Message from the TC 9.9 Officers - March 2008

We had a very exciting and productive meeting in New York City, thanks to everyone who participated and attended the program sessions and various committee meetings!

Typical committee business was conducted during the first part of the general meeting.  The second half of the general meeting and most of Tuesday’s planning session focused on an IT industry proposal to extend the recommended temperature and humidity ranges for Datacom equipment.   Once finalized in a couple months, these ranges will be published.

Roadmap

Two new publications from TC 9.9 are now available for at ASHRAE bookstore.  They are “Best Practices in Datacom Facility Energy Efficiency” and “Structural and Vibration Guidelines for Datacom Equipment Centers”.  These are the 5^th and 6^th books published by TC 9.9.

The ASHRAE TC9.9 committee currently has plans for two other books to be completed this year. The list of books scheduled for publication this year is “High Density Data Center - case studies and other considerations” and “Contamination in Datacom Equipment Centers”.

The committee agreed to start work on several new books including Economizers for Datacenters; CFD for Datacenters; Green Tips for Datacenters; Cooling Technologies for Datacom Rooms; and IT Facility Measurements and Control of Datacenters.  The committee is seeking individuals with expertise in any of these areas to participate on the these publications.  Please send an email to Roger Schmidt, if interested.

Future Programs

Salt Lake City (June 2008)

The following abstracts are for two seminars tentatively planned for Salt Lake City.

TITLE: Data Centers: The new ASHRAE Environmental Equipment Specification for IT Equipment

Abstract: ASHRAE TC9.9 Published a Guideline for IT Environmental Equipment Specification in 2004. That Guideline has been widely accepted and succesfully used to provide a common starting point for Data Center design and operations cooling system performance. In addition, the vast majority of IT equipment manufacturers all support the guideline and have been involved in it's development. As a response to the industry desire to save energy through a wider range, TC9.9 has recently expanded the recommended range for both Temperature and Humidity. This seminar reviews the development of this guideline and the impact to the industry of widening the range.

TITLE: Innovations in Airflow Management within Rack Enclosures

Abstract: With increasing heat loads in the data centers proper management of airflow within rack enclosures has become crucial. While avoiding any mixing of hot air with the incoming cold air, effective management and removal of hot air from the rack enclosures is the key factor in maintaining server inlet air temperatures within ASHRAE recommended guidelines. This seminar will provide an overview of issues and recent design innovations for airflow management within rack enclosures.

Chicago (Jan 2009)

Listed below are 2 Call for Papers for Transactions sessions planned for Chicago 2009.

ASHRAE  Technical Committee 9.9 (Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces and Electronic Equipment), is sponsoring a Transactions session for January 2009 ASHRAE Winter Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, and seeks papers for transaction session High Density Cooling Issues Update – January 2009.  This transactions session will accept papers on a variety of issues that are pertinent to the cooling of high density data centers, telecommunications facilities, and combinations thereof.  Issues of recent concern include planning for future data centers, site selection criteria and guidelines, development and use of value model to aid in site selection.  Papers are due for review on ASHRAE’s Manuscript Central by April 4, 2008.  Transactions chair/contact: Jeffrey Rutt 240-373-5790.

ASHRAE  Technical Committee 9.9 (Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces and Electronic Equipment), is sponsoring a Transactions session for January 2009 ASHRAE Winter Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, and seeks papers for transaction session Liquid Cooling Issues Update – January 2009.  This transactions session will accept papers on a variety of issues that are pertinent to the cooling of high density data centers, telecommunications facilities, and combinations thereof.  Issues of recent concern include lessons learned with recent liquid cooling products, reliability issues or best practices, and the return to liquid cooling and transitional technologies for cooling.  Papers are due for review on ASHRAE’s Manuscript Central by April 4, 2008.  Transactions chair/contact: Jeff Trower 714-921-6010.

MESSAGE FROM >>>

Roger Schmidt (Chair) – IBM & Jeff Rutt (Vice Chair) – Dept. of Defense


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Message from the TC 9.9 Officers - September 2006 Summary

ASHRAE Dallas Programs:
ASHRAE’s Programs Committee met on August 25, 2006, but we have not yet heard the status of our submitted programs. We will publish the status once we receive formal notification.

Datacom Series Book: Liquid Cooling Guidelines for Datacom Equipment Centers
All updates to the proofs have been submitted to ASHRAE for final publication of the book. It is expected to be in the bookstore by October.

Datacom Series Book: TCO/ Energy Efficiency  
Good progress continues to be made on TC9.9’s TCO/ Energy Efficiency book, which now has over 100 pages (4000 lines) of text. An initial set of comments has been received on a draft that was sent out on August 15, 2006, and chapter leads are working with their chapter groups to review these comments and complete their chapters. We anticipate that the next draft will be released for review in mid-September. Please inform Tom Davidson if you would like to be a reviewer for this text.

Datacom Series Book: Shock and Vibration Guidelines for Datacom Equipment in Data Centers
This book is being written with the following chapters. Please contact Budy Notohardjono if you want to contribute to this book.

Introduction


Overview of Vibration Sources


Server and Cooling Equipment Loads


Data Center Structural Design Requirements


Data Center Structural Design Guidelines


Raised Floor Structural Design Guidelines


Shock and Vibration Test Guidelines for Datacom and Cooling Equipment


Considerations in the Installation of Server Equipment in Earthquake Areas


Data Center Vibration Measurement        

Datacom Book Series: Settleable Particulates
This book has the following chapter outline.

Introduction
What are settleable particulates
Where are settleable particulates found
Outdoor
Indoor
Settleable particulate size and mass
How do settleable particulates get into data processing environments



Data Processing Equipment
Airflow patterns in data processing environments and equipment
Susceptible areas
Air intake and exhaust
Fans
Heat sinks
Other areas



Limits
Historical
Bellcore
Equipment manufacturers
IEC
ISA
Non-data processing environment
Clean rooms
Dark rooms
Data processing equipment



Control and Prevention
Use of Raised-Floor for contamination control
Influence of supplemental cooling
Positive Pressurization
Economizers
Air side
Water side
Self-contained cabinets
Other strategies



Facility Measurements and Analysis
Site survey methods and procedures
Data collection tools
Analysis instruments and techniques



Appendix A – Case Studies

Datacom Book Series: High Density Data Centers - Case Studies and Other Considerations
The outline for the book on High Density Data Center Case Studies is shown below.  Most of the case studies are being generated. Please contact Roger Schmidt(C28rrs@us.ibm.com) if you have data centers that you would like to incorporate within this book.

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 RAISED FLOOR CASE STUDIES
2.1 Raised Floor with Perimeter Modular CRACs
  2.2 Raised Floor with AHU on floor below
  2.3 Raised Floor Supply/Ceiling Return
  2.4 Raised Floor with Modular CRACs in hot aisle
  2.5 Raised Floor with Heat Exchangers adjacent to Server Rack
  2.6 Raised Floor with PODS
  2.7 Raised Floor with Raised floor supply/Ceiling supply/Wall return
Chapter 3 NON RAISED FLOOR CASE STUDIES
3.1  Non-raised floor with overhead supply/wall return
Chapter 4 BEST PRACTICES
 4.1 Raised Floor
 4.2 Non Raised Floor
Chapter 5 References and Bibliography
Chapter 6 Glossary of Terms

Finally, we have successfully recruited a good cross section of corresponding members based in Australia.  The international interest in the committee’s work is continuing to grow nicely.

