BT Comms rooms

[stuartwking]

Hi. Was told that BT in the UK are now running there Comms rooms at 30 deg C,. Does anyone know if this is true?,. If its good enough for BT it will be good enough for me,,

[Electrocoolman]

Its not the room temperature that matters....its the core temperature of the equipment that is the limiting factor.
This depends on the airflow through and temperature rise of that airflow.
The higher the room temperature and the smaller the room, the less the margin of error for equipment overheating.

[stuartwking]

Hi electrocoolman, Thanks for the reply., I understand that thats a key point in controlling the temp of the room,.It was a IT manager that told me that BT are controlling there rooms to that temp,.He said it was in a industry mag that he had read, not sure which one though,.If we could keep a room with a Rack core temp of 30 deg C that would be a GOOD idea.,

[nike123]

Hi electrocoolman, Thanks for the reply., I understand that thats a key point in controlling the temp of the room,.It was a IT manager that told me that BT are controlling there rooms to that temp,.He said it was in a industry mag that he had read, not sure which one though,.If we could keep a room with a Rack core temp of 30 deg C that would be a GOOD idea.,


If we keep rack core temp of 30°C than we cannot keep room temperature at 30°C. It must be lower than that in order to remove heat from core.
So, what is demand, room temperature or rack core temperature?

[Brian_UK]

I suppose that it would make sense to measure the rack core temperature and respond to that, rather like food storage.

[Electrocoolman]

I've read somewhere about coolers fitted to the rear door(?) of some highpower servers [blade servers]?

The cooling is in the cabinet so the room temperature is I suppose, no longer the issue it once was.

Any one else read about this?

[TRASH101]

I've read somewhere about coolers fitted to the rear door

Read that myself and seem to recall a Dell video suggesting that it is the way forward :rolleyes:. As most server/ comms rooms I see are all UPS backed and are all struggling for power I cant see that a break from convential mechanical cooling happening just yet.



I suppose that it would make sense to measure the rack core temperature and respond to that, rather like food storage.


Hello Brian
Dont forget that the cores are generaly on variable speed cooling fans and if you monitor the output of most servers the discharge air is well over 30 degc suggesting that the core temperatures are running higher than that. Plus who knows if some little IT`er has been over clocking the damn things:(

[Einar Ágústsson]

Liebert Hiross and Trox Aitcs have element fitted to the back of the racks. Trox have them fitted to the door but Liebert Hiross have them mounted in to the rear.

[Brian_UK]

We had a little job at the end of last year regarding a single free standing rack that was kept in a filing room.

The rack had its' own cooling pack stuck on the back which did a great job of heating the room up.

Unfortunately there was nowhere for the heat to go so someone in their wisdom sold them a mobile AC unit with the condenser discharge duct connected to an unused letterbox.

Rack AC was about 2.1kW and the mobile was 3.5kW so should be OK.

The cheapskates are now using the mobile to cool the rack directly because the rack unit compressor went down last November and they've decided that they don't need it repaired as they have the mobile.

Not sure how long the mobile will last as it is now running 24/7.

Hey, we just plug 'em in ;)

[stevewood]

Liebert Hiross and Trox Aitcs have element fitted to the back of the racks. Trox have them fitted to the door but Liebert Hiross have them mounted in to the rear.

the liebert version is actually a kneurr product. it uses chilled water directly onto the door cooling module, a number of clients here won't use them purely because of the chilled water in the data centre theory!
there are a number of high density liebert solutions, involving either direct chilled water or dx refrigerant, which can be mounted above the racks or are actually rack modules as well as a/c units!

[Dr. Downflow]

If there is no short cycling of air from the cooling system or recirculation of air around the servers, then the supply air temperature only has to be between 20 and 25 deg C. The servers are happy drawing air in at this temperature with a discharge some 10K higher.
If the cold aisle is "contained" or sealed, then the "room" is then at the server discharge temperature of 30 deg C plus.
Works very well, particularly when it comes to free cooling.

[gloucesterfridg]

The hot/cold isle system is fast becoming the industry standard. It has expanded from the room to it's logical conclusion -each indevidual cabinet

Now they will tend to be water cooled & CO2 is considered as the 'future' for these systems

One major bank is looking at 1000+ cabinets in London central alone to replace it's entire computer room set up there

http://www.rimatrix5.com/

G.F

[Fatboymart]

Colman Moducel have spent a few weeks looking at our clients Blade servers. Colman Moducel also have a door panel unit worth looking at.
we too have had negative feedback regarding the use of water in the data room.

BTX - British telecom system X, free cooling units are pre-set to 26oc. the front door panel has an attend mode button which drops the return air by 4 degrees while the technician is in the room. after a predetermined time the unit resets back to set point.

If I can remember correctly, BT said the life cycle of IT kit @ 21-23 degrees averaged 15 years. While IT kit had a life cycle of 5 years @ 26 degrees. BT thought it a waste of energy as most IT kit will require updating within a 5 year window anyway.

[gloucesterfridg]

Colman Moducel have spent a few weeks looking at our clients Blade servers. Colman Moducel also have a door panel unit worth looking at.
we too have had negative feedback regarding the use of water in the data room.

BTX - British telecom system X, free cooling units are pre-set to 26oc. the front door panel has an attend mode button which drops the return air by 4 degrees while the technician is in the room. after a predetermined time the unit resets back to set point.

If I can remember correctly, BT said the life cycle of IT kit @ 21-23 degrees averaged 15 years. While IT kit had a life cycle of 5 years @ 26 degrees. BT thought it a waste of energy as most IT kit will require updating within a 5 year window anyway.

The negatives are usually from those who are worried by the future. Norwich Union HQ is just nearing completion of 120+ cabinets all water cooled..

[Fatboymart]

True. I have found most Data Centre Managers reluctant to grasp change, especially when it comes to making the most of free cooling.

It would appear (in my experience) that the "Planning department" hasn't much of a clue - the Energy manager is aware but with insufficient authority (at present) to utilise energy efficient alternatives or good working practices.

[Tiesse]

the liebert version is actually a kneurr product. it uses chilled water directly onto the door cooling module, a number of clients here won't use them purely because of the chilled water in the data centre theory!
there are a number of high density liebert solutions, involving either direct chilled water or dx refrigerant, which can be mounted above the racks or are actually rack modules as well as a/c units!

Kneurr are an Emerson company (Liebert).