallenbeck, DCDC, explains the concepts behind how data center floor design can save or kill your PUE and cooling efficiency—as found in this proposal. Find Jason presenting at the BICSI Fall Conference on September 14th at 1:30 pm.
Data Center Lessons Learned at an Intel data center. Innovations in cost and energy savings in high-density data centers including: air economizer, retrofit of factory builiding, high efficiency air-cooled cabinets, and a container data center proof-of-concept.
Data Center Cooling Design - Datacenter-serverroommarlisaclark
Keep your data center cool and healthy with our smart Data Center Cooling Design which makes sure your data centers never get exhausted and work efficiently. Visit: http://www.datacenter-serverroom.com/rack-row-room-data-center-cooling
sehubungan dengan kebutuhan Internet of things (IoT) di segala bidang, maka diperlukan data center yang memenuhi standar, salah satu bagian vital pada data center yaitu bagian HVACnya, berikut saya lampirkan PPT pemaparan singkat mengenai HVAC pada data center, mohon maaf PPTnya masih acak-acak2an :D
semogaa bermanfaat
The segmentation of data centers into alternating hot and cold aisles is an established best practice. A number of manufacturers are taking this premise of airflow separation a step further by marketing "containment" solutions. By containing the hot or cold aisle, the air paths have little chance to mix, presenting data center operators with both reliability and efficiency gains.
To view the recording of the webinar presentation, please visit http://www.42u.com/webinars/Aisle-Containment-Webinar/playback.htm
Review of TIA-942 data standards and some of the best practices surrounding a data center.
Sri Chalasani (Plante & Moran) is available to provide consulting on data center and infrastructure solutions.
The data center market has expanded dramatically in the past few years, and it doesn’t show signs of slowing down. Many clients and building owners are requesting modular data centers, which can be placed anywhere data capacity is needed. Modular data centers can help cash-strapped building owners add a new data center (or more capacity) to their site, and can assist facilities with unplanned outages, such as disruptions due to storms. Owners look to modular data centers to accelerate the “floor ready” date as compared to a traditional brick and mortar.
Eliminating Data Center Hot Spots: An Approach for Identifying and Correcting Lost Air
Data center cooling is a hot topic. But, when you consider the challenges associated with cooling the latest generation servers, the growing cost of infrastructure equipment, and the risks associated with data center hot spots brought on by high-density clusters and premature hardware failure, it's easy to understand the focus.
To view the recorded webinar event, please visit http://www.42u.com/data-center-hot-spots-webinar.htm
Lowering operating costs through cooling system designAFCOM
Learn more about achieving maximum energy efficiency through cooling system design. This presentation was given during the Spring 2012 Data Center World Conference in Las Vegas, NV. Learn more by visiting www.datacenterworld.com.
Data center cooling infrastructure slideLivin Jose
CRAC vs CRAH, what is Air-Side Economizer, What is chillers, What is cooling tower, what is CRAC, What is CRAH, what is the importance of cooling in data center, what is Water Side Economizer,
Virtualization and Cloud Computing: Optimized Power, Cooling, and Management ...Schneider Electric
IT virtualization, the engine behind cloud computing, can have significant consequences on the data center physical infrastructure (DCPI). Higher power densities that often result can challenge the cooling capabilities of an existing system. Reduced overall energy consumption that typically results from physical server consolidation may actually worsen the data center’s power usage effectiveness (PUE). Dynamic loads that vary in time and location may heighten the risk of downtime if rack-level power and cooling health are not understood and considered. Finally, the fault-tolerant nature of a highly virtualized environment could raise questions about the level of redundancy required in the physical infrastructure. These particular effects of virtualization are discussed and possible solutions or methods for dealing with them are offered.
Data center power availability provisioningLivin Jose
Data center power availability provisioning, Power provision - Concurrently maintainable, Power provision - Fault tolerant, Power provision - Single Path, Power provision - Single path with resilience
Este é um documento disponibilzado pela Ashrae na internet para consultas sobre TC 9.9 para operação em Data Centers no mundo todo, esse guia fala sobre as classes e os seus limites operacionais mínimos e máximos
The segmentation of data centers into alternating hot and cold aisles is an established best practice. A number of manufacturers are taking this premise of airflow separation a step further by marketing "containment" solutions. By containing the hot or cold aisle, the air paths have little chance to mix, presenting data center operators with both reliability and efficiency gains.
To view the recording of the webinar presentation, please visit http://www.42u.com/webinars/Aisle-Containment-Webinar/playback.htm
Review of TIA-942 data standards and some of the best practices surrounding a data center.
Sri Chalasani (Plante & Moran) is available to provide consulting on data center and infrastructure solutions.
The data center market has expanded dramatically in the past few years, and it doesn’t show signs of slowing down. Many clients and building owners are requesting modular data centers, which can be placed anywhere data capacity is needed. Modular data centers can help cash-strapped building owners add a new data center (or more capacity) to their site, and can assist facilities with unplanned outages, such as disruptions due to storms. Owners look to modular data centers to accelerate the “floor ready” date as compared to a traditional brick and mortar.
Eliminating Data Center Hot Spots: An Approach for Identifying and Correcting Lost Air
Data center cooling is a hot topic. But, when you consider the challenges associated with cooling the latest generation servers, the growing cost of infrastructure equipment, and the risks associated with data center hot spots brought on by high-density clusters and premature hardware failure, it's easy to understand the focus.
To view the recorded webinar event, please visit http://www.42u.com/data-center-hot-spots-webinar.htm
Lowering operating costs through cooling system designAFCOM
Learn more about achieving maximum energy efficiency through cooling system design. This presentation was given during the Spring 2012 Data Center World Conference in Las Vegas, NV. Learn more by visiting www.datacenterworld.com.
Data center cooling infrastructure slideLivin Jose
CRAC vs CRAH, what is Air-Side Economizer, What is chillers, What is cooling tower, what is CRAC, What is CRAH, what is the importance of cooling in data center, what is Water Side Economizer,
Virtualization and Cloud Computing: Optimized Power, Cooling, and Management ...Schneider Electric
IT virtualization, the engine behind cloud computing, can have significant consequences on the data center physical infrastructure (DCPI). Higher power densities that often result can challenge the cooling capabilities of an existing system. Reduced overall energy consumption that typically results from physical server consolidation may actually worsen the data center’s power usage effectiveness (PUE). Dynamic loads that vary in time and location may heighten the risk of downtime if rack-level power and cooling health are not understood and considered. Finally, the fault-tolerant nature of a highly virtualized environment could raise questions about the level of redundancy required in the physical infrastructure. These particular effects of virtualization are discussed and possible solutions or methods for dealing with them are offered.
