Education Evolution: Scalable Server Rooms George Lantouris Client Relationship Manager (Education) May 2009
Agenda Overview - Network Critical Physical Infrastructure Cooling issues in the Server Room Server Room cooling types and configurations 10 steps to improve existing computer room cooling Conclusions
Today s IT Projects - Education Virtualization Storage and Server consolidation VOIP Unified Communications Wireless Relocations All of the above projects are affecting your Server rooms. At the same time we are in a financial crisis.
Network-Critical Physical Infrastructure Each layer depends on everything below it Reliable Business Operations People Process Information Technology Critical Foundation of Business Continuity Power Cabling Racks and Physical Structure Fire Security and Network Critical Physical Infrastructure Cooling
Introduction Cooling is a critical IT environment process Not well understood by many IT professionals Heat-related failure is the number one cause of downtime in IT facilities 57% of businesses cite cooling as a major Server Room / Data Centre challenge As servers become more powerful and more compact, power consumption and therefore heat generation increases
Computing Changes Moves to Blade Infrastructure - High Density
Cooling the Server Room space Power In = Heat Out 1kW Power = 1kW Heat 1 kw = 3413 BTU/HR
Server Room cooling approaches
Comfort versus Precision Cooling 10KW heat DESIGN Humans 60 / 40% 17KW unit 170% Electricity 3-5 yr design 21 o +/- 3 o C 50% - 15%RH 8 hours/office $ Cooling Load Sensible/Latent Unit Size Opp Ex Lifecycle Temperature Humidity Workday Unit Cost Computers 98 / 2% 10KW unit 100% Electricity 10-15 yr design 21 o +/- 1 o C 50% +/- 5%RH 24 hours/365 day $$$
Today s Main Cooling Architectures Air Cooled Servers Central Air Handling Unit Room Based Architecture Computer Room Air Handler Room Based Architecture InRow Air Handler Row Based Architecture
Traditional Room Cooling Ducted supply air for delivery to heat load Open or ducted return air for heat removal Fixed fan speeds to deliver consistent plenum pressures Airflow restrictions in under floor plenum Non-uniform airflow distribution Central Air Handling Unit (CAHU) Fixed flow tiles/grates Limited capacity resolution Delivery of colder air to the space Reduced Sensible Heat Ratio (SHR) Computer Room Air Handler (CRAH)
Effects of different cooling approaches Same racks, same room, different cooling design Totally different cooling airflow results!
Room Cooling - Raised Floor Air Distribution High density requires more air and more cables
Limitations of Raised Floor Air Distribution KW (Sensible Heat) = Delta T x CFM / 3145 12 10 Rack Power (kw) that can be cooled by one tile with this airflow 8 6 4 2 0 Typical Capability Perf tile With Effort 500-700 cfm Blade Servers Grate tile Extreme Standard IT Equipment Upper limits of raised floor Using grate-type tiles Impractical 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 [47.2] [94.4] [141.6] [188.8] [236.0] [283.2] [330.4] [377.6] [424.8] [471.9] cfm
InRow Eliminates Mixing Predictable Cooling Focus on Heat Removal Doesn t require raised floor for air distribution All racks in the row share cooling capacity Allows for better of matching of cooling to rack power Flexibility for Rack loading to change (not to exceed capacity) Enables predictable redundancy Racks sharing capacity (No Containment shown) Simulation of Failed InRow Cooling Unit
InRow Variable Speed Fans Reduced fan power as a function of load 100% 90% In-row Variable Load Power Consumption Power savings is logarithmic Minimum fan speed to ensure heat removal Power Consumption 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% Variable IT Load In-row variable unit power 10% 0% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Load
Ten short-term steps to improve existing computer room cooling
Government Building & Infrastructure Funds 10 Practical Steps and Best Practice to improve existing computer room cooling Operational - Cost Savings 60% of your power usage in your computer room is used by cooling By making your cooling more efficient you will save money and lower your schools carbon footprint Future proofing of your Computer Room APC have Education Pricing
1 Perform a health check (either in-house or by APC or one of partners) Maximum cooling capacity CRAC (computer room air conditioning) units Chiller water/ condenser loop Room temperatures Rack temperatures Tile air velocity Condition of subfloors Airflow within racks Aisle & floor tile arrangement
2 Initiate maintenance regime Regular servicing and preventive maintenance is essential to keeping the computer room operating at peak performance If the system has not been serviced for some time then this should be initiated immediately A regular maintenance regime should be implemented to meet the recommended guidelines of the manufacturers of the cooling components
3 Utilise blanking panels Snap-in blanking panel
Prevents recirculation within the rack BEFORE AFTER 32ºC 27ºC 35ºC Rack front 24ºC 22ºC 22ºC Rack front Blanking panels 28ºC 22ºC 21ºC SIDE VIEW 22ºC 22ºC 22ºC SIDE VIEW
4 Implement cable management regime Unnecessary or unused cabling should be removed Data cables should be cut to the right length and patch panels used where appropriate Power to the equipment should be fed from rack-mounted PDUs with cords cut to the proper length
5 Remove under-floor obstructions Sub-floor cable trays Replace missing tiles Seal around cable cut-outs Replace unused cutouts Replace unused vents with full tiles
6 Separate high-density racks = 10 kw rack, others 2.6 kw The fundamental reason why spreading out highdensity loads is effective is because isolated high power racks can effectively borrow underutilized cooling capacity from neighboring racks.
