Data Centre Thermal Design Service
EPI Professional Services is proud to offer a Data Centre Thermal Design Service used to help design new data centres or upgrade and manage existing ones.
Using powerful 3-dimensional computational fluid dynamics modelling software, EPI Professional Services create a virtual model of the existing facility, from the walls and floor to the racks and equipment in them.
The software uses mathematical modelling to validate design assumptions and can assess of the thermal and environmental impact of future equipment deployments within the facility prior to installation.
Problems within a Data Centre
The present condition of any data centre when compared to that of its first commissioning is everchanging due to the relocation of existing equipment and the addition of new technology. Ever increasing power density has resulted in high-end blade arrays capable of dissipating 15kW over a 7U space. Older data centres were not designed to house such equipment and when installed can lead to very high levels of local heat dissipation. This presents an ever increasing challenge for the data centre manager who may only posses a nominal level of air conditioning and data centre cooling.
Server chipsets and chassis are designed to be cooled by an optimised air flow of a specified temperature. When a data centre houses equipment with a higher power rating than it was designed for, these server cooling specifications may not be met. When this happens, it becomes increasing difficult to prolong the effective life of a data centre..
Currently there is only one solution to resolve these issues:
THE VIRTUAL FACILITY
The Virtual Facility
The Virtual Facility is a fully interactive data centre model incorporating design, ongoing thermal optimisation and asset management. It provides mathematical predictions and verifications throughout the life of the real facility allowing the data centre manager to foresee any potential problems.
At the design stage, the virtual facility focusing on the following:-
- Floor or ceiling plenum depths
- Rack layout and air flow containment
- AC unit positioning
- Redundancy within the facility
During the life of the data centre, its performance can be continually maximised by focusing on the following:-
- Providing a virtual representations of air flow and heat dissipation at server, rack and room level
- Tracking changes to equipment layout and specification
- Evaluating the thermal and environmental impact of proposed changes
Design
The Virtual Facility allows several design options to be considered, each with their own mathematically determined outcomes before any building work is even considered. As a result, the final design is not based on a tentative approach, but is a result of a professional design process considering several options and selecting the optimum solution. This can lead to savings on capital and operational costs by selecting the correct cooling and power equipment for the application as well as avoiding costly mistakes during commissioning.
The facility is designed using the following methodology:-
- Architectural Shell
- Map Obstructions
- Raised Floor & Suspended Ceiling Layout
- Computer Room Air Conditioner Methodology
- Computational Fluid Dynamics Model
- Model Analysis & Update
Problem Solving
Established data centres often suffer from areas where the heat dissipated by the equipment cannot be siphoned away by the air conditioning units. These areas are known as hot spots. As a data centre approaches the end of its design life, installation and configuration management become paramount.
In order to take an accurate snapshot of the current performance of the data centre, a detailed survey is undertaken, and is followed by the creation of the Virtual Facility. The Virtual Facility is then used to simulate several different solutions to find the most effective before implementation. In conjunction with 6Sigma Manager operational asset management software, the Virtual Facility can be used to prevent future thermal problems.
Future Proofing
| Action One: Creating the Virtual facility |
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| Fully interactive 3D data centre model |
| Inventory Log |
| Thermal & Environmental characteristics |
| Action Two: Predict the Future |
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| Track historical/future inventory movement |
| Predict thermal impact of equipment |
To find out more, please call one of our consultants on 01993 708855 or
email sales@epi-uk.com