Data center power availability provisioningLivin Jose
Data center power availability provisioning, Power provision - Concurrently maintainable, Power provision - Fault tolerant, Power provision - Single Path, Power provision - Single path with resilience
Este é um documento disponibilzado pela Ashrae na internet para consultas sobre TC 9.9 para operação em Data Centers no mundo todo, esse guia fala sobre as classes e os seus limites operacionais mínimos e máximos
Охлаждение лучистыми термопанелями. Статая: By John Dieckmann, Member ASHRAE, Kurt W. Roth, Ph.D., Associate Member ASHRAE, and
James Brodrick, Ph.D., Member ASHRAE. ASHRAE Journal. June 2004
Unlike most cooling systems in California which circulate cold air to maintain comfort most radiant cooling system circulate cool water through ceiling wall, or floor panels from that water is then absorbed by the occupants and interior spaces.
Retrofitting EC plug fans - An energy efficiency drive that can cost more tha...Robert Schmidt
Energy efficiency is a key driver for many upgrades in legacy Data Centers. Improvements in fan technology have meant that upgrading the fans in an old Data Center air conditioner can yield massive savings, many times that of the cost of the work. However, what is often forgotten is that, because fans are the devices that actually distribute cooling throughout the Data Center, changing their behavior will change the behavior of the Data Center itself. Changes to cooling distribution throughout the Data Center will have a knock-on effect on deployment and capacity planning. The new cooling distribution provided by the new, energy efficient fans, must therefore be evaluated before the decision to proceed is made. The only way to do this is through simulation.
Five Topmost Over-Engineered Building ComponentsRahulJaykar21
This ebook will provide an overview of the building systems that are most commonly over-engineered, pointing out the pitfalls that must be avoided and the negative consequences that can come from excessive capacity
One of the most critical aspects of traditional data center infrastructure is cooling system optimization and planning. When a subset of the system is physically relocated closer to the end user, as described in the Edge Data Center (EDC) concept, a solution to provide a data center-like environment for high-power equipment in public places such as office buildings, shopping centers, school campuses, event arenas, and wireless cell sites will be required.
More Electric:
Our world is becoming More Electric. Almost everything we interact with today is either already electric or becoming electric. Think about it. From the time you start your day in the morning to the time you finish your day – your home, your car, your work, your devices, your entertainment – almost everything is electric. Imagine the energy needed to power this. Electricity consumption will increase by 80% in next 25 years
More Connected: Our lives are also becoming more connected. The Internet has already transformed the way we live, work and play. Now the Connected Things is going to take this to a brand new level. 50 billion things connected in the next 5 years.
More Distributed: With such a widespread electrification and connectivity, energy models need rethinking as well. Which is why the generation of power needs to be closer to users. Distributed Energy is rapidly evolving globally. This is positive energy – renewable. In 2014 , Renewables overtook fossil fuels in investment value, with $295bn invested in renewables compared to $289bn invested in fossil fuels. And it is getting cheaper to do this.
More Efficient: When our world is more electric, more connected and more distributed, new opportunities emerge and allows us to tap into even more efficiency – in industrial processes, in the energy value chain, in buildings, in transportation, in the global supply chain and even in the comfort and peace-of-mind of our homes.
With more than $18 billion in M&A activity in the first half of last year alone, the colocation industry is riding the bubble of rapid growth. Colocation data center providers are being evaluated by a wide range of investors, with varying experience and perspectives. Understanding the evaluation criteria is a critical competency for attracting the right type of investor and financial commitment for your colocation business and this is why we have invited today’s speaker to present.
Steve Wallage Steve Wallage is Managing Director of BroadGroup Consulting. Steve brings 25 years of industry experience, holding senior roles at Gartner Group, IDC, CGI and IBM before joining BroadGroup 10 years ago. In his responsibilities at BroadGroup Steve has led many due diligence projects for investors evaluating colocation companies.
In this briefing we explore the Phaseo power supplies and transformers offer presentation and application samples.
For more details:
Industrial%20Automation%20and%20Control&parent-category-id=4500&parent-subcategory-id=4510
We’ve all been hearing about how robust the market for data center space is, but a presentation by an investment banker who has his finger on the pulse on the market day in and day out gave me a new appreciation for how great the opportunity really is.
Herb May is a partner and managing director with DH Capital, an investment bank founded 15 years ago in New York that is focused on the Internet infrastructure space. His company has been involved in close to 100 deals, representing almost $20 billion in value. Most of DH Capital’s work is as a mergers and acquisitions advisor, but raising capital is a growing percentage of its business. The point is, the company understands the financials behind data centers and colocation companies inside and out.
At Schneider Electric, in the IT Division, our core business has always been focused on delivering the highest level of availability to critical technologies, systems and processes. We’ve done this through our award winning, industry-leading and highest quality products and solutions, including UPS, Cooling, Rack Systems, DCIM and Services.
In this new digital era, we see a world that is always-on.
Always on to meet the needs of the highest notion of “access” to goods and services
Always on to be the solid, reliable foundation of digital transformation for businesses
Our mission is: To empower the digital transformation of our customers by ensuring their critical network, systems and processes are highly available and resilient.
In this briefing we explore the Magelis Basic HMI offer presentation and application samples.
For more details:
https://www.schneider-electric.com/en/product-range/61054-magelis#search
In this briefing, we explore the Zelio time relay offer presentation and application samples.
For more details:
http://www.schneider-electric.com/en/product-range/529-zelio-time?parent-category-id=2800&parent-subcategory-id=2810&filter=business-1-industrial-automation-and-control
Spacial, Thalassa, ClimaSys Universal enclosures BriefingSchneider Electric
Discover more about Universal Enclosures and how to select the one you need.
For more information:
http://www.schneider-electric.com/en/product-category/5800-enclosures-and-accessories/?filter=business-1-industrial-automation-and-control
Learn more about "what is a solid state relay", key features and targeted applications.
For more details:
http://www.schneider-electric.com/en/product-range/60278-zelio-relays?parent-category-id=2800&filter=business-1-Industrial%20Automation%20and%20Control
Learn more about what an HMI does and the main components and a look at a typical HMI.
