High Density Data Centers - Case Studies and Best Practices

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.

In the struggle to improve the thermal management characteristics of data centers, it is sometimes important to assess today’s data center designs. 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.

This book is the seventh in a series of datacom books authored by ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.9, Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces and Electronic Equipment. The other books, listed in order of publication, are: Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments (2004), Datacom Equipment Power Trends and Cooling Applications (2005), Design Considerations for Datacom Equipment Centers (2006), Liquid Cooling Guidelines for Datacom Equipment Centers (2006), Structural and Vibration Guidelines for Datacom Equipment Centers (2007), and Best Practices for Datacom Facility Energy Efficiency (2008).

It is 6 x 9 in. in size and softcover. The book was printed on 30% post-consumer waste using soy-based inks.

Format: Softcover
Units: Dual
Publisher: ASHRAE
Year: 2008
Number of Pages: 193
ISBN/ISSN: 6331-2-403-000000-43
Sponsor: TC 9.9

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Best Practices for Datacom Facility Energy Efficiency

Sustainable design, global warming, depleting fuel reserves, energy use, and operating cost are becoming increasingly more important.  These issues are even more important in datacom equipment centers for reasons such as the following:

Large, concentrated use of energy (can be 100 times the watts per square foot of an office building)


7 x 24 operations have about three times the annual operating hours as other commercial properties

The intent of this publication, as part of the ongoing ASHRAE Datacom Series, is to provide the reader with detailed information on the design of datacom facilities that will aid in minimizing the life-cycle cost to the client, and to maximize energy efficiency in a facility to align with ASHRAE's stated direction (from the 2006 Strategic Plan) to "lead the advancement of sustainable building design and operations."

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.

Format: Softcover
Units: Dual
Publisher: ASHRAE
Year: 2008
ISBN/ISSN: 978-1-933742-27-4
Sponsor: TC 9.9, Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces, and Electronic Equipment

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Structural and Vibration Guidelines for Datacom Equipment Centers

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.

Units: Dual
Format: Softcover
Publisher: ASHRAE
Year: 2008
Number of Pages: 176
ISBN/ISSN: 978-1-933742-20-5
Sponsor: TC 9.9, Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces, and Electronic Equipment

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Liquid Cooling Guidelines for Datacom Equipment Centers

The fourth datacom book authored by ASHRAE TC 9.9, Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces, and Electronic Equipment, is now available. This book is divided into six chapters and includes definitions for liquid and air cooling as it applies to IT equipment, describing the various liquid loops that can exist in a building that houses a data center.

It also provides an overview of chilled-water and condenser water systems and of datacom equipment cooling options. The book also bridges the liquid cooling systems by providing guidelines on the interface requirements between the chilled-water system and the technology cooling system and outlines the requirements of those liquid-cooled systems that attach to a datacom electronics rack and are implemented to aid in data center thermal management.

AUTHORS: ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.9, Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces, and Electronic Equipment
ISBN/ISSN: ISBN-10: 1-933742-05-4; ISBN-13: 978-1-933742-05-2
NO. OF PAGES: 100
PUBLISH DATE: 2006
PUBLISHER: ASHRAE
UNITS: Dual

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Design Considerations for Datacom Equipment Centers

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.

This publication also explains that most datacom equipment will be replaced one or more times during the life of the facility with more current technology emphasizing the continual need to upgrade individual computer devices that result in a change in the heat load and a change in the needs for air distribution.

This book is ideal for:

Planners and managers planning a datacom facility


Datacom facility design teams planning and designing a datacom facility


Datacom facility architects and engineers who require insight on datacom equipment energy density and installation planning trends

Understanding the critical parameters outlined above is essential to facility design in this environment. Groups Responsible for Product: TC 9.9, Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces and Electronic Equipment. 2005. Size: 6 x 9in. Softcover. 208 pps.