7 Implement hot-aisle/cold-aisle arrangement Row 1 Row 2 Row 3 Row 4 Without hot/cold aisles: the hot air from row 1 is exhausted into the adjacent aisle, where it mixes with supply or room air and then enters into the front of the racks in row 2
8 Align CRAC units with hot aisles Hot-aisle positioning of CRAC units (raised floor) Raised floor - Align CRACS with hot aisles Hot air return path in line with CRAC Reduces mixing and recirculation Tile airflow increased (farther from CRAC) Warmer return air increases capacity Non-raised floor - Align CRACs with cold aisles Cold air distribution directly in front of CRAC Requires at least one CRAC per cold aisle Only adequate up to 1.5 kw
9 Manage floor vents CRAC or CRAH Rack cabinets Strong airflow Weak airflow Improper location of floor vents can cause cooling air to mix with hot exhaust air before reaching the load equipment
10 Install airflow-assisting devices Hot air scavenging systems Collect hot air at the point of generation Route directly to CRAC Snap-on retrofit 470 L/s airflow Variable speed: as needed Dual path power and N+1 Flexible, movable Hard floor or raised floor Limit: 8kW per rack
10 Rack Air Containment Rack Level Thermal Containment to improve efficiency and predictability to address individual racks and small zones. For 300 and 600mm Netshelter Racks, UPS, PDU, and InRow cooling products Maximizes cooling predictability, efficiency, and capacity Prevents hot air recirculation to sensitive IT equipment System can be easily configured for redundancy Noise dampening
10 In-Row rack-coupled CRAC InfraStruXure Cooling Distribution The Association Unit of Independent Schools of NSW ½ Rack form factor N+1 hot-swap variable speed fans Captures hot air exhaust from nearby IT racks ½ Rack form factor N+1 hot-swap variable speed fans Captures hot air exhaust from nearby IT racks Add units for redundancy or density Up to 30kW rating
10 Active Response Controls Included on All InRow Products Additional Energy Savings by varying fan speed. Improves Reliability by ensuring Inlet Tempers to IT equipment are maintained More Detail on how these controls work available in APC Application Notes: AN-119 http://salestools.apc.com/sql/display.cfm?id=ksih-6y6t2y AN-142 http://salestools.apc.com/sql/display.cfm?id=ksih-744jl9
10 Hot Aisle Containment Systems (HACS) Hot Aisle Ceiling Tiles/Cable Trough Seals in hot air, prevents mixing with room air High Density Zones Supports InRow products Optimize InRow Cooling Increase Efficiency Improve Predictability Use at any density InRow Cooling Units Row-based cooling solution cools hot chamber air Chamber Doors Access to hot aisle, locks for security
NetBotz Architecture Monitor, Detect NetBotz 3 rd Party Equipment InfraStruXure Central GSM SMS Alert Sensor Pod NetBotz IP Network Email, SNMP, HTTP, FTP NetBotz Rack Access PX NetBotz Sensor Pod Temp Sensor Key Features Works seamlessly with existing IP networks Distributed architecture Easy to install appliances and sensors Integration with enterprise network managers Centralized management Camera Pod Fluid Sensor Protect Switched PDU Output Relay Pod
Conclusion
Conclusion Every Server room is different, there are cooling solutions that can address your current and future needs. Your data centre s Network Critical Physical Infrastructure (NCPI) must support dynamic processing In-row, close-coupled cooling maximises efficiency Cooling system audit increases availability and reduces TCO of existing systems High-density server deployment requires unique cooling and power solutions Management of the physical infrastructure layer is crucial to IT availability
APC Trade-UPS Help protect the environment You can trade-in your single phase UPS regardless of make, model or working condition for a brand new UPS and receive a rebate!* The 3 easy steps to improved power protection 1. Tell us what you have: 2. Advise us of your choice of replacement UPS: 3. Register Trade-UPS Website link -> http://tradeups.apcpacific.com/au/ Receive a rebate!* FREE return shipping of old units FREE environmentally friendly disposal of your old UPS * Terms & Conditions apply.
Learning more about data centre cooling Data Centre University Courses are free for a limited time Visit www.datacenteruniversity.com/promo Vendor neutral education on data centre design and operation Courses available include: Calculating Total Cooling Requirements Fundamentals of Cooling Architecture Fundamentals of Cooling, Part 1 Fundamentals of Cooling, Part 2 Advantages of Row and Rack Oriented Cooling Architecture I Advantages of Row and Rack-Oriented Cooling Architectures II Optimising Cooling Layouts for the Data Centre
Thank you Contact Details Name: George Lantouris Client Relationship Manager (Public Sector) Level 4, 65 Berry Street, North Sydney NSW 2060 Phone (02) 8923 9385 Web www.apc.com Email george.lantouris@apcc.com ABN 70 088 913 866