Further details:
http://www.schneider-electric.com/en/product-category/2100-HMI%20(Terminals%20and%20Industrial%20PC)?filter=business-1-Industrial%20Automation%20and%20Control
Where will the next 80% improvement in data center performance come from?Schneider Electric
Rick Puskar, Head of Marketing for Schneider Electric's IT Division presents at the Gartner Symposium in Barcelona November 8th, 2017. In this presentation Rick discusses where the next 80% improvement in data center performance will come from with a focus on the speed, availability and reliability of data. Learn how a cloud-based data center infrastructure management as a service architecture like Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure IT can drive such aggressive goals around data center performance.
Learn how EcoStruxure is digitizing industry with IIoT to increase end-to-end operational efficiency with more dynamic control for better business results.
Learn more about our System Integrator Alliance Program - A global partnership transforming industry and infrastructure by helping them make the most of their processes, the most of their assets and the most of their energy.
EcoStruxure, IIoT-enabled architecture, delivering value in key segments.Schneider Electric
As presented during the Alliance 2017 event, learn how to deliver integrated solutions based on EcoStruxure, our IIoT-enabled architecture for Wastewater, Food and Beverage and Mining, Minerals and Metals.
A Practical Guide to Ensuring Business Continuity and High Performance in Hea...Schneider Electric
Within healthcare facilities, high availability of systems is a key influencer of revenue and patient safety and satisfaction. Three important critical success factors need to be addressed in order to achieve safety and availability goals. These include exceeding the facility’s level of regulatory compliance, a linking of business benefits to the maintenance of a safe and an “always on” power and ventilation environment, and a sensible approach to technology upgrades that includes new strategies for “selling” technological improvements to executives. This reference guide offers recommendations for identifying and addressing each of these issues.
Connected Services Study – Facility Managers Respond to IoTSchneider Electric
According to a new 2017 study commissioned by Schneider Electric, facility managers are increasingly looking to leverage the Internet of Things (IoT) by implementing new digital technologies like intelligent analytics to improve maintenance decisions and operations. Explore the full results on how facility managers are reacting to IoT when it comes to facility maintenance.
Learn more about cabling and accessories and the complete ranges available featuring 3 types of cable to suit the envirionment. For more details: http://www.schneider-electric.com/en/product-subcategory/88035-cordset-and-connectors/?filter=business-1-industrial-automation-and-control&parent-category-id=4900
This briefing will look at the general purpose of Photoelectric sensors and Photoelectric fork and frame sensors. For more details: http://www.tesensors.com/global/en/product/photoelectric/xu/?filter=business-1-automation-and-control&parent-category-id=4900/
A world-class global brand offering a comprehensive line of Limit Switches complying with international standards: IEC, UL, CSA, CCC, GOST. For more details: http://www.tesensors.com/global/en/product/limit-switches/xc-standard/?cat_id=BU_AUT_520_L4&conf=sensors&el_typ=node&nod_id=0000000002&prev_nod_id=0000000001&scp_id=Z000
State of ICS and IoT Cyber Threat Landscape Report 2024 previewPrayukth K V
The IoT and OT threat landscape report has been prepared by the Threat Research Team at Sectrio using data from Sectrio, cyber threat intelligence farming facilities spread across over 85 cities around the world. In addition, Sectrio also runs AI-based advanced threat and payload engagement facilities that serve as sinks to attract and engage sophisticated threat actors, and newer malware including new variants and latent threats that are at an earlier stage of development.
The latest edition of the OT/ICS and IoT security Threat Landscape Report 2024 also covers:
State of global ICS asset and network exposure
Sectoral targets and attacks as well as the cost of ransom
Global APT activity, AI usage, actor and tactic profiles, and implications
Rise in volumes of AI-powered cyberattacks
Major cyber events in 2024
Malware and malicious payload trends
Cyberattack types and targets
Vulnerability exploit attempts on CVEs
Attacks on counties – USA
Expansion of bot farms – how, where, and why
In-depth analysis of the cyber threat landscape across North America, South America, Europe, APAC, and the Middle East
Why are attacks on smart factories rising?
Cyber risk predictions
Axis of attacks – Europe
Systemic attacks in the Middle East
Download the full report from here:
https://sectrio.com/resources/ot-threat-landscape-reports/sectrio-releases-ot-ics-and-iot-security-threat-landscape-report-2024/
Builder.ai Founder Sachin Dev Duggal's Strategic Approach to Create an Innova...Ramesh Iyer
In today's fast-changing business world, Companies that adapt and embrace new ideas often need help to keep up with the competition. However, fostering a culture of innovation takes much work. It takes vision, leadership and willingness to take risks in the right proportion. Sachin Dev Duggal, co-founder of Builder.ai, has perfected the art of this balance, creating a company culture where creativity and growth are nurtured at each stage.
Connector Corner: Automate dynamic content and events by pushing a buttonDianaGray10
Here is something new! In our next Connector Corner webinar, we will demonstrate how you can use a single workflow to:
Create a campaign using Mailchimp with merge tags/fields
Send an interactive Slack channel message (using buttons)
Have the message received by managers and peers along with a test email for review
But there’s more:
In a second workflow supporting the same use case, you’ll see:
Your campaign sent to target colleagues for approval
If the “Approve” button is clicked, a Jira/Zendesk ticket is created for the marketing design team
But—if the “Reject” button is pushed, colleagues will be alerted via Slack message
Join us to learn more about this new, human-in-the-loop capability, brought to you by Integration Service connectors.
And...
Speakers:
Akshay Agnihotri, Product Manager
Charlie Greenberg, Host
GDG Cloud Southlake #33: Boule & Rebala: Effective AppSec in SDLC using Deplo...James Anderson
Effective Application Security in Software Delivery lifecycle using Deployment Firewall and DBOM
The modern software delivery process (or the CI/CD process) includes many tools, distributed teams, open-source code, and cloud platforms. Constant focus on speed to release software to market, along with the traditional slow and manual security checks has caused gaps in continuous security as an important piece in the software supply chain. Today organizations feel more susceptible to external and internal cyber threats due to the vast attack surface in their applications supply chain and the lack of end-to-end governance and risk management.
The software team must secure its software delivery process to avoid vulnerability and security breaches. This needs to be achieved with existing tool chains and without extensive rework of the delivery processes. This talk will present strategies and techniques for providing visibility into the true risk of the existing vulnerabilities, preventing the introduction of security issues in the software, resolving vulnerabilities in production environments quickly, and capturing the deployment bill of materials (DBOM).