ISBN/ISSN: 1-931862-94-X
NO. OF PAGES: 208

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Datacom Equipment Power Trends and Cooling Applications

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.

The intended audience for this document is:

Planners and managers planning a datacom facility


Datacom facility design teams planning and designing a datacom facility


Datacom facility architects and engineers who require insight on datacom equipment energy density and installation planning trends

There is an information gap that needs to be bridged between the information technology (IT) industry and the facility design / construction / operation industry. Today's datacom facilities require a holistic approach, balancing the tradeoffs between datacom equipment and facility cooling infrastructure.

Based on the latest information from all the leading datacom equipment manufacturers, Datacom Power Trends and Cooling Applications, authored by ASHRAE TC9.9 (Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces, and Electronic Equipment), provides new and expanded datacom equipment power trend charts to allow the datacom facility designer to more accurately predict the datacom equipment loads that the facility can expect to have to accommodate in the future as well as providing ways of applying the trend information to datacom facility designs today.

Also 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.

ISBN/ISSN: 1-931862-65-6
NO. OF PAGES: 124
PUBLISH DATE: 2005
PUBLISHER: ASHRAE
UNITS: Dual

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Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments

Recent trends toward increased equipment power density in data 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. There is often a mismatch of IT equipment environmental requirements with adjacent equipment requirements or with facility operating conditions and, thus, a strong need to find common solutions and standard practices that facilitate IT equipment interchangeability while preserving industry innovation.

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. Specifically, the book delivers:

Guidelines for facility operations personnel on how to place equipment in a data center for optimum reliability and for equipment manufacturers on how to provide a compatible airflow path for their equipment.


Guidance on evaluating and testing the operational health of the data center.


A methodology for reporting the environmental characteristics of a computer system.

6 X 9, Soft cover.

AUTHORS: TC9.9 Mission Critical Facilities
ISBN/ISSN: 1-931862-43-5
PAGES: 55
PUBLISH DATE: 2004
PUBLISHER: ASHRAE
UNITS: Dual

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Data Centers: Roadmap for Datacom Cooling
ASHRAE Journal December 2005

Information systems (e.g., Internet, search engines, archival systems) are all integral parts of the datacom (data processing and communication) industry. As a result, the cooling of datacom facilities has the same potential for overload, change, evolution, and premature obsolescence.

AUTHORS: Christian L. Belady, Associate Member ASHRAE, and Don Beaty, P.E., Member ASHRAE
CITATION: ASHRAL Journal, Vol.47, No.12
NO. OF PAGES: 4
PAGES: 52-56
PUBLISH DATE: December 2005
PUBLISHER: ASHRAE
MEDIUM: Downloadable

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Data Centers: Meeting Data Center Temperature Requirements
ASHRAE Journal April 2005

The increasing compactness of data processing equipment size and the expanding needs of the information technology industry has led to more equipment being packed into the same amount of space. However, the energy efficiency of computing and storage equipment has not risen at the same rate.

AUTHORS: By Roger Schmidt, Ph.D., Member ASHRAE; Madhusudan Iyengar, Ph.D., Member ASHRAE; and Richard Chu
CITATION: ASHRAE Journal, Vol. 47, No. 4
NO. OF PAGES: 5
PAGES: 44-48
PUBLISH DATE: April 2005
PUBLISHER: ASHRAE
MEDIUM: Downloadable

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Data Centers: Comparing Data Center & Computer Thermal Design
ASHRAE Journal April 2005

The design of cooling systems and thermal solutions for today’s data centers and computers are handled by skilled mechanical engineers using advanced tools and methods. The engineers work in two different areas: those who are responsible for designing cooling for computers and servers and those who design data center cooling.

