Row-Based Cooling Solutions

Traditional data center, computer room, and server room cooling methodologies provide room-oriented cooling which provides an entire room with cold air from centralized units at one end of the room. This approach is acceptable when power densities are minimal and, therefore, there are few hot spots in a room. However, room-oriented designs are affected by room constraints including ceiling height, room shape, obstructions above and below the floor, rack layout, CRAC location, power distribution, etc.

With a row-oriented architecture, the CRAC units are associated with a row and are assumed to be dedicated to a row for design purposes. The CRAC units may be mounted among the IT racks, they may be mounted overhead, or they may be mounted under the floor. Compared with the room-oriented architecture, the airflow paths are shorter and more clearly defined. In addition, airflows are much more predictable, all of the rated capacity of the CRAC can be utilized, and higher power density can be achieved.

The row-oriented architecture has a number of side benefits other than cooling performance:

• The reduction in the airflow path length reduces the CRAC fan power required, increasing efficiency.
• A row-oriented design allows cooling capacity and redundancy to be targeted to specific rows.
• Row-based cooling allows a data center, computer room, or server room to be implemented without a raised floor.
• In-Row cooling allows for varied room designs and constraints. For example, load-bearing supports can be managed at the row level rather than trying to handle at the room level.