Speakers:
Bob Boule
Robert Boule is a technology enthusiast with PASSION for technology and making things work along with a knack for helping others understand how things work. He comes with around 20 years of solution engineering experience in application security, software continuous delivery, and SaaS platforms. He is known for his dynamic presentations in CI/CD and application security integrated in software delivery lifecycle.
Gopinath Rebala
Gopinath Rebala is the CTO of OpsMx, where he has overall responsibility for the machine learning and data processing architectures for Secure Software Delivery. Gopi also has a strong connection with our customers, leading design and architecture for strategic implementations. Gopi is a frequent speaker and well-known leader in continuous delivery and integrating security into software delivery.
DevOps and Testing slides at DASA ConnectKari Kakkonen
My and Rik Marselis slides at 30.5.2024 DASA Connect conference. We discuss about what is testing, then what is agile testing and finally what is Testing in DevOps. Finally we had lovely workshop with the participants trying to find out different ways to think about quality and testing in different parts of the DevOps infinity loop.
GraphRAG is All You need? LLM & Knowledge GraphGuy Korland
Guy Korland, CEO and Co-founder of FalkorDB, will review two articles on the integration of language models with knowledge graphs.
1. Unifying Large Language Models and Knowledge Graphs: A Roadmap.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.08302
2. Microsoft Research's GraphRAG paper and a review paper on various uses of knowledge graphs:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/graphrag-unlocking-llm-discovery-on-narrative-private-data/
Software Delivery At the Speed of AI: Inflectra Invests In AI-Powered QualityInflectra
In this insightful webinar, Inflectra explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming software development and testing. Discover how AI-powered tools are revolutionizing every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), from design and prototyping to testing, deployment, and monitoring.
Learn about:
• The Future of Testing: How AI is shifting testing towards verification, analysis, and higher-level skills, while reducing repetitive tasks.
• Test Automation: How AI-powered test case generation, optimization, and self-healing tests are making testing more efficient and effective.
• Visual Testing: Explore the emerging capabilities of AI in visual testing and how it's set to revolutionize UI verification.
• Inflectra's AI Solutions: See demonstrations of Inflectra's cutting-edge AI tools like the ChatGPT plugin and Azure Open AI platform, designed to streamline your testing process.
Whether you're a developer, tester, or QA professional, this webinar will give you valuable insights into how AI is shaping the future of software delivery.
Transcript: Selling digital books in 2024: Insights from industry leaders - T...BookNet Canada
The publishing industry has been selling digital audiobooks and ebooks for over a decade and has found its groove. What’s changed? What has stayed the same? Where do we go from here? Join a group of leading sales peers from across the industry for a conversation about the lessons learned since the popularization of digital books, best practices, digital book supply chain management, and more.
Link to video recording: https://bnctechforum.ca/sessions/selling-digital-books-in-2024-insights-from-industry-leaders/
Presented by BookNet Canada on May 28, 2024, with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 3DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 3. In this session, we will cover desktop automation along with UI automation.
Topics covered:
UI automation Introduction,
UI automation Sample
Desktop automation flow
Pradeep Chinnala, Senior Consultant Automation Developer @WonderBotz and UiPath MVP
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
Let's dive deeper into the world of ODC! Ricardo Alves (OutSystems) will join us to tell all about the new Data Fabric. After that, Sezen de Bruijn (OutSystems) will get into the details on how to best design a sturdy architecture within ODC.
Slack (or Teams) Automation for Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Soluti...Jeffrey Haguewood
Sidekick Solutions uses Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Solutions Apricot) and automation solutions to integrate data for business workflows.
We believe integration and automation are essential to user experience and the promise of efficient work through technology. Automation is the critical ingredient to realizing that full vision. We develop integration products and services for Bonterra Case Management software to support the deployment of automations for a variety of use cases.
This video focuses on the notifications, alerts, and approval requests using Slack for Bonterra Impact Management. The solutions covered in this webinar can also be deployed for Microsoft Teams.
Interested in deploying notification automations for Bonterra Impact Management? Contact us at sales@sidekicksolutionsllc.com to discuss next steps.
JMeter webinar - integration with InfluxDB and GrafanaRTTS
Watch this recorded webinar about real-time monitoring of application performance. See how to integrate Apache JMeter, the open-source leader in performance testing, with InfluxDB, the open-source time-series database, and Grafana, the open-source analytics and visualization application.
In this webinar, we will review the benefits of leveraging InfluxDB and Grafana when executing load tests and demonstrate how these tools are used to visualize performance metrics.
Length: 30 minutes
Session Overview
-------------------------------------------
During this webinar, we will cover the following topics while demonstrating the integrations of JMeter, InfluxDB and Grafana:
- What out-of-the-box solutions are available for real-time monitoring JMeter tests?
- What are the benefits of integrating InfluxDB and Grafana into the load testing stack?
- Which features are provided by Grafana?
- Demonstration of InfluxDB and Grafana using a practice web application
To view the webinar recording, go to:
https://www.rttsweb.com/jmeter-integration-webinar
JMeter webinar - integration with InfluxDB and Grafana
The Use of Ceiling Ducted Air Containment in Data Centers
1. The Use o f Ceiling-D ucted
Air Containment in Data Centers
White Paper 182
Revision 0
by Jim VanGilder
Simon Zhang
Paul Lin
Executive summary
Ducting hot IT-equipment exhaust to a drop ceiling can
be an effective air management strategy, improving
the reliability and energy efficiency of a data center.
Typical approaches include ducting either individual
racks or entire hot aisles and may be passive (ducting
only) or active (include fans). This paper examines
available ducting options and explains how such
systems should be deployed and operated. Practical
cooling limits are established and best-practice rec-ommendations
are provided.
by Schneider Electric White Papers are now part of the Schneider Electric
white paper library produced by Schneider Electric’s Data Center Science Center
DCSC@Schneider-Electric.com
2. The Use of Ceiling-Ducted Air Containment in Data Centers
Hot exhaust airflow recirculation and cold supply airflow bypass are more likely to occur with
high and non-uniform rack densities due to mismatches between IT and local cooling supply
airflow (e.g., from perforated floor tiles). Air containment can virtually eliminate such
recirculations thereby improving the reliability and energy efficiency of data centers. Both
“hot” and “cold” air containment strategies are common and are discussed in greater detail in
White Paper 153, Implementing Hot and Cold Air Containment in Existing Data Centers and
White Paper 135, Impact of Hot and Cold Aisle Containment on Data Center Temperature
and Efficiency. Ceiling-ducted containment systems, the topic of this white paper, are “hot
air” containment strategies in which the hot IT exhaust is ducted directly into a drop ceiling
plenum and subsequently drawn out of the plenum by CRAH (Computer Room Air Handler)
or other cooling units. Like all hot air containment strategies, ducted systems provide the
following primary advantages over cold air containment strategies:
• Comfortable working conditions and better cooling of equipment located around the
periphery of the data center; and
• Greater energy efficiency due to increased temperature difference between the hot
return air and the ambient.