MESSAGE FROM >>>
Roger Schmidt (Chair) - IBM

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Message from the TC 9.9 Officers - August 2006 Summary

The TCO/ Energy Efficiency book is continuing to make good progress – the goal is to complete the book in time for publication at the Dallas meeting in January 2007, since energy efficiency is the theme of this meeting. A draft of the book is scheduled to be ready for committee review in early September.

The High Density Data Centers – Case Studies and other Considerations Book has most of the case studies identified and a format to follow for all the case studies.  This book is targeted to have a draft completed by this year.

The Shock and Vibration Requirements for Datacom Equipment in Data Centers Book  has the chapters outlined and several chapter draft written.   There is more to be done and we are looking for others who can help with this book who have expertise in this area.  If you have an interest please contact Budy Notohardjono.

The Contamination in Datacom Equipment Centers book has the chapter outline.  Please contact Joe Prisco if you have expertise in this area and are willing to help with some of the writing.

The Liquid Cooling Guidelines for Datacom Equipment Centers Book has been approved by the voting members of the committee and is now being worked on by ASHRAE publications department.   The target publication is sometime this Sept/Oct.

Chapter 17 of the ASHRAE applications handbook has been approved by the voting members of the committee.

ASHRAE Winter Annual Meeting in Dallas(January, 2007) : There are 3 Transactions sessions planned for Dallas.  The High Density Cooling Loads session, chaired by Kishor Khankari, currently has 7 papers under review. The Datacom TCO/ Energy Efficiency session, chaired by Terry Rodgers, currently has 2 papers under review. The Liquid Cooling in the Data Center session, chaired by Jeff Trower, currently has 3 papers under review.

We are also submitting two forums for Dallas: one titled High Density Cooling of Datacom Facilities (Don Beaty, Chair), and another titled Chilled Water System Reliability in Mission Critical Facilities  (Chris Kurkjian, Chair).

We are also posting 2 Call for Papers for Transactions sessions planned for Long Branch (June 2007). These Call for Papers are listed below: 

Call for Transactions Papers on Energy Efficiency and Sustainability as Applied to Mission Critical Facilities:

ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.9 (Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces and Electronic Equipment) is sponsoring a Transactions session for the June 2007 ASHRAE Annual Meeting in Long Beach, CA. The theme for this session will be in alignment with ASHRAE's theme of Energy Efficiency and Sustainability. The design approach for mission critical facilities has typically concentrated on uptime and reliability, with limited consideration toward reducing energy and improving sustainability. Yet, due to the steep growth curve in power density and the 24x7 utilization of today's data centers, enormous opportunities can be found for optimizing energy efficiency. When the potential energy savings are coupled with other sustainability considerations, such as those categorized by the US Green Building Council's LEED rating system, opportunities can be found for obtaining LEED certification.

The transactions papers should address any one of the issues noted above (i.e. energy efficiency or sustainability) as they apply to data center applications. Case studies of facilities having obtained or in the process of obtaining LEED certification are especially encouraged. Abstracts are due September 1, 2006, and papers are due for review by September 29, 2006. Contact: Tom Davidson 732-774-2000.

Call for Transactions Papers on High Density Cooling of Datacom Facilities:

TC9.9 Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces and Electronic Equipment, seeks papers for the transaction session High Density Cooling Issues Update - June 2007. This transactions session will accept papers on a variety of issues that are pertinent to the cooling of high density data centers, telecommunications facilities, and combinations thereof. Issues of recent concern include the provision, distribution and control of adequate airflow, the return to liquid cooling, and transitional technologies for cooling. Abstracts are due September 1, 2006, and papers are due for review by September 29, 2006. Contact: Tom Davidson 732-774-2000.

MESSAGE FROM >>>
Roger Schmidt (Chair) - IBM

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Message from the TC 9.9 Officers - June 2006 Summary

We would like to thank all the members and guests who attended our meetings and sessions in Quebec City.

Among our many accomplishments in Quebec City were the following:

Our committee sponsored and/or co-sponsored a total of 4 programs. These programs were:

• Transactions 8 (High Density Cooling Issues Update: June 2006, Michael Patterson, Chair)

• Seminar 52 (Energy Efficient Data Center Design, Part 1, Reinhard Seidl, Chair)

• Seminar 58 (Energy Efficient Data Center Design, Part 2, Reinhard Seidl, Chair)

• Forum 9 (Data Centers and Direct Evaporative Cooling: Are They Compatible?, Michael Sherber & Mike Scofield, Co-Moderators) were reviewed.

Transactions 8 presenters were Tom Davidson (substituting for Roger Schmidt) and Tahir Cader. Seminar 52 presenters were Mark Hydeman, Magnus Herrlin and Vali Sorell.  Seminar 58 presenters were William Tschudi, Fred Stack and Mukesh Khattar.

Chris Kurkjian presented the Handbook for review by the committee. All final comments are due to Chris shortly. A final edit will be completed and sent out to the voting members shortly.

The Liquid Cooling book was presented to the committee for review and vote. A vote has been postponed for approximately 2 weeks to allow members time to review the publication.

The Standards Committee for Standard 127, Method of Testing for Rating Computer and Data Processing Room Unitary Air Conditioners, met, and made good progress in resolving comments from the last public comment period.

The TCO/ Energy book is making good progress – the goal is to complete the book in time for publication at the Dallas meeting, since energy efficiency is the theme of this meeting. Other books currently being developed are a book on structural considerations for data centers, and another on data center contamination.

Looking forward, there are 3 Transactions sessions planned for Dallas (January 2007). The High Density Transaction Session, chaired by Kishor Khankari, currently has 7 papers under review. The TCO/ Energy Efficiency Session, chaired by Terry Rodgers, currently has 2 papers under review. The Liquid Cooling Session, chaired by Jeff Trower, currently has 3 papers under review.  We are also writing a Call for Papers for Long Beach (June 2007) with a theme of energy efficiency/ sustainability, to align with the sustainability theme of this meeting.

MESSAGE FROM >>>
Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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Message from the TC 9.9 Officers - May 2006 Summary

Quebec City (June 24 – 28, 2006)

Preparations are underway for a number of TC9.9 meetings and presentations at ASHRAE’s annual meeting in Quebec City. A full listing of these meetings and programs can be found at: http://tc99.ashraetcs.org/meetings.html.  The main TC9.9 meeting will be held on Monday 6/26/06 from 2:15 PM to 9:30 PM.

Dallas (January 27 – 31, 2006)

A number of papers are currently being reviewed for 3 TC9.9-sponsored symposia in Dallas. The symposia themes are Energy Efficiency/ TCO, Liquid Cooling, and High Density Cooling. The deadline for paper submission has passed.

