The fundamental physical nature of any data center is the conversion of electrical energy into heat and its subsequent dissipation. The so-called “high density” era has made thermal management of a data center facility a complex issue – one where efficiency and availability can often conflict.

This course explains the thermodynamics of cooling in an easy-to-understand way and focuses on application of concepts a student can use in his own data center today, including, calculation of the cooling capacity necessary to accommodate an additional IT load, and matching air requirements of servers against air delivery of ACUs. While the course does not replace the need for a knowledgeable HVAC engineer, it does provide ample detail to allow the student to successfully operate the cooling system within a data center and to intelligently make decisions to ensure maximum value.

Course Outline and Main Topics Covered

Students will be able to:

1. Apply Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling to help to validate a data center’s design and the placement of the equipment within it
2. Explain the implications of equipment placement, installation and decommissioning on cooling and energy efficiency
3. Discuss free cooling and how it may be applied in various data center scenarios
4. Understand the factors related to optimization in a new vs legacy data center
5. Explain how to deal with new and disruptive technologies, such as unified computing platforms, blade servers and high-density networking devices
6. Differentiate between high density options and their implementation strategies

Day 3 of this course allows students to work with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling and apply it to different data center types to understand environmental impacts, design and system constraints, and energy efficiency optimization related to cooling scenarios.

The day will be broken down into:

Day 3

Part 1: Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics, and other predictive technologies.

Working with data center simulation technologies, students will work with the instructors to recreate common change management scenarios within different facility types to better understand environmental implications, design and system pitfalls as well as energy efficiency optimization. Scenarios to include:

• How to deal with new disruptive technologies such as unifed computing platforms, blade servers and high density networking devices
• Best fit air containment configuation including chimney racks and plenum return: advantages and disadvantages
• AC unit selection and location considerations in non-standard built environments
• The impact of infrastructure on airflow dynamics

The course utilises Future Facilities’ 6SigmaRoomLite – download a 30 day trial
Part 2: Overview and discussion of multiple high density deployment case studies as published by ASHRAE’s TC9.