Ceiling-ducted containment systems deserve examination in greater detail here because of
their unique reliance upon a drop ceiling system. As will be discussed, it is the performance
of the ceiling plenum, specifically, the ability to provide a slightly negative pressure (relative
to the room) which dominates the cooling performance of ducted equipment. When properly
utilized, ducted containment is a reasonable option for new facilities and a particularly
attractive option for improving the efficiency and extending the life of existing facilities.
The defining characteristic of ducted containment systems is that they physically duct hot IT
exhaust into a drop ceiling. Figures 1 and 2 show typical examples in which passive rack
ducting is used with traditional CRAH units and passive hot-aisle ducting is used with high-efficiency
cooling units located outside of the building, respectively. In both cases, the design
intent is that all hot IT exhaust is captured and directed into the ceiling plenum thereby
eliminating recirculation back to equipment inlets. Of course, such systems are not perfectly
sealed and generally cannot provide perfect separation of cold and hot airflow streams.
Ultimately, there must be an airflow mass balance and, any mismatch between IT and CRAH
airflow rates must be made up by leakage either into or out of the plenum. We will discuss
the ceiling plenum airflow and pressure in more detail later in this paper. First, this section
provides a brief overview of the types of ducting systems considered here. See White Paper
153, Implementing Hot and Cold Air Containment in Existing Data Centers, for additional
details.
Schneider Electric – Data Center Science Center Rev 0 2
Introduction
Classification
of ducted air
containment
Figure 1
Example of drop ceiling
plenum and passive ducted
racks in a typical perimeter
CRAH application (Schneider
Electric Vertical Exhaust Duct
Used)
3. The Use of Ceiling-Ducted Air Containment in Data Centers
Passive individually-ducted rack
Figure 1 shows an example of passive individually-ducted racks. This air containment
strategy involves rack-by-rack ducting to the ceiling plenum. In addition to the ducting itself,
solid panels are installed in the rear door and sometimes the un-ducted portion of the roof to
minimize leakage airflow. Deeper racks may be preferred for use with passive individually-ducted-
rack containment, particularly with higher densities, to provide a larger unrestricted
airflow path for IT exhaust.
Active individually-ducted rack
Figure 3 shows an example of an active individually-ducted rack. The fans in this active
ducting system allow for rack densities up to about 12 kW and can overcome some adverse
plenum pressure or pressure drops resulting from very dense cabling at the server exhausts.
However, active systems can easily create unintended consequences elsewhere in the data
center and should be employed with particular care. The solution shown in Figure 3 adds
approximately 10 in (250 mm) to the overall depth of the rack which likely will add to the pitch
between adjacent rows of racks. Active systems also consume power and require monitoring
and maintenance.
Schneider Electric – Data Center Science Center Rev 0 3
Figure 2
Ducted HACS used in
combination with Schneider
Electric EcoBreeze
Figure 3
Example of active ducted
rack air containment
(Schneider Electric Air Removal
Unit shown)
4. The Use of Ceiling-Ducted Air Containment in Data Centers
Ducted hot aisle containment system (Ducted HACS)
Figure 4 shows an example of a ducted hot aisle containment system (HACS). This passive
system encloses the entire hot aisle with solid panels and, sometimes, plastic curtains at the
end of rack rows. Customized containment solutions may be required due to building column
constraints, vendor-compatibility issues, or mismatched row lengths. While a specific rack
orientation and configuration is required, rack rear doors and internal side panels are
unnecessary with a ducted HACS. The shared hot aisle provides a large unobstructed
volume for IT exhaust airflow which allows this solution to be effective at very high rack
densities.
The cooling performance of ducted systems strongly depends on the configuration of the
entire data center. Parameters like the amount of excess cooling (relative to IT) airflow,
“leakiness” of the dropped ceiling system, ceiling plenum depth, rack density, and the
physical layout of equipment typically affect cooling performance more than the specific
construction details of the ducting systems themselves. If the data center design naturally
creates a sufficient vacuum (favorable) pressure above the ducted equipment, then very high
density racks can be supported with practically any ducting architecture. On the other hand,
if the aggregate design results in only a neutral or even positive (adverse) pressure above the
ducted equipment, cooling performance will be poor as recirculation back to the IT inlets may
be the “path of least resistance” for hot IT exhaust.
First, we discuss the primary factors that affect ceiling plenum pressure then discuss airflow
within the (attached) passive ducted systems. After establishing cooling performance limits
of passive ducted systems (at a given ceiling plenum pressure), we discuss how specific
(favorable) ceiling plenum pressures may be achieved in practice. Finally, we conclude this
section with a brief discussion of active ducted systems.
Ceiling plenum airflow and pressure
Figure 5 shows an example of a complex, but typical, ceiling plenum airflow pattern. Air
enters the plenum from ducted equipment and, possibly, perforated ceiling tiles which serve
to capture the hot exhaust from un-ducted equipment and exits where it is drawn out by
ducted CRAH units. Often, due primarily to imbalances between IT and CRAH airflow, overly
leaky drop ceilings, and shallow ceiling plenums, the pressure distribution inside the ceiling
plenum will be either “unfavorable” (higher than room pressure) and/or highly non-uniform.
As a result, the cooling performance of ducted equipment may vary from location-to-location
Schneider Electric – Data Center Science Center Rev 0 4
Figure 4
Example of ducted hot aisle
containment system
(Schneider Electric EcoAisle
shown)
Cooling
performance of
ducted
containment
5. The Use of Ceiling-Ducted Air Containment in Data Centers
even for otherwise-identical groups of equipment in the same data center. Furthermore, hot
exhaust airflow may enter the room as a result of “backflow” through perforated ceiling tiles
and leakage paths. The airflow physics associated with a ceiling plenum is similar to that of a
floor plenum1. Fortunately, ceiling plenums tend to be naturally deeper than floor plenums
(as a consequence of clearance for building structural members and other infrastructure)
which helps pressure uniformity. Additionally, relatively “tight” drop ceiling systems and
regular/symmetric data center layouts help minimize plenum pressure variations.