Long Beach (June 23 – 27, 2006)

Specific symposia themes for Long Beach have not yet been finalized, but at a minimum we plan to have a High Density Cooling symposium. If you are interested in submitting a peer-reviewed paper for presentation in Long Beach, please contact Tom Davidson and let him know of your plans. The deadline for paper submission to begin the review process is Friday 9/29/06.

Energy Efficiency/ TCO Publication

Over 40 people have signed up to help with writing this new TC9.9 initiative. Most chapters have been holding regular teleconference calls, and will have content that can be reviewed at the Quebec City meeting. To be part of this review process, please plan to attend TC9.9’s Long Term Planning Workshop at Quebec City on Tuesday 6/27/06 from 1-6 PM.

We are making good progress on the book preliminarily titled "High Density Data Centers - Case Studies and other Considerations".   The book will focus on providing detailed measurements (flows, rack powers, and air temperatures) of those data centers that have high heat loads (>100 watts/ft2). 

A wide variety of air cooling designs will be described with the objective of showing designs that can provide adequate cooling to high powered racks.  Members are encouraged to provide data for this book if their data center meets the criteria stated and they have detailed measurements.

"Design Considerations for Liquid Cooling in Datacom and Telecommunications Rooms"

We are wrapping up the final draft of the Liquid Cooling Book now entitled "Design Considerations for Liquid Cooling in Datacom and Telecommunications Rooms".   The draft version has gone out to a wider audience of the TC9.9 members to capture further comments.   These comments need to be in to Roger Schmidt or others on the team by this week, June 1st,  at which time the Liquid cooling team will assess all the comments and target completion of the book by the Quebec Conference.

The 6 chapters of the book are as follows:

Chapter 1 - Introduction


Chapter 2 - Facility Cooling Systems


Chapter 3 - Facility Piping Design


Chapter 4 - Liquid Cooling Implementation for Datacom Equipment


Chapter 5 - Liquid Cooling Infrastructure Requirements for Chilled Water Systems(CHWS)


Chapter 6 - Liquid Cooling Infrastructure Requirements for Technology Cooling Systems(TCS) and Datacom Equipment Cooling Systems(DECS)


Chapter 7 - References


Chapter 8 - Glossary of Terms


Appendix - Survey of Water Quality

MESSAGE FROM >>>
Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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Message from the TC 9.9 Officers - April 2006 Summary

Liquid Cooling Book

We are wrapping up the final draft of the Liquid Cooling Book now entitled " Design Considerations for Liquid Cooling in Datacom and Telecommunications Rooms". The draft version will now go out to a wider audience of the TC9.9 members to capture further comments. These comments need to be in to Roger Schmidt or others on the team by June 1st at which time the Liquid cooling team will assess all the comments and target completion of the book by the Quebec Conference.

The 6 chapters of the book are as follows:

Chapter 1 - Introduction


Chapter 2 - Facility Cooling Systems


Chapter 3 - Facility Piping Design


Chapter 4 - Liquid Cooling Implementation for Datacom Equipment


Chapter 5 - Liquid Cooling Infrastructure Requirements for Chilled Water Systems (CHWS)


Chapter 6 - Liquid Cooling Infrastructure Requirements for Technology Cooling Systems (TCS) and Datacom Equipment Cooling Systems (DECS)


Chapter 7 - References


Chapter 8 - Glossary of Terms


Appendix - Survey of Water Quality

International Presentations

This past month we presented the 3 books authored by the committee in Mumbai, India. The books were well received and a number of people are interested in the work of the committee.

Energy Efficiency/ TCO Book

Work on the Energy Efficiency/ TCO publication is continuing to move forward. Most of the current effort is occurring at the Chapter level, with weekly or semi-weekly teleconference calls led by the chapter leads. There are also semi-weekly calls for all chapter leads for inter-chapter issues and coordination. A substantial portion of the publication should be available for review at the Quebec City meeting in June.

Handbook

The handbook committee continued to review and make slight revisions to the previously approved version of the 2007 Handbook Chapter 17, which relates to the design of Data Processing and Telecommunications Facilities. The latest revisions are mostly to bring the chapter up to date for industry changes that have occurred over the past 16 months, as well as to incorporate some of the more recent references. ChrisKurkjian is chair of the Handbook Subcommittee working on this update. A final draft of the revised document is scheduled to be sent for committee review during the month of May 2006, so that a vote can be taken at the Quebec City meeting.

Quebec City Symposium

A total of two papers were accepted and will be presented in Quebec City, as part of a symposium titled High Density Cooling Issues Update: Summer 2006.The symposium will be held on Monday, June 26, 2006 from 9:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m.

Quebec City Seminar

A total of 6 presentations are scheduled on the topic of Energy Efficient Data Center Design. The seminar will be held in two parts. Part 1 will be held on Tuesday, June 27, 2006 from 9:30a.m. – 10:30 a.m., and Part 2 will be held on the same day from 10:45a.m. – 12:15 a.m.

Quebec City Forum

TC9.9 has co-sponsored a forum with TC5.7, Evaporative Cooling, with the title of Data Centers and Direct Evaporative Cooling: Are They Compatible? The forum will be hosted on Monday, June 26, 2006 from 9:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m.

Dallas Symposia

Approximately 10 papers are now being reviewed for a total of 3 TC9.9-sponsored symposia for Dallas. The topics for these symposia are Liquid Cooling, Energy Efficiency, and High-Density Cooling.

MESSAGE FROM >>>
Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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Message from the TC 9.9 Officers - March 2006 Summary

Those who are submitting final manuscripts for the Winter Annual Meeting in Dallas are due April 14, 2006. We are planning 3 sessions in Dallas sponsored by the TC9.9 committee:

1. High Density Cooling Issues Update - January 2007. This symposium will accept papers on a variety of issues that are pertinent to the cooling of high density data centers, telecommunications facilities, and combinations thereof. Issues of recent concern include the provision, distribution and control of adequate airflow, the return to liquid cooling, and transitional technologies for cooling. Session Chair: Kishor Khankari,

2. Data Center Cooling: Efficiency Improvements and Total Cost of Ownership –January 2007. This symposium will accept papers on a variety of issues that are pertinent to the efficiency of cooling of high density data centers and telecommunications facilities. Also papers on TCO studies, methods and results are encouraged. Issues of current concern include opportunities for overall room efficiency improvements, the cost of high density versus low density rooms, TCO driven decisions in the expansions of existing data centers, and the impact of liquid cooling on cooling efficiency and total cost of ownership. Session Chair: Terry Rodgers

3. Data Center Cooling – Liquid cooling – January, 2007. This symposium will accept papers on a variety of issues that are pertinent to data center and telecommunication room liquid cooling. Liquid cooling subjects can include facility liquid cooling, liquid cooling that spans from facilities to server racks or within the server racks themselves. The thermal performance of such solutions can be addressed, design and packaging of such systems, pros and cons of such systems including total cost of ownership, energy usage, acoustics, etc. Session Chair: Jeff Trower

As reported in last month's message, five books are currently planned for completion by the ASHRAE TC9.9 committee this year. Progress on all the books are continuing with the first book on liquid cooling nearing completion in the next month or so. The list of books scheduled for publication this year are:

