Data centre design has become incredibly sophisticated over the past decade. Organisations have embraced ever more innovative ways of using efficient cooling, such as the adoption of hot and cold aisles and new air conditioning technologies, to maximise available space and drive down energy costs.
Yet one fundamental component of data centre design has been overlooked – the racks. Jason Preston, director of 2bm, explains.
The temptation has been to go for a budget option rack since few organisations can really see the difference, but standard racks can be a false economy. Well engineered and designed bespoke racks are typically more flexible, enabling them to be used for either servers or network equipment – they can be used with any vendor’s equipment and they are typically much more robust, resulting in fewer broken hinges and insecure door locks. Critically, these bespoke racks are well fitting and can be designed to minimise gaps and air loss.
Of course, standard racks still have a place. Any large data centre that requires hundreds of identical racks will gain financial benefits from standard budget racks, whilst an organisation working with a heat inefficient, legacy data centre will see little value from the more expensive bespoke racking solutions.
However, for most organisations looking to exploit increasingly diverse and power hungry technology there is a need for more sophisticated cabinets than the standard solutions that have traditionally been used. By considering this previously overlooked component of data centre design, companies have a real opportunity to gain further value from the innovative cooling solutions that have already been put in place.