Cooling performance of passive ducted systems
The airflow physics of passive ducted systems is most easily understood with reference to a
flow network diagram in which airflow sources and resistances to airflow are drawn in analogy
to a simple electric circuit. Figure 6 shows an example data center architecture with its
corresponding flow network diagram; more complex architectures simply add more ducted
HACS, ducted racks, and CRAHs. Unlike a simple electric circuit, however, the pressure
drop across a flow resistance typically does not vary linearly with airflow rate; relationships
somewhere between linear and quadratic are typical. As an example, the pressure drop
across a perforated ceiling tile varies nearly with the square of the airflow rate which passes
through it. In the flow network diagram, Figure 6b, airflow rates (e.g., in cfm or m3/s) are
designated with Q, pressure (e.g., in inH2O or Pa) with P, and flow resistance (e.g., in
inH2O/cfm2 or Pa/(m3/s)2 for quadratic elements) with α.
1 VanGilder, J. and Schmidt, R., 2005, “Airflow Uniformity Through Perforated Tiles in a Raised Floor
Data Center”, Proceedings of InterPACK, July 17-22, San Francisco, California.
Schneider Electric – Data Center Science Center Rev 0 5
Figure 5
Example airflow pattern in
ceiling plenum (Schneider
Electric EcoStream CFD
software)
6. The Use of Ceiling-Ducted Air Containment in Data Centers
Duct
Ceiling Plenum
Duct
Tile
Rack CRAH
Duct
HAC
Ceiling Plenum
1 P 2 P 3 P 4 P
D
DR P
D
DR α L α
D
HAC α
L
HAC α L
DR α
Ducted
Rack
D
HAC P
HAC Q DR Q
Ducted
HACS
Leakage
= 0 room P
CRAH Q
Flow Resistance IT equipment Airflow CRAH Airflow
a) Physical Layout b) Flow Network Diagram
In the flow network model, ducted HACS clusters are idealized as an aggregate of all racks
within the HACS combined with the physical structure which contains the hot aisle and ducts
it to the ceiling plenum. For each ducted HACS cluster, the total rack airflow is represented
by a single flow source (QHAC) in parallel with a flow resistance (αL
HAC) which characterizes all
possible paths taken by leakage airflow passing from the hot aisle into the room (or vice
versa) through openings in the racks and the containment system structure. Additionally, a
“duct resistance” (αD
HAC) represents the flow resistance between the IT equipment exhaust
and the ceiling plenum.
Ducted racks are represented by similar flow source (QDR) and leakage path (αL
DR) elements;
however, the “duct resistance” (αD
DR) is generally much greater. The “duct resistance” is
primarily associated with server exhaust airflow rapidly decelerating as it approaches the
solid rear door of the rack, being redirected vertically, and, finally, being forced through a
small space between the rear of the servers and the rear of the rack. Note that, although we
refer to this resistance as “duct resistance” for brevity, the actual resistance inside the
containment duct itself is fairly negligible.
CRAHS are idealized as fixed airflow sources (QCRAH) while leakage airflow through the
ceiling and, if present, perforated ceiling tiles, are idealized as additional flow paths (with
resistance αL). Because the plenum pressure distribution is highly case dependent, the
preferred design approach is to analyze the airflow in the ducted equipment and attached
ceiling plenum using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. Schneider Electrics’
EcoStream CFD software, for example, embeds the flow network model shown above into the
model of the room airflow and relies on experimentally-measured flow resistance data to
characterize the various leakage paths. This software is used internally within Schneider
Electric to assist in data center design and is available commercially as part of
StruxureWareTM Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software2. Other references
provide more details on the coupling of the flow network and CFD models and the analyses
presented here3,4.
2 http://www.schneider-electric.com/sites/corporate/en/solutions/struxureware/struxureware-applications.
page (accessed 2/17/2014)
3 Zhang, X., VanGilder, J., Healey, C., and Sheffer, Z., 2013, “Compact Modeling of Data Center Air
Containment Systems”, Proceedings of InterPACK, July 16-18, Burlingame, California.
4 VanGilder, J., and Zhang, X., 2014, “Cooling Performance of Ceiling-Plenum-Ducted Containment
Systems in Data Centers”, Submitted for Publication. Proceedings of IEEE ITHERM Conference, May
27-30, Orlando, Florida.
Schneider Electric – Data Center Science Center Rev 0 6
Figure 6
Example data center with
passive ducting: 1 ducted
rack and 1 ducted HACS
7. The Use of Ceiling-Ducted Air Containment in Data Centers
While we have stressed that the ceiling plenum system should generally be considered when
designing passively-ducted systems, it is instructive to see how the different ducting systems
perform relative to one another at a given ceiling pressure. In the analysis which follows, we
assume IT equipment airflow is 125 cfm/kW [212 m3/hr/kW], racks are uniformly populated up
to the 30-U position, and blanking panels are installed elsewhere. HACS clusters are
assumed to be comprised of 20 total racks and ducted racks provide for 8 in (200 mm) of
clearance between the rear of the server and the rear door for the rack.
Figure 7 shows the cooling performance of ducted racks and ducted HACS as a function of
ceiling plenum pressure and rack power density under the assumptions outlined above.
“Good”, “Marginal”, and “Bad” cooling performance is based on the amount of IT exhaust
recirculation. “Good” means that all of the IT-exhaust airflow is captured by the ceiling
plenum and the Good/Marginal interface corresponds to a neutral pressure environment for
the servers – with neither backpressure nor additional suction. “Bad” signifies at least 10%
recirculation with 90% or less of the IT exhaust captured by the ceiling plenum. With refer-ence
to Figure 7, we draw the following two main conclusions:
Cooling performance is strongly linked to the ceiling plenum pressure. Both ducted
HACS and individually-ducted racks can potentially accommodate reasonably high rack
densities but only when appropriate plenum vacuum pressures can be achieved.
Ducted HACS can adequately cool much higher densities than individually-ducted
racks at a given ceiling vacuum pressure. For example, at a vacuum pressure of 0.03
inH20 (7.5 Pa), individually-ducted racks are limited to about 8 kW while ducted HACS
systems can support up to about 16 kW. Furthermore, ducted HACS systems provide at
least “marginal” cooling performance far into the “bad” range for individually-ducted racks.