1. Liquid Cooling Design Considerations for Data and Communications Equipment Centers
2. Current Practices in Datacom Facility TCO analysis and Energy Efficiency
3. High Density Data Center - case studies and other considerations
4. Contamination in Datacom Equipment Centers
5. Vibration/Sesmic Considerations in Datacom Equipment Centers

The Liquid Cooling Book is now about 100 pages long and includes the following 6 chapters:

Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Cooling Services for Equipment Cooling Systems
Chapter 3. Facility Piping Architecture
Chapter 4. Datacom Equipment Liquid Cooling Designs
Chapter 5. Liquid Cooling Infrastructure Requirements
Chapter 6. Data Center/Rack Attached Liquid Cooling Systems and their Requirements(newly added)

MESSAGE FROM >>>
Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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Message from the TC 9.9 Officers - February 2006 Summary

The Applications Chapter 17 Handbook subcommittee, chaired by Chris Kurkjian, held a teleconference call on February 27 to review the current version of the Handbook. The current version was approved over a year ago, prior to the publication of either the Power Trends or the Datacom Considerations books. As a result, some references can be made from the handbook chapter to these new publications. Other minor changes are also being considered by the subcommittee.

The TC9.9 Programs Subcommittee has submitted programs to ASHRAE's Programs Committee for both a seminar (on energy efficiency) and a symposia (on high density cooling) for the June 2006 ASHRAE Annual Meeting in Quebec City. We will find out if both programs have been accepted in March.

In addition, the Programs Subcommittee has written 3 Calls for Papers for the January 2007 ASHRAE Winter Meeting in Dallas, covering the topics of Liquid Cooling, High Density Cooling, and TCO/ Energy Efficiency. These Calls for Papers will be published in ASHRAE Insights shortly.

Five books are currently planned for completion by the ASHRAE TC9.9 committee this year. They are the following with the targeted completion dates (submitting draft to ASHRAE for publication): 

1 - Liquid Cooling Design Considerations for Data and Communications Equipment Centers (March, 2006)
2 - Current Practices in Datacom Facility TCO analysis and Energy Efficiency (June, 2006)
3 - High Density Data Center - case studies and other considerations (Sept, 2006)
4 - Contamination in Datacom Equipment Centers (Nov, 2006)
5 - Vibration/Sesmic Considerations in Datacom Equipment Centers (Dec, 2006)

The statuses of each of the books are as follows.

The book entitled "Liquid Cooling Design Considerations for Data and Communications Equipment Centers" is nearing completion.  Several subteams are in place working on the final details of the book.   The book is now about 75 pages long and includes the following 5 chapters:

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Cooling Services for Equipment Cooling Systems
Chapter 3 Facility Piping Architecture
Chapter 4 Datacom Equipment Liquid Cooling Designs
Chapter 5 Liquid Cooling Infrastructure Requirements

The book entitled "Datacom Facility TCO analysis and Energy Efficiency" has chapter leads assigned for a total of 13 proposed chapters. Most of the work is just getting started.

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Environmental Criteria
Chapter 3 Cooling Plant Design Considerations
Chapter 4 Humidification and Dehumidification
Chapter 5 Airflow Distribution
Chapter 6 Controls and Energy Manageent
Chapter 7 Datacom Equipment Efficiency
Chapter 8 Electrical Distribution Efficiency
Chapter 9 Facility Operations
Chapter 10 Telecom Facility experience
Chapter 11 Total Cost of Ownership
Chapter 12 Case Studies
Chapter 13 Emerging Technologies and Future Research

The book entitled "High Density Data Center - case studies and other considerations" is just getting started and an outline of the book is as follows:

Chapter 1 Overview of Results for each data center
Chapter 2 Data center Physicals
Chapter 3 Data center Facilities Overview
Chapter 4 Measurement Equipment
Chapter 5 Thermal Profile
Chapter 6 Accuracy comparisons

The book entitled "Contamination in a Datacom Equipment Centers" is just getting started.  The team led by Joe Prisco is encouraging people to join his team if you have knowledge in this area and can contribute to this book.  The target completion for this book is the November of this year. The proposed chapters are:

Chapter 1 Definition and Sources
Chapter 2 Sizes and Effect on Data Processing Equipment
Chapter 3 Limits for Data Processing Environments
Chapter 4 Control and Prevention
Chapter 5 Facility Measurement

The book entitled "Vibration/Sesmic Design Considerations in a Datacom Equipment Center" is just getting started.  The team led by Budy Notohardjono is encouraging people to join his team if you have knowledge in this area and can contribute to this book.  The target completion for this book is the December  of this year.The proposed chapters for this book are:

Chapter 1 Overview of Vibration Sources
Chapter 2 Overview of Tolerable Vibration Magniture to Humans
Chapter 3 Data Center Vibration Measurement
Chapter 4 Vibration Isolation
Chapter 5 Measurement Equipment
Chapter 6 Vibration Profile of a Data Center

MESSAGE FROM >>>
Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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Message from the TC 9.9 Officers - January 2006 Summary

Our Winter Annual meeting was held in Chicago from Jan 20 - 25th. We had good representation at the 5 main TC9.9, "Mission Critical Facilities"events - Handbook/Program/Research meeting held on Sunday night, Jan. 22nd, TC9.9 Main Meeting on Monday afternoon and evening, Jan 23rd, TC9.9 sponsored Symposium followed by a TC9.9 sponsored Forum Tuesday morning and a working session onTuesday afternoon, Jan 23rd. Other symposia, forums and seminars were spread over the 4 days of the conference covering a wide range of topics. In addition 1900 exhibitors showed their wares in the McComick Place for 3 days, Jan 23 - 25th.

The activities of the TC9.9 committee were divided into 5 primary sessions:

TC9.9 Handbook/Program/Research committee meeting - Sunday, Jan 22

Updates for the handbook were discussed Sunday night along with upcoming program ideas for the Winter Annual meeting in Dallas, 2006. The Summer meeting in Quebec will have a paper symposium along with a proposed seminar. The Winter Annual meeting in Dallas will soon have a Call for Papers to cover topics on energy , high density data center cooling, and liquid cooling.

TC9.9 Main meeting - Monday, June 23

The main meeting was attending on Monday with a review of the 3 books published by TC9.9 committee entitled


"Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments"


"Datacom Equipment Power Trends and Cooling Applications"


"Design Considerations for Datacom Equipment Centers"

All of these books can be purchased through the TC9.9 ASHRAE website and members and non members are encouraged to promote these books throughout the industry. The main meeting on Monday reviewed these 3 books, and the status of new books being worked on which included:(the target completion dates are shown in parenthesis)

Liquid cooling design considerations for data and communications equipment centers (March, 2006)


Current practices in Datacom Facility TCO analysis and Energy Efficiency(June, 2006)


High density data centers - case studies and other considerations(Sept, 2006)


Contamination in datacom equipment center(Nov, 2006)


Seismic considerations in datacom equipment centers(Dec, 2006)

TC9.9 sponsored Symposium - June 24

The symposium was chaired by Don Beaty and the following papers were presented:


Contamination Sources and Prevention in Data Processing Environments by Joe Prisco( IBM Corp.)


