Trends toward increased equipment power density in data and communication (datacom) centers can result in significant thermal design and operation issues, with the potentially undesirable side effects of decreased equipment availability, wasted floor space, and inefficient cooling system operation. This Guide provides equipment manufacturers and facility operations staff with a common set of guidelines for the design and construction of their respective equipment or facility, thereby aiding in maximizing the performance and health of the facility and its contents.

The purpose of this book is to discuss datacom (data center and telecommunication) power trends at the equipment level as well as to describe how to use those trends in making critical decisions on infrastructure (e.g., cooling system) requirements and the overall facility. Included in this book is an overview of various air and liquid cooling system options that may be considered to handle the future loads and an invaluable appendix containing a collection of terms and definitions used by the datacom equipment manufacturers, the facilities operation industry, and the cooling design and construction industry.

This book provides basic information essentials for the design of datacom (data processing and communications) facilities. It covers the topics of design criteria, HVAC loads, cooling systems overview, air distribution and liquid cooling. It will also provides information that is supplemental to basic data center design, which may be of more value to those who already have design and/or operating experience in this field covering additional topics such as ancillary spaces, contamination, acoustics, structural and seismic design, fire suppression, commissioning, availability and redundancy, and energy efficiency.

Data center IT equipment today is predominantly air cooled. However, with rack heat loads steadily climbing, the ability for many data centers to deliver either adequate airflow rates or sufficient chilled air is now being stretched to the limit. The overall goals of the liquid implementations include aspects such as transferring as much waste heat to the facility liquid cooling loop as possible, reducing the overall volume of airflow needed by the racks, and reducing processor temperatures such that increased compute performance can be achieved.

This book discusses datacom equipment as well as a building’s structure and infrastructure in a holistic way while providing best practices for their design and installation. This book is divided into four main sections. Part 1, Introduction, gives an overview of the best practices in the design of datacom equipment centers, including recommendations for new and renovated building structures, building infrastructure, and datacom equipment. Part 2, Building Structure, covers the design of new and existing structures. In Part 3, Building Infrastructure, the structural considerations of the building’s infrastructure, raised-access floor systems, and vibration sources and their control are discussed in detail. The last part of this book, Datacom Equipment, covers shock and vibration testing, seismic anchorage systems and analysis of datacom equipment.

This book covers many aspects of datacom facility energy efficiency, and includes chapters on the topics of environmental criteria, mechanical equipment and systems, economizer cycles, airflow distribution, HVAC controls and energy management, electrical distribution equipment, datacom equipment efficiency, liquid cooling, total cost of ownership, and emerging technologies. There are also appendices on such topics as facility commissioning, operations and maintenance, and the telecom facility experiences.

Data centers and telecommunications rooms that house datacom equipment are becoming increasingly more difficult to adequately cool. This is a result of IT manufacturers increasing datacom performance year after year at the cost of increased heat dissipation. Even though performance has, in general, increased at a more rapid rate than power, the power required and the resulting heat dissipated by the datacom equipment has increased to a level that is putting a strain on data centers. The objective of this book is to provide a series of case studies of high density data centers and a range of ventilation schemes that demonstrate how loads can be cooled using a number of different approaches.

Even though particle contamination resulting from dust and dirt can lead to unexpected shutdowns of critical IT equipment, the connection between contamination and hardware failures is often overlooked. Particulate and Gaseous Contamination in Datacom Environments sheds light on this issue and will provide readers with the information they need to maintain a high level of IT equipment dependability and availability. This book identifies datacom equipment susceptibility and operational impact, as well as strategies for prevention, control, contamination testing, and analysis.

This book is designed to help bridge that gap and provides an overview of how to instrument and monitor key power and cooling subsystems. This book also includes numerous examples of how to use energy consumption data in calculating power usage effectiveness (PUE), along with a practical method that can be used to quantify the PUE for a data center housed in a mixed-use facility. Finally, some coverage is provided for a data center that deploys a combined cooling, heat, and power system. Calculating the PUE for such a data center presents some challenges; this book helps clarify the key issues. This book was coauthored by ASHRAE with The Green Grid's Data Collection and Analysis Work Group.

This book gives data center owners and operators a clear understanding of the energy-saving opportunities that exist. It covers the mechanical and electrical systems of the building and also the most promising opportunities in technology. In addition, the book's organization follows a logical approach that can be used for conducting a preliminary energy assessment. This book is the tenth in a series of datacom books authored by ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.9, Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces and Electronic Equipment. This series provides comprehensive treatment of datacom cooling and related subjects.

The Datacom Series CD, 2nd Edition, now includes all nine datacom books and is fully searchable and printable. The CD includes:

• Real-Time Energy Consumption Measurements in Data Centers
• Particulate and Gaseous Contamination in Datacom Environments
• High Density Data Centers - Case Studies and Best Practices, Second Edition
• Best Practices for Datacom Facility Energy Efficiency, Second Edition
• Structural and Vibration Guidelines for Datacom Equipment Centers
• Liquid Cooling Guidelines for Datacom Equipment Centers
• Design Considerations for Datacom Equipment Centers, Second Edition
• Datacom Equipment Power Trends and Cooling Applications
• Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments, Second Edition