30 Individually Ducted Racks
20
10
0
30
20
10
0
Rack Density (kW/rack)
Rack Density (kW/rack)
0.04
[10]
Good
0.06
[15]
Ceiling Plenum Vacuum Pressure (inH2O, [Pa])
Ducted HACS
0
[0]
0
[0]
Bad
0.02
[5]
Bad Marginal
0.02
[5]
0.04
[10]
Good
0.06
[15]
Marginal
0.08
[20]
0.08
[20]
0.1
[25]
0.1
[25]
Ceiling Plenum Vacuum Pressure (inH2O, [Pa])
Figure 8 summarizes the maximum rack density limits of Figure 7 and facilitates a more
direct comparison of performance between ducted racks and ducted HACS. Ideally, ceiling
plenum pressure should be maintained at just the values indicated by the curves of Figure 8
as these are the neutral-pressure operating points for the IT equipment. Lower values of
ceiling vacuum result in some hot-exhaust recirculation while higher values imply wasted
Schneider Electric – Data Center Science Center Rev 0 7
Figure 7
Cooling performance of
passive ducted systems as a
function of ceiling plenum
pressure and rack density
8. The Use of Ceiling-Ducted Air Containment in Data Centers
cooling power as room (bypass) air is drawn into the ceiling plenum. Also indicated in Figure
8, is the practicality of achieving specific plenum pressures. Ceiling vacuum of greater than
0.03 inH2O (7.5 Pa) can be achieved by minimizing cutouts, employing more restrictive (or
eliminating) perforated tiles, and selecting lighting fixtures that do not introduce substantial
leakage paths. As ceiling vacuum increases beyond about 0.06 inH2O (15 Pa) or so, typical-density
ceiling tiles begin to lift with the resulting leakage airflow limiting further increase in
vacuum pressure.
Plenum Vacuum Pressure (inH2O, [Pa])
[25]
[20]
[15]
[10]
[5]
[0]
Extreme
With Effort
Ducted HACS
Ducted Racks
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Rack Density (kW/rack)
Typical Capability
0.1
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
Cooling analysis including entire ceiling plenum
If CRAHs are controlled based on ceiling plenum pressure, then Figures 7 and 8 give the
information the data center designer or operator needs to assure good cooling performance.
But, without active ceiling pressure control, how can we be sure that a given design is
capable of achieving the required plenum vacuum? Although, this question is best answered
by performing a design-specific analysis, we give general design guidance here based on
CFD analyses of a typical data center layout5. The layout includes four rows of 10 racks; 20
racks on one side of the room are individually ducted while the other 20 racks form one
ducted HACS cluster. Four CRAHs are placed at the ends of the hot aisles. CFD simulations
cover the following design values:
• Cooling-to-IT airflow ratio: 0.8, 1.0, 1.2
• Ceiling leakiness: “leaky”, “typical”, “well sealed”
• Ceiling plenum depth: 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 60 in (0.30, 0.46, 0.61, 0.91, 1.22, 1.52 m)
• Rack density: 2, 6, 12 kW
Summarizing the CFD results, average cooling performance is a fairly weak function of
plenum depth and rack density; with deeper plenums and lower density yielding somewhat
better performance. Cooling performance is moderately affected by drop-ceiling leakiness
with “tighter” being generally better though “typical” plenums perform much closer to “well
sealed” than “leaky”. Finally, cooling performance is a strong function of cooling-to-IT airflow
5 VanGilder, J., and Zhang, X., 2014, “Cooling Performance of Ceiling-Plenum-Ducted Containment
Systems in Data Centers”, Submitted for Publication. Proceedings of IEEE ITHERM Conference, May
27-30, Orlando, Florida.
Schneider Electric – Data Center Science Center Rev 0 8
Figure 8
Target ceiling plenum set
point pressure as a function
of rack density
9. The Use of Ceiling-Ducted Air Containment in Data Centers
ratio with higher values better. For the latter, values of one are generally acceptable for
ducted HACS but ducted racks may require cooling-to-IT airflow ratios of 1.2 or higher.
While average cooling performance is only a weak function of plenum depth, the uniformity of
cooling performance (i.e., rack-to-rack variations) does depend on plenum depth. Figure 9
shows the rack-to-rack uniformity in cooling performance for typical design conditions
(cooling-to-IT airflow ratio of 1 and “Typical” ceiling leakiness) of ducted HACS. Note that
uniformity is good with plenums deeper than 18-24 in (0.46-0.61 m). Furthermore, cooling
uniformity is not strongly affected by rack density with even 12 kW racks (and higher) yielding
“good” uniformity provided this minimum plenum depth is provided. Cooling uniformity for
ducted racks (not shown) is even slightly better than that for ducted HACS due to the more-isolated
nature of individual rack ducting.
100%
95%
90%
85%
80%
75%
70%
Cooling Performance Uniformity
2 kW
Good
Marginal
Bad
6 kW
12 kW
12 18 24 30 36 42 48
[300] [460] [610] [760] [910] [1070] [1220]
Plenum Depth (in, [mm])
Cooling performance of active ducted systems
With an understanding of the airflow physics of passive systems we now provide a brief
discussion of active systems. Although active-ducted systems, i.e., those with fans to force
the airflow into the ceiling plenum may be able to overcome adverse plenum pressures, they
may do so at the expense of other areas of the data center. In simple terms, whatever airflow
gets pushed into the ceiling plenum has to find a way out and, if CRAH airflow is insufficient
or the plenum is too restrictive, hot air will simply be forced back out elsewhere – through
perforated ceiling tiles, leakage paths, and even other ducted equipment. For this reason, it
is recommended that active systems be deployed following the same design guidelines as for
passive systems, e.g., Figures 7 and 8 and in the “Guidance for implementation” section
below. Additionally, the reader should refer to the product literature related to the maximum
airflow of the active system under consideration.
Table 1 summarizes the primary considerations when selecting a specific ceiling-ducted
architecture. Capital cost is similar for the passive systems but substantially higher for the
active ducted rack. Because the active systems draw fan power, they will also cost more in
operating costs which will negatively offset some of the energy saving benefit of containment.
Schneider Electric – Data Center Science Center Rev 0 9
Figure 9
Cooling performance
uniformity as a function of
ceiling plenum depth for
Ducted HACS
Comparison
of ducting
options
10. The Use of Ceiling-Ducted Air Containment in Data Centers
The primary limitation of passive ducted HACS is that a specific floor layout is required for its
implementation. However, since the standard hot/cold aisle architecture has been a best-practices
standard for many years, this may not be a real limitation. Where ducted HACS can
be implemented, it offers the best performance with the highest density IT equipment while
not adding to rack depth or requiring specific racks or adapter hardware. However, if only a
sparse distribution of racks requires ducting or the layout required for ducted HACS is
impractical, individual-rack options might be employed. In any case, passive ducted racks
are a good overall choice especially with “shorter” servers up to moderate densities, e.g., up
to about 8 kW/rack or even higher if the required ceiling plenum vacuum pressure can be
achieved.