An Analysis of the Effects of Ceiling Height on Air Distribution in Data Centers by Vali Sorell, Yousef Abougabal(Syska Hennessey), Kishor Khankari, Viralkumar Gandhian and Aashish Watve(Fluent)


Seismic Considerations of Datacom Equipment by Roger Schmidt, Budy Notohardjono and Shawn Canfield (IBM Corp.)

TC9.9 sponsored forum - Mission Critical Facilities - Issues and Roadmap - June 24

The forum moderator was Don Beaty. A number of survey type questions were asked throughout the forum with discussion that followed. Some of the questions were:(a summary will be included in the meeting minutes)

How many people have high density rack heat loads greater than 5, 10 , 15 or 20 kW?


How many people have data center exceeding 100, 150, 200 or 400 watts/ft2?


How many people have laid out the data center in regions - high power vs low power, hot aisle/cold aisle, no hot aisle/cold aisle?


How many people think liquid cooling within the rack will occur within 2, 5, 10 and 20 years?


How many people have raised floors greater than 30 or 36 inches?


How many have the following room cooling configurations: overhead, raised floor/overhead, ducted returns, w/o ceilings?


How many people have problems with zinc whiskers?


How would you rate the importance of cooling efficiency - low, medium or high?


How would you rate the importance of UPS/power supply efficiency - low, medium or high?


How many people have interest in DC power distribution - investigated, deployed, or considering?


How would you rate the importance of acoustics - low , medium or high?


How many people have CRACs outside the data center ?


How many people use CFD modeling for data center optimization?


How many people make data center decisions based on - capital cost, or TCO?


How many people have humidity concerns?


How many people use thermal storage?


How many people use UPS on the cooling pumps?


How many people worry about low temperatures in a data center ?

TC9.9 working meeting - June 24

Breakout sessions for 3 of the 5 new books were held Tuesday afternoon to discuss responsibilities for completing the books. A roadmap for publication of the 5 books were discussed and the target dates are shown above.

In an effort to increase our international participation we are working closely with the Associate Society Alliance to extend our TC9.9 activities to other countries around the world to increase our exposure on our work on data centers. And work is beginning with other ASHRAE technical committees to help with the writing of some of the committee's 5 new books.

MESSAGE FROM >>>
Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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Message from the TC 9.9 Officers - December 2005 Summary

This past month we continued our active emphasis on administrative and clean up activities. Some of these activities included:

1.) Developing the agenda for our meetings in Chicago

2.) Final administrative cleanup and interaction with ASHRAE regarding our Symposium in Chicago

3.) Roster issues

In addition to the normal administrative issues associated with the roster, we have been actively working on the membership interviewing potential new members. Last winter we focused on increasing the membership and the membership balance. This resulted in adding a number of End Users (Datacom Users) and Consulting Engineers (General Interest). The basic membership categories we are using are:

General Interest (e.g. agencies, consulting, academia, labs)


Producer of Datacom Products (e.g. computer manufacturers, rack manufacturers, cooling equipment manufacturers)


User of Datacom Products (e.g. facilities departments, IT departments, colo providers, corporate management)

The amount of voting and corresponding members increased in 2005 to over 100. Now our focus is on expanding the number of international members (predominantly as corresponding members).

The Group Leaders on producing the outlines for discussion in Chicago with the committee. There are groups working on some of the interest topics resulting from last summer’s poll. The Group Leaders are:

Energy & TCO – Tom Davidson & Michael Paterson


Liquid Cooling - Roger Schmidt


Contamination – Joe Prisco

Our third book, “Design Considerations for Datacom Equipment Centers” is on track to be available for the Chicago Conference.

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Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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Message from the TC 9.9 Officers - November 2005 Summary

The focus of this month has been dominated by making sure our third book, "Design Considerations for Data and Communication Equipment Centers" is available for the Winter ASHRAE Meeting. ASHRAE has decided to mention that the book is actually a "book series". This identification is not a formal one but rather just identifying that there is a group of ASHRAE books focused on the datacom industry.

There have been issues regarding graphic image resolutions, table of contents, index, key words, and the design of the book cover all to resolve. At this juncture it looks like most of the issues have been resolved and we are assured that we made the deadline for the book to be available for winter printing.

We also have made some headway on publicizing the book including advertising in a popular data center magazine.

In the last several months we have presented the committee's work in many conferences including one in London and Hong Kong. At 7 by 24 Exchange Fall Conference, Roger Schmidt and Neil Chauhan presented a course based on our books and was well received.

We are actively recruiting international members and have made good progress.

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Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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Message from the TC 9.9 Officers - October 2005 Summary

Special Publication - Book3

The ASHRAE editors are reviewing the book and it is on schedule for being printed in time for the Chicago meeting this winter.

The updated Applications Handbook Chapter 17, relating to data center design, has been included in the new ASHRAE Handbook CD+.

This CD+ has been published and is what we should refer people to rather than the handbook. The handbook is on a fixed cycle and so there is a delay in its updating.

We are in the process of establishing the working groups for the various topics selected through the response to the roadmap questionnaire.

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Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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Message from the TC 9.9 Officers - September 2005 Summary

The heavy emphasis again this past month was on Book 3. Many people worked on the book and we are happy to report that the committee voted that the book is ready to be published. We are hoping that the book will be available for the winter meeting.

The title of Book 3 is "Design Considerations for Data and Communication Equipment Centers." The book is focused on the basics (Datacom 101 so to speak) and is intended for both technical and nontechnical readers. The Chapters are:

Chapter 1 Introduction

Part 1: Datacom Facility Basics

Chapter 2 Design Criteria

Chapter 3 HVAC Load Considerations

Chapter 4 Computer Room Cooling Overview

Chapter 5 Air Distribution

Chapter 6 Liquid Cooling

Part 2: Other Considerations

Chapter 7 Ancillary Spaces

Chapter 8 Contamination

Chapter 9 Acoustical Noise Emissions

Chapter 10 Structural and Seismic

Chapter 11 Fire Detection and Suppression

Chapter 12 Commissioning

Chapter 13 Availability and Redundancy

Chapter 14 Energy Efficiency

References and Bibliography

Glossary of Terms

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Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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Message from the TC 9.9 Officers - August 2005 Summary

There have been several important developments this past month:

Special Publication - Book3
To improve organization and readability, the decision has been made to divide this publication into two sections: a basics section and a supplemental section. Many Chapter teams have completed their rewrites based on feedback provided at the June meeting in Denver, while other teams are still in the process of rewriting.

Our Symposium for ASHRAE's Winter meeting in Chicago, to be held in January from January 21-25, 2005, has received preliminary approval. The title of the Symposium will be "High Density Cooling Issues Update - January 2006." Paper topics include Contamination, Ceiling Height, and Seismic considerations of data centers.

We also expect to have a Forum in Chicago, with the title "Mission Critical Facilities - Issues and Roadmap." More specific information will be posted on our meetings tab as it becomes available

We are also planning a Symposium in Quebec City, with the title "High Density Cooling Issues Update - June 2006." An on-line Call for Papers can be found at: <not yet posted> http://www.ashrae.org/content/ASHRAE/ASHRAE/ArticleAltFormat/200581810025_347.pdf

The Roadmap Questionnaire regarding interests and issues in data centers is receiving a very strong response. If you do not have a questionnaire and would like to participate, please contact TC9.9 Chair Don Beaty.

The updated Applications Handbook Chapter 17, relating to data center design, has been approved for inclusion in the new ASHRAE Handbook CD+. This CD has a planned release date of September 1, 2005, so keep on the lookout for this announcement from ASHRAE.

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Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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Message from the TC 9.9 Officers - July 2005 Summary

Book 3

We logged and collated the comments from the Denver meeting and through email. There was a substantial amount of good input; this information was distributed to the Chapter Leads for their leadership in integrating and incorporating where appropriate.

Some Chapter Teams have completed their updates (varies depending on availability of resources, amount of changes, and subject complexity).

Roadmap

We processed all roadmap input, distributed the compilation, then held a conference call. The conference call lasted about an hour. The conference call has just been followed up with an email soliciting volunteers. Once the responses are received, scopes per topic will be produced.

Chicago

We have obtained 3 papers for the Chicago Symposium. We have recruited sufficient reviewers and are processing this Symposium. Chicago typically has a large attendance and so we are anxious to host a Forum. The Forum is a great vehicle for soliciting and hearing concerns and issues.

We have requested meeting time on Tuesday afternoon in addition to our Monday Meeting. Extending the meeting time beyond the normal 1 to 2 hours for technical committee meetings has been a positive gain (enabled adding to the business portion of the meeting, a workshop format where we have produced considerable work.

On the downside, a meeting from 2:15 to 9:30 is draining. In Chicago we are considering trying the following:

Monday
2:15 to 6 pm - Main Meeting (Business & Workshop)
6 to 7:30 pm - Dinner Break
7:30 to 8:30 pm - Public Forum (invitation by email & word of mouth)
8:30 to 9:30 pm - New or Future Technology Ideas

Tuesday
1 to 3:30 pm - Workshop

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Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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Message from the TC 9.9 Officers - June 2005 Summary

This month focused on preparation for the Denver Meeting including sending out numerous emails regarding a Datacom Industry Needs Assessment.

The input from the various chapter leads for Book 3 were collated and merged back into a single document. Book 3 was setup for electronic review and posted on this website. Also, a conference call with the chapter leads was held.

The committee meeting in Denver was successful; it included:

Expanding our focus to start interfacing with other organizations such as NFPA and Edison Electric Institute.


Review of the ASHRAE Website and our committee website


Workshop on Book 3


Discussion about our roadmap


Discussion of SPC 127 (standards committee on CRAC unit testing)


This was the first meeting where we purchased a conference phone and Internet connection from the conference hotel.

In Denver we also co-sponsored one symposium and fully sponsored another as well as sponsoring a seminar.

We began the process of contacting various other technical committees that have some relevance and expertise regarding our issues (basically access to more resources.

We discussed involving other professional organizations in areas where we need their expertise and those organizations offering our books in their bookstore. We are going to submit an overview of our needs to Steve Comstock of ASHRAE who will represent us at CESSE Meeting this summer (professional organization of professional societies).

We have already benefited greatly from our major effort to increase the membership and the diversity of our membership. In Denver’s meeting, the increase in End Users attending the meeting had a great impact in providing critical input from a user’s perspective (e.g. Book 3).

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Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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Message from the TC 9.9 Officers - May 2005 Summary

TC 9.9 members have been working hard this past month, and there have been several important developments.

Special Publication - Book3
Chapter committees have handed in revised chapter drafts for all 12 chapters. In addition, a 13th chapter on liquid cooling has been added. All of these chapters will be edited for formatting and a revised draft will be ready for review at the Denver meeting in late June. If you have not already made reservations to attend the Denver meeting, the following link will provide additional information:

Please check our Meetings tab for specific times of meetings, symposia and seminars.

The updated Applications Handbook Chapter 17, relating to data center design, has been approved for inclusion in the new ASHRAE Handbook CD+, which is due to be released later this summer. While the 2003 chapter remains the official chapter of record until the next edition of the Applications Volume (in 2007), ASHRAE agreed to provide a link to our new chapter in the CD+ to place this information in the hands of ASHRAE members as soon as practical. In addition, voting members approved several other visual enhancements to the CD+, which will also be part of this electronic CD+ publication.

The officers also sent out an industry issue poll to all voting and corresponding members this past month, in order to help assess future direction of this committee.

We hope to see you in Denver!

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Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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Message from TC 9.9 Officers - April 2005 Summary

We have been working on expanding our committee to have a quantity and cross section of members that effectively reflects the industry and our current initiatives. Selecting the members and obtaining the necessary application information has been very time consuming but the results are worth it. We now have over 100 technical committee members. Those that made the emergency roster change are now included in the list of members on our TC 9.9 website.

There are another 10 candidates that we submitted that have yet to complete all the information required by ASHRAE to become a member; we are hopeful that the remaining 10 will quickly finalize their information and be approved as well.

In addition to the work to finalize the membership, we have been actively working on Book 3 which is essentially Datacom 101 so to speak. It is the basics for data centers and telecom facilities (elementary level). The book currently has 12 chapters and we have a chapter leader for each chapter. Currently there are over 30 people working on this draft.

All 12 chapters are due in May and they then will be assembled and distributed for review holistically. The plan is to have a final draft review in the June Committee Meeting in Denver.

The industry is becoming increasingly more aware of our first two books which are very timely considering the increasing focus and concern for the cooling aspect of Datacom Facilities.

The April Issue of the ASHRAE Journal included the following Datacom Articles and there is another article which has been approved and will be published soon. These articles are a good indication of the activity of our committee members and how receptive ASHRAE is to publish information specific to the Datacom Industry.

Industry Response to Current Communications Network Power-Density Challenges


Meeting Datacom Equipment Inlet Air Temperature Requirements with Mixing of Hot and Cold Air


Datacom Airflow Patterns


Computer and Data Center Thermal Solution Design Comparisons


Datacom Commissioning

MESSAGE FROM >>>
Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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March 2005 Message from TC 9.9 Officers

The committee has been working on content for two ASHRAE publications this past month.

First, the committee has been asked to develop content for enhancements to ASHRAE's 4-Volume Handbook CD+. The CD+ will contain information on topics above and beyond what is available in the Handbook. Working on a tight timeframe, TC9.9 members have proposed more than 10 enhancements to the current Applications Volume, Chapter 17, Data Processing and Electronic Office Areas. We are conducting a letter ballot to vote on these enhancements in order to allow for timely inclusion in this new publication.

In addition, the committee is working on a new Special Publication, which will provide valuable and up-to-date information on a wide range of data center design issues. There are 13 chapters in the proposed publication, as listed below:

The committee has team leads for all chapters, and has a goal to complete a working draft of the document by May 31 of this year.