AUTHORS: By Michael K. Patterson, Ph.D., P.E., Member ASHRAE; Robin Steinbrecher; and Steve Montgomery, Ph.D.
CITATION: ASHRAE Journal, Vol. 47, No. 4
NO. OF PAGES: 5
PAGES: 38-42
PUBLISH DATE: April 2005
PUBLISHER: ASHRAE
MEDIUM: Downloadable

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Data Centers: Datacom Airflow Patterns
ASHRAE Journal April 2005

The addition of high-density datacom equipment in data centers creates thermal management problems that must be addressed to ensure proper functioning of a data center. Understanding airflow patterns is an essential component of the solution for dealing with these high loads.

AUTHORS: By Don Beaty, P.E., Member ASHRAE; and Tom Davidson, P.E., Member ASHRAE
CITATION: ASHRAE Journal, Vol. 47, No. 4
NO. OF PAGES: 5
PAGES: 50-54
PUBLISH DATE: April 2005
PUBLISHER: ASHRAE
MEDIUM: Downloadable

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Data Centers: Network Power Density Challenges
ASHRAE Journal April 2005

According to analysts, Internet traffic has increased by approximately 80% annually in each of the last three years and will continue to grow at 60% to 80% annually through 2006.

AUTHORS: By Alex Vukovic, Ph.D., P.Eng.
CITATION: ASHRAE Journal, Vol. 47, No. 4
NO. OF PAGES: 5
PAGES: 55-59
PUBLISH DATE: April 2005
PUBLISHER: ASHRAE
MEDIUM: Downloadable

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Data Centers: Staying On-line: Data Center Commissioning
ASHRAE Journal April 2005

Data centers require tight coordination between the trades, special consideration for redundancy and reliability, and carefully scripted commissioning of systems. Consider, for example, the issue of redundancy. For non-critical commercial facilities, the design for redundancy typically is approached on an equipment basis.

AUTHORS: By Mark Hydeman, P.E., Member ASHRAE; Reinhard Seidl, P.E., Member ASHRAE; and Charles Shalley, P.E.
CITATION: ASHRAE Journal, Vol. 47, No. 4
NO. OF PAGES: 6
PAGES: 60-65
PUBLISH DATE: April 2005
PUBLISHER: ASHRAE
MEDIUM: Downloadable

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Back to the Future: Liquid Cooling Data Center Considerations
ASHRAE Journal December 2004

Computer servers are becoming smaller while semiconductor chips use increasing amounts of power. New datacom equipment exceeds 20 kW per server rack, with the result that datacom centers face average power densities in excess of 150 W/ft² (1500 W/m²) based on the area of the room housing the equipment. Because traditional air cooling of datacom centers is reaching its practical limit, liquid cooling is being explored to keep up with these performance gains.

AUTHORS: By Don Beaty, P.E., Member ASHRAE and Roger Schmidt, Ph.D., Member ASHRAE
CITATION: ASHRAE Journal, Vol. 46, No. 12
NO. OF PAGES: 5
PAGES: 42-46
PUBLISH DATE: December 2004
PUBLISHER: ASHRAE
MEDIUM: Downloadable

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New Guideline for Data Center Cooling
ASHRAE Journal December 2003

The nature of electronics cooling for data centers is changing. For example, ultra-compact blade servers take up less space than traditional rack-mounted servers but greatly increase heat density.

ASHRAE is moving to bring together manufacturers, the design community, and facility owners to find common solutions and standard practices that facilitate interchangeability while preserving industry innovation.

This article introduces a few of the central concepts of ASHRAE's publication Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments 1 and shows some of the ramifications of the guideline as they relate to facility design.

AUTHORS: By Don Beaty, P.E., Member ASHRAE, and Tom Davidson, P.E., Member ASHRAE
CITATION: ASHRAE Journal, vol. 45, no. 12, p. 28-34
PUBLISH DATE: December 2003
PUBLISHER: ASHRAE

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The table below details all TC 9.9 Symposium, Seminars, Journal articles and associated miscellaneous content.
Whenever possible, direct hyperlinks to the ASHRAE Bookstore are provided where the content is available for purchase & download.