Data Center Handbook, 2nd Edition

14RACK‐LEVEL COOLING AND SERVER‐LEVEL COOLING

Dongmei Huang¹, Chao Yang², and Bang Li³

¹ Beijing Rainspur Technology, Beijing, China

² Chongqing University, Chongqing, China

³ Eco Atlas (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd, Shenzhen, China

14.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter provides a brief introduction to rack‐level cooling and server‐level cooling as applied to information technology (IT) equipment support. At rack‐level cooling, the cooling unit is closer to heat source (IT equipment). And at server‐level cooling, the coolant is close to heat source. This chapter will introduce various cooling types from remote to close to heat source. In each type, the principle, pros, and cons are discussed. There are a lot of types for server‐level cooling; only liquid cooling is described on high‐density servers. When using liquid cooling, it will reduce the data center energy costs. Liquid cooling is gaining its marketing share in the data center industry.

14.1.1 Fundamentals

A data center is typically a dedicated building used to house computer systems and associated equipment such as electronic data storage arrays and telecommunications hardware. The IT equipment generates a large amount of heat when it works. All the heat released inside the data center must be removed and released to the outside environment, often in the form of water evaporation (using a cooling tower).

The total cooling system equipment and processes are split into two groups (Fig. 14.1):

1. Located inside the data center room – Room ...