Frost & Sullivan Report: “Intelligent Power Distribution Units: A Tool for Energy Management”
According to industry specialists, ever-increasing power density results in increased cooling requirements. For every kW increase in power, an equal amount of cooling capacity is required. Those factors are raising the importance of energy-efficiency metrics in the market and the use of intelligent PDUs.
Introduction
Today’s high-end network switches from Cisco, Brocade, Juniper and others are often replacing older, room-sized PBX systems with manageable, scalable VoIP gateways. But these switches can come with their own challenges: they’re big, cable-intensive, create high levels of heat and sometimes have unique airflow designs.
Four-Post Solution
For most datacenters, this means deploying four-post racks to provide greater stability, plus intensive cable management that also enables front panel access for active patching.
AFCO Systems designed its four-post racks to combine the strength and advantages of a stable, large equipment datacenter cabinet with the benefits of a flexible cable management system. The AFCO Systems Switch Rack is perfect for datacenters that must enable complete access to network switches, while effectively supporting power and bulk cable needs. It is a progressive, multifunctional structure that provides two storage solutions simultaneously: an equipment bay and a cable management unit combined in a single, innovative approach. The enhanced design gives greater cable management capacity, while utilizing quick release equipment shelves.
Overall, the Switch Rack has a height of 84 inches with 45-rack units. Its open style frame has no airflow restrictions and the 2 sq. ft. footprint provides superior stability and greater protection for equipment The rack conforms to EIA standard for 19″ equipment mounting giving the user the flexibility to mount any standard 19 inch EIA components.
HDS Solution
For network switches that employ side breathing – channeling airflow from a cool-air intake on the right to a hot-air exhaust on the left – placement and access can become a problem. A standard open rack placed side-by-side can create a cascading heat regain. In this dangerous scenario, hot air is exhausted from one cabinet into the cool air intake of the next cabinet, possibly causing thermal problems and shut-downs.
For this scenario, AFCO developed the High-Density Network System (HDS), datacenter enclosures that manage airflow from front-to-back or side-to-side, all while maintaining the integrity of switch hardware, power requirements, cabling access and cooling requirements. HDS is enabled with a local Airflow Management Module™ (AMM) that integrates seamlessly with our AFCO Resource Manager for remote management of power and cooling resources. The HDS enclosure is equally suited for single- or multiple-enclosure applications in both datacenters and networking closets. Built-in side barriers disrupt the negative cascading heat patterns, providing an optimal operating environment. The HDS system also offers an economy of space-saving advantages over traditional racks, with a compact footprint, the capability to house two switches in a single enclosure and the ability to gang multiple enclosures in a row.
A Practical Example
This solution was implemented for a large financial institution in New York City that required both space savings and easy cable access in side-by-side racks – without causing a cascading heat regain situation. In order to avoid setting off thermal alarms throughout its datacenter, the company turned to AFCO Systems for relief.
Using the AFCO HDS datacenter enclosures provided the power management and cooling necessary to keep the financial company’s massive Cisco switches humming, while enabling front panel cable access and channeling airflow. The solution is now handling a 12kW heat load.
“AFCO has a long history providing power and cooling enclosures for industries including financial, media and retail. We understand the mission-critical nature of the datacenter and by working with industry leaders we have been able to provide the solutions our customers have come to expect,” said John Consoli, AFCO Systems Chief Technology Officer.
John Consoli, AFCO Systems Chief Technology Officer, presented on this topic during the recent 2008 Advanced Energy Conference. See slides below; See article.
AFCO Systems chief technology officer, John Consoli, will be among the speakers at this year’s prestigious Advanced Energy Conference, hosted by Advanced Energy Research & Technology Center (AERTC) in association with National Grid and LIPA. Consoli will be joined by Ed Koplin, principal at Xnth, and Jim Fulton, PhD, Professor of Mathematics at SUNY Suffolk County Community College to present a series of presentations which will detail datacenter best practices for energy efficiency.
News Coverage
Yahoo News
AFCO has evolved during the past few decades from in its initial formation as a sheet metal manufacturer. Its successful transformation to a leading provider of intelligent enclosures for information technology equipment has embodied strong organizational culture dimensions, iterative learning techniques, effective visionary objectives and a socially cooperative working environment.
Recent research — covering leadership, learning, organizational culture and functional maturity in entrepreneurial businesses — found this successful transformation was directly attributable to clarity of vision, iterative learning practices, strong organizational values and a cohesive team. Specifically, the research revealed organizational learning was a significant contributor to AFCO’s successful transformation.
Processor Magazine writer Curt Harler interviews AFCO Systems chief technology officer, John Consoli, about the company’s next generation datacenter enclosures. The article points out that “the changes AFCO has made to its offerings make the systems more upgradeable, meaning IT managers will be able to swap parts and components and expedite tasks such as cable management. The new line will help to reduce the number of individualized replacement parts and components required to be warehoused by data centers, which is good news for budget-conscious SMEs.”
New Cabinet Series Includes Ease-of-Upgrades, More Options for Datacenters with High Density Environments. Today’s datacenter enclosures require greater flexibility in order to meet the often competing demands of Green IT and a green balance sheet. This includes equipment that can be upgraded inside the datacenter in order to meet new requirements. To provide IT, datacenter and facilities professionals the flexibility and future-proofing they require for their datacenter power and cooling enclosures, AFCO Systems (www.afcosystems.com) is introducing a new generation of its flagship passive, high-density and extreme high-density datacenter enclosures. Full release
News Coverage
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