• About Us
  • Partnership Opportunities
  • Privacy Policy

Data Center Frontier

Charting the future of data centers and cloud computing.

  • Cloud
    • Hyperscale
  • Colo
    • Site Selection
    • Interconnection
  • Energy
    • Sustainability
  • Cooling
  • Technology
    • Internet of Things
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Edge Computing
    • Virtual Reality
    • Autonomous Cars
    • 5G Wireless
    • Satellites
  • Design
    • Servers
    • Storage
    • Network
  • Voices
  • Podcast
  • White Papers
  • Resources
    • COVID-19
    • Events
    • Newsletter
    • Companies
    • Data Center 101
  • Jobs
You are here: Home / Voices of the Industry / How a Colocation Doubled Rack Densities with Increased Operational Efficiencies: No Shortcuts Necessary

How a Colocation Doubled Rack Densities with Increased Operational Efficiencies: No Shortcuts Necessary

By Voices of the Industry - March 28, 2019

How a Colocation Doubled Rack Densities with Increased Operational Efficiencies: No Shortcuts Necessary

Digital transformation is not the exclusive role of the IT department, but the entire organization, including those in Operational Technology (OT), who are key stakeholders as well. (Photo: Chatsworth products)

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

Chatsworth Products’ John Thompson highlights how a California colocation achieved higher rