Datacenter Cooling – IT Managers Need To Know

If your data center cooling system is to work efficiently, it requires IT managers who understand them and have well-functioning working relationships with the people who run the system.

“That’s the only way cooling works,” explained Adrian Jones, director of technical development at CNet’s Training Services. “As processing power is increased, so is the heat that the machines produce.”

Every kilowatt-hour used by a server produces a predictable amount of heat. That heat has to be removed by the data center cooling system. Separating IT and facility functions in data centers is irrational, as they are all managing the same system.

Jones spent twenty years designing telecoms networks for the British Army. He then went on to manage construction of data centers for many major clients in the UK. He plans to offer courses in data center cooling for IT techs and managers at the Data Center World Global conference next month.

If IT managers are able to communicate the specifications of the equipment they are planning to install, facilities managers can determine the best location for it on the IT floor. Managers need to understand the thermal profile and power requirements of IT equipment in order to use data center cooling systems correctly.

A company can spend a lot of money sucking heat out of computing systems. If techs install a cable or other piece of kit that blocks the air – it is all for naught. The idea is to prevent these kinds of miscommunication.

Over-cooling is another common mistake. Much of the newer equipment can work well at higher temps. This means that if someone orders more cooling power than is needed, the company will be wasting money again. Many data centers have a mix of old and new equipment, making over-cooling difficult to avoid without better organization.

Jone’s Course Overview

Jones’s course will include an overview of basic concepts in data center cooling and methods to match computing systems to cooling equipment. He will cover new cooling efficiency concepts, like containment, free cooling, and continuous monitoring.

Then students will learn functional testing, that is – checking previous equipment tests for completeness. Jones will cover visual checks for assessing the cooling capacity of a system. This will include a bit of basic physics.

As it stands, data center managers make mistakes that could be avoided through training and the integration of IT and management departments, and IT personnel can sometimes fail to communicate. The idea is to remedy the disconnect by sharing a bit of the expertise of each with the other.

When everyone responsible for the data center has a better understanding of how cooling systems work, a great improvement in efficiency should result.

If you would like to learn more, join Cnet’s Adrian Jones and 1,300 others at Data Center World Global 2016, March 14-18, in Las Vegas, NV. You will learn a results driven, real-world approach to converging efficiency, resiliency, and coordination for data center leadership in the digital workplace. For more details, please visit the Data Center World website.

Katrina is the resident how-to gal for Rack Solutions visit her video series on youtube called Ask-Katrina