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Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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February 2005 Message from TC 9.9 Officers

This past month was predominantly spent with last minute preparations for the Winter Conference in Orlando, the conference itself, and subsequent follow through.

Our main committee meeting lasted approximately 6 hours and was once again a combination of a business meeting and a working meeting / workshop. Some of the highlights include mobilizing on updating our roadmap and the workshop on our third book which we hope to complete by June.

We attended the various functions and related committee meetings. We also met with key ASHRAE Staff and Program Committee Member to provide feedback about the positives and the room for improvement regarding the symposium process.

From our inception, we have tried to focus on the need for speed to provide information to the rapidly changing datacom industry balanced with the inherent slowness associated with creating material that is unbiased. Although we are still committed to producing symposia for each summer and winter meeting, we are now also adding a focus on seminars.

The symposia are important and valuable to ASHRAE, especially the Program Committee and so it is important for us to continue to support that focus. At the same time, that support positions us well for applying for seminars at the same time. The seminars are much easier to produce and can be produced just prior to the conference. This is beneficial for time sensitive material but also there is considerable competition for seminars since they require a mere fraction of the effort a symposium requires.

There appears to be 10 symposia for June; we are sponsoring one and co-sponsoring another.

1. High-Tech Facility Commissioning (co-sponsor with TC 7.9)

2. High Density Cooling Issues Update - June 2005 (Just TC 9.9 & 140 minutes)

Based on our new ideas about seminars, we quickly drafted to seminars which will be very helpful to present our overall message. We were very fortunate in both seminars were approved as well:

1. Datacom Cooling Part 1: Datacom Equipment Perspective

2. Datacom Cooling Part 2: Datacom Facility Perspective

A critical need within the datacom industry is to understand the perspective of each other and so these two perspectives presented consecutively should be very powerful and very beneficial.

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Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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January 2005 Message from TC 9.9 Officers

This past month finished up the administrative and clean up activities required to effectively start the year and prepare for the Winter Conference. This included completing a draft of our new roster. This new roster includes the addition of many more people.

It was close but ultimately we were able to complete the publishing (printing) of our second book, "Datacom Equipment Power Trends and Cooling Applications" prior to the conference. Two bulk purchase requests have already been received.

We assembled an initial draft for our third book and emailed it to the committee members for review prior to the Winter Committee Room. The proposed titles submitted to us thus far include:

Data and Communications Equipment Center Mechanical Design Handbook


Data and Communications Equipment Center Mechanical Systems Design


Data and Communications Equipment Center Mechanical Systems Design Handbook


Data Processing Environment Mechanical Design Handbook


Data Processing Environment Mechanical Systems Design


Data Processing Environment Mechanical Systems Design Handbook


Design Considerations for Data and Communications Equipment Centers


Design of the Mechanical Environment of Data and Communications Equipment Centers


Mechanical Design Considerations for Data and Communication Equipment Centers


Mechanical Design Considerations for Data Processing Environments


Mechanical Design Handbook for Data Processing Environments


Mechanical Systems Design for Data Processing Environments: A Handbook


Mechanical Systems Design Handbook for Data Processing Environments

Currently the Chapters of this third Book are:

Chapter 1 - Introduction


Chapter 2 - Design Criteria


Chapter 3 - HVAC Load Considerations


Chapter 4 - HVAC Systems & Components


Chapter 5 - Air Distribution


Chapter 6 - Ancillary Spaces


Chapter 7 - Computer Room Contamination


Chapter 8 - Acoustic Noise Emissions


Chapter 9 - Structural & Seismic


Chapter 10 - Fire Suppression


Chapter 11 - Commissioning


Chapter 12 - Availability & Redundancy


Chapter 13 - Energy Conservation

We asked for volunteers that have the interest and time to be the group leader for one or more chapters.

MESSAGE FROM >>>
Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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December 2004 Message from TC 9.9 Officers

This past month we continued our active emphasis on administrative and clean up activities. Some of these activities included:

1.) Developing the agenda for our meetings in Orlando

2.) Final administrative cleanup and interaction with ASHRAE regarding our Symposium in Orlando

3.) Roster issues

4.) Working on the 2 TC 9.9 sponsored Symposia for Denver and the joint Symposium as well

In addition to the normal administrative issues associated with the roster, we have been actively working on the membership interviewing potential new members. Our initial work had a large focus on the IT manufacturers' sector of the industry.

We have published the book, "Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments" and have a second book written and scheduled for release this winter called, "Datacom Equipment Power Trends and Cooling Applications". These two books we believe fill critical needs of the industry such as resolving the load stated on equipment nameplates versus actual measured load. They also establish environmental conditions and address equipment power trends (critical for planning).

Both of these books required substantial input from the IT equipment manufacturers as well as their agreement / endorsement. To effectively accomplish this, the priority was to have a broad cross section of committee members and resources from the IT manufacturer sector.

With these two books completed much of the activity of the committee now focuses on identifying and meeting end user needs. Therefore, we are actively soliciting formal or informal participation by end users on our committee (TC 9.9).

As a result, we have been actively interviewing end users to participate in our committee. Fortunately there is enough interest in TC 9.9 that we can be selective. So there has been a major effort in identifying potential end user members (we are looking for a good cross section across the various industries) and interviewing them. This has been months of heaving effort and we are pushing hard to gain closure on this quickly.

Also, in the December 2004 ASHRAE Journal, we have an article on liquid cooling.

MESSAGE FROM >>>
Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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November 2004 Message from TC 9.9 Officers

This past month and probably both December and January include a number of administrative and clean up activities. For example the ASHRAE Winter Meeting is in February and so there are many activities associated with planning an effective conference. Some of these activities include:

1.) Symposium and Forum

February 2005 Winter Meeting Forum Title: "Assessment of Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments".


ASHRAE's Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments, published in January 2004, is now celebrating the first anniversary of its publication. The purpose of this Forum is to assess the impact of this publication on the HVAC and Data Processing Industry. For instance, are manufacturers beginning to develop their own versions Table 5.2.1, the Example Thermal Report, to allow the end users to more accurately assess facility heat loads?


This forum will also focus on unmet needs, and ways in which TC9.9, Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces and Electronic Equipment, can best move to fill these gaps in guidance and knowledge.


February 2005 Winter Meeting Symposium - High Density Cooling Issues Update February 2005. The papers being presented in this Symposium are:

1. Thermal Roadmap for Telecom Equipment

2. High Density Cooling of Data Centers and Telecom Facilities: Part 1

3. High Density Cooling of Data Centers and Telecom Facilities: Part 2

4. Reliability Engineering for High Density Cooling Systems

2.) Liaison with other committees

We usually attend 5 to 10 meetings outside of our TC 9.9 Meetings.


These meetings help us maintain continuity and understand how to best interface as well as provide insight to other areas of ASHRAE about our work.


Often there are concurrent meetings so it needs to be carefully planned to attain proper coverage.


Also for some situations it improves are effectiveness by interacting with some of those meeting participants prior to the conference.

