What are the two methods of deploying a containment system?

Cold containment and hot containment are two methods of implementing an airflow management strategy that can achieve significant energy savings compared to traditional architectures without containment. So why should we choose one of them? Why not use both hot and cold air containment and cool the rest of the facility with a building ventilation system? With the exception of IT cabinets located in harsh environments (such as a production floor), there is little benefit from having both hot and cold air containment. Using one of them is enough to prevent the mixing of hot and cold air flow.

Various types of hot and cold air containment. Which type of containment is more appropriate for an existing data center? This issue has created a heated debate among manufacturers, data center consultants and end users. In fact, which one is best depends mainly on the constraints of the facility. Some IT managers can choose between two or more methods of containment for a data center, while others may only choose one, cold or hot, due to physical constraints.

When selecting the appropriate containment solution for a particular data center, evaluating the current state of the facility is important and should be done in advance. During the assessment, constraints should be recorded. Constraints are those obstacles that are insurmountable, or that can only be changed or lead to unacceptable outcomes at great expense. For example, increasing the ceiling height in existing data centers is not realistic and is therefore considered a constraint, and airflow containment may cause failure of existing fire detection/suppression systems, which is an unacceptable consequence and is therefore also considered a constraint. restrict.

Each constraint must be carefully examined to determine its impact on the deployment of the containment solution, as well as its suitability considering cost, or whether its removal would have other negative impacts. For complex projects, expert review is necessary. They can review the consequences of costs and constraints that the end user may not be aware of. Once the consequences of certain constraints are certain and clear, the key is to review them to see if they can be improved or adjusted for a better overall effect. Existing data center facilities have various environmental constraints that are not within the customer's control. These constraints include facility constraints, regulatory constraints, or unchangeable business needs.