Five strategies for deployment of high density enclosures and blade servers

Deploying blade servers in a data center is a great way to decrease the amount of space required for a given number of servers. Many Sun customers are looking at Sun's CMT technology-based server blades as a way to consolidate legacy servers, improve performance, reduce space, lower cooling requirements and lower costs overall.

The blade servers, such at the Sun Blade Server 6000, 6048, 8000 and 8000P, can increase the density to the point that managing the heat output can be a challenge. APC’s InfraStruXure Hot-Aisle Containment Systems, which Sun has deployed in its new data centers, can be used to address that challenge.

A white paper, "Cooling Strategies for Ultra-High Density Racks and Blade Servers", by Neil Rasmusse, the founder and Chief Technical Officer of American Power Conversion (APC). reviews the challenges of deploying data center racks that require 10 kW+ that can easily happen with high density blade servers. (NOTE: Registration required to access the APC white paper)

The paper reviews Five strategies for deployment of high density enclosures and blade servers

1. Load spreading. Provide the room with the capability to power and cool to an average value below the peak enclosure value, and spread out the load of any proposed enclosures whose load exceeds the design average value by splitting the equipment among multiple rack enclosures.
   
   
2. Rules-based borrowed cooling. Provide the room with the capability to power and cool to an average value below the peak enclosure value, and use rules to allow high density racks to borrow adjacent underutilized cooling capacity.
   
   
3. Supplemental cooling. Provide the room with the capability to power and cool to an average value below the peak enclosure value, and use supplemental cooling equipment as needed to cool racks with a density greater than the design average value
   
   
4. Dedicated high-density areas. Provide the room with the capability to power and cool to an average value below the peak enclosure value, provide a special limited area within the room that has high cooling capacity, and limit the location of high density enclosures to that area.
   
   
5. Whole-room cooling. Provide the room with the capability to power and cool any and every rack to the peak expected enclosure density Each of these approaches is discussed in turn along with its advantages and disadvantages.