3.) Our committee meetings

The Summer Conference in Nashville was the first time we tried the approach of having working meetings or workshops rather than just business administrative meetings. This included having meetings from early afternoon until 9 pm.


We have scheduled extended meeting times similar to Nashville. In our pursuit of continuous improvement, we are brainstorming how to create pre-conference activities and material distributions to make the conference even more productive.

Working on our goal to broaden our reach and exposure, we made a presentation in London at the Data Center Dynamics London conference. Through that effort we created some interest and already have an applicant to become an international member of our committee.

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Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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October 2004 Message from TC 9.9 Officers

This past month had a major focus on the Symposia in June 2005 (Denver). If everything goes well, this will mark a new milestone for us. We have been able to maintain our goal of sponsoring a symposium for each ASHRAE summer and winter conference. June will mark the first time we will be sponsoring more than one symposium. We will be exclusively sponsoring 2 symposia as well as co-sponsoring a symposium with TC 7.9 (Building Commissioning). The current titles of the symposia are:

1.) High Density Cooling Issues Update June 2005
2.) Datacom Environments Update - June 2005
3.) High Tech Facility Commissioning

We have also made good progress on the "Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments" sales. This past month both a major computer manufacturer and major cooling equipment manufacturer made major purchases resulting in requiring a second printing of the book. Considering it has been less than a year since its original printing, this is an accomplishment to be proud of. We all worked hard on the writing of the book and would like to have that work result in a maximum impact, so please keep a focus on promoting the book.

Speaking of promotion, we have been increasing our focus on promoting the book and the work of our committee. Some recent presentations to conferences include:

1.) Data Center Dynamics
2.) The Uptime Institute
3.) Liebert Incredible Universe
4.) Storage Network World
5.) 7 x 24 Exchange
6.) IMAPS Advanced Technology Workshop on Thermal Management

In addition, numerous articles have been published mentioning the work of TC 9.9. We hope to see an increasing number of committee members presenting at conferences and writing articles that mention our work.

As is stated in our mission statement, we are focused on "all areas of the datacom industry."

TC 9.9 Mission Statement - "To be recognized amongst all areas of the datacom industry as the unbiased engineering leader in HVAC and an effective provider of technical information for the datacom industry."

On the back cover of our Thermal Guideline Book it states:

"provide a framework for improved alignment between IT equipment hardware manufacturers (including manufacturers of servers, and storage products), data center designers, and facility operators and managers."

With the increased use of IP in the communication industry, there is more convergence occurring between IT and telecom. Therefore, we have a focus on alignment of the IT and communication industries as well.

ASHRAE is well known in the facilities industry but not in some of the other industries. As a result our Public Relations or Awareness Campaign is to expose any and all areas of the datacom industry to TC 9.9's existence and focus. In a way, ASHRAE's core focus can be thought of horizontally crossing the various vertical industry segments such as IT and Telecom as well as facilities engineering and design / construction engineering. TC 9.9 is a logical source to actively contribute to some of the unifying and collaboration that is so critically needed.

MESSAGE FROM >>>
Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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September 2004 Message from TC 9.9 Officers

This month has been active in preparing the book "Datacom Equipment Power Trends & Cooling Applications" for publication. In addition to making the minor August changes to the content based on our conference call & interactions, we have designed the cover and the overview paragraph for the back cover. The document has been submitted to Ashrae staff for their review and processing.

September has also kept us busy with the final cleanup of Chapter 17 of the Applications Volume of the Handbook. We anticipate submitting the final copy in October.

Sponsoring an Ashrae Symposium is a substantial commitment. The review process is a double blind system and it has a critical focus on no commercialism. As a result, it is an extensive amount of work & commitment for the authors, reviewers, & TC 9.9 management.

September was a significant milestone in that we were successful in producing an approved Symposium for this winter's meeting in Orlando. This marks 3 conferences in a row where we have successfully produced a Symposium.

We are currently working on a joining Symposium with TC 7.9 Building Commissioning as well as our own Symposium for June (essentially 1 ½ Symposia). It is proving to be very time consuming to facilitate these Symposia but believe it to be an important need for the industry.

We also have been actively interviewing potential new committee members.

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Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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August 2004 Message from TC 9.9 Officers

This past month has been very busy with finishing up the final drafts of the "Datacom Equipment Power Trends & Applications" and Chapter 17 of the Applications Volume of the ASHRAE Handbook. These 2 activities involved well over 30 people and many pieces of information to review, coordinate, and integrate.

The final size of the "Datacom Equipment Power Trends & Applications" Book is determined by ASHRAE and the printer so the final number of pages is not finalized but here are some interesting statistics:

1) Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments bound version is 6" x 9" and 46 pages.
2) Datacom Equipment Power Trends and Applications Draft in normal letter size (8.5" x 11") is 86 pages.

So it is reasonable to say that this new book is over double the size of our first book. On August 16, 2004 this book was unanimously voted and approved by TC 9.9 for publication. We are trying to improve on any previous experiences and so we have designed the cover for the book and prepared it in high resolution electronic form. We have also written the overview paragraph that is found on the back cover of the book.

The Applications Volume of the Handbook (Chapter 17) also had significant activity. So many people had added and contributed to the chapter rewrite that it lost some clarity. As a result, the draft was reorganized changing the sequence and hierarchy of the material. The revised section names and order are:

1) Design Criteria
2) HVAC Load Considerations
3) HVAC Systems and Components
4) Air Distribution
5) Ancillary Spaces
6) Other Systems and Considerations

On August 29, 2004 Chapter 17 was unanimously voted and approved the draft for submission to ASHRAE. The current title of the chapter is, "Data Processing and Electronic Office Areas". The proposed new chapter title is "Data and Communication Equipment Centers".

The current chapter is 6 pages and has a list of 6 bibliography documents. The new proposed chapter projects to be 15 pages and includes an expanded list of bibliographies.

MESSAGE FROM >>>
Don Beaty (Chair) - DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, PC & Roger Schmidt (Vice Chair) - IBM

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July 2004 Message from TC 9.9 Officers

This past month has been very busy with the follow-up from the June Meeting in Nashville including:

1) Incorporating all the comments from our working sessions into the "Datacom Equipment Power Trends & Applications" (formerly called "High Density Datacom Equipment Power Trends").

2) Incorporating all the comments from our working sessions into the Applications Handbook Chapter 17 Draft.

3) Debriefing on lessons learned from the meetings so that we can continue to improve each subsequent meeting.

4) Documenting commitments made by committee members and interested participants as well as commitments the committee leadership made to other ASHRAE associated committees, groups, staff, etc.

We distributed sections of the "Datacom Equipment Power Trends & Applications" and Handbook Chapter 17 to tasks forces and individuals. We received the edits and rewrites back.

The final drafts are now being assembled.

We continued our refinement of the website. This included:

1) Adding an icon link on our homepage for direct access to the ASHRAE webpage that is used to purchase the "Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments".

2) Adding a list of papers, books, etc available from ASHRAE that potentially have some relevance to the general subject matter of TC 9.9.

3) Producing a list of key words associated with TC 9.9 that can help increase the hit or success rate when someone is trying find us, our material, or our subject