Active ducted systems may offer an advantage in the case where ducted HACS are impracti-cal
due to layout and passive ducted racks are too limited in density at the maximum
achievable ceiling plenum vacuum. However, the general use of active ducted systems to
compensate for undesirable plenum pressure is not recommended due to the likelihood of
creating cooling problems elsewhere in the data center. The preferred approach is to first
address ceiling plenum pressure problems (e.g., by increasing ducted cooling airflow,
improving ceiling “tightness”, and/or increasing plenum depth) before deploying ducted
equipment of any kind.
Additional considerations may also guide the selection of particular ducted-containment
architecture. These include the possible interference with fire suppression and lighting,
cooling performance under emergency conditions, and noise. The reader is also reminded
that there are other cold and hot-aisle containment options available beyond the plenum-ducted
options discussed here. See the references noted in the Introduction for more
information.
Table 1
Comparison of ducted air containment architectures
Consideration
Ducted air containment
Passive ducted rack Active ducted rack Ducted HACS
Capital cost $500 - 700 / rack $1,800 - 2,000 / rack $500 - 1,000 / rack
Works with any floor layout Yes Possibly1 No
Works with all racks without
special hardware
No No Yes
Maintenance and monitoring free
(power feed not required)
Yes No Yes
Allows for normal (minimum) row
pitch
Possibly2 No Yes
Best choice for high density
(6kW) or low plenum vacuum
pressure
No No Yes
1May require wider row pitch
2Deeper racks are recommended for use with deeper servers and higher densities
Schneider Electric – Data Center Science Center Rev 0 10
11. The Use of Ceiling-Ducted Air Containment in Data Centers
Ensure adequate ceiling plenum vacuum pressure
Ideally, the proposed new design or retrofit should be simulated using CFD software to
ensure that adequate vacuum and reasonably uniform pressures can be achieved throughout
the ceiling plenum. At a minimum, the following best-practices should be observed:
• Ceiling plenums should be at least 18 in (450 mm) deep in all cases while deeper is
better when practical.
• Ducted cooling airflow should exceed ducted IT airflow by a minimum 10% for most
cases or 20% when passive ducted racks are employed with relatively leaky drop ceil-ing
systems.
• Ceiling plenum vacuum should be maximized:
o Minimize and seal leakage paths in the drop ceiling
o Minimize the number of perforated ceiling tiles and use more restrictive tiles
• Ducted equipment should be configured in reasonably uniform (with respect to geomet-ric
configuration and IT density) layouts to maximize plenum pressure uniformity. Note
that, un-ducted equipment does not necessarily need to conform to this guideline as it
does not affect ceiling plenum airflow dynamics.
Minimize leakage paths in containment systems
Sealing leakage paths in containment systems as much as practical helps ensure that the
ceiling plenum remains the “path of least resistance” for rack exhaust airflow. Follow these
best practices:
• Fill empty rack spaces with blanking panels or brush strips to minimize recirculation
from the back to the front of the rack.
• Cover as many openings in the rack enclosure as possible and, in the case of passive
ducted racks, also seal the rear door of the rack.
• Keep the space behind IT equipment as free and clear of cabling and other obstruc-tions
as possible. With passive ducted racks, ensure at least about 8 in (200 mm) of
space between the rear of the server and rack rear door. Use deeper racks if neces-sary
to achieve this.
• For passive ducted racks, install deeper IT equipment lower in the rack to avoid choke
points for the exhaust airflow.
Employ active ducted containment with caution
For configurations which include active containment systems, verifying the performance of
the intended application in advance with CFD is even more attractive. With active systems
there is the risk that, while the active ducted equipment will perform well – apparently “fixing”
a hot spot, problems will be created elsewhere in the data center. Such problems may not be
readily apparent or easy to troubleshoot. In any event, increase the likelihood of a successful
implementation by following the best practices recommended above even with active
systems.
Schneider Electric – Data Center Science Center Rev 0 11
Guidance for
implementation
12. The Use of Ceiling-Ducted Air Containment in Data Centers
Ducted air containment can simultaneously improve the energy efficiency and reliability of
data centers. Since all ducted equipment, ducted cooling units, and the ceiling plenum
function as a single entity, the use of CFD modeling is recommended for new deployments
particularly when design constraints are close to the best-practice limits established here. In
any case, deployment advice centers on ensuring an adequate and fairly uniform vacuum
pressure in the ceiling plenum. This, in turn, can be achieved by providing sufficient ducted
cooling airflow, creating a relatively “tight” ceiling system, employing deeper ceiling plenums,
and sealing unnecessary leakage paths in racks and containment structures.
About the authors
Schneider Electric – Data Center Science Center Rev 0 12
Conclusion
Jim VanGilder is responsible for Schneider Electric’s data-center Computational Fluid
Dynamics (CFD) software development and related research. He has authored or co-authored
more than 40 peer-reviewed technical papers and holds more than 15 patents in the field of
data center cooling. He is an active American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-
Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) member where he is a recent Chair of Technical Committee
4.10, Indoor Environmental Modeling. Jim is a registered professional engineer in the state of
Massachusetts. He has master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Duke University and
over 20 years experience using and developing CFD tools.
Simon Zhang is a Sr. Research Engineer with APC by Schneider Electric working on data
center design, operation, and management software platforms. He has extensive experience
with real-time cooling predictions indoor airflow simulations, and has author/co-authored 12
patents (granted or pending) and over a dozen peer-reviewed technical papers on data center
cooling and energy assessment techniques. He is actively involved in data center communities
and has chaired and organized many technical sessions of ASME and IEEE conferences. He
received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Syracuse University in 2006 and an MBA
degree from Boston University in 2013.
Paul Lin is a Senior Research Analyst at Schneider Electric's Data Center Science Center. He
holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Jilin University where he majored in
Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning. He also holds a Master’s degree in Thermody-namic
Engineering from Jilin University. Before joining Schneider Electric, Paul worked as the
RD Project Leader in LG Electronics for several years. He is now designated as a “Data
Center Certified Associate”, an internationally recognized validation of the knowledge and skills
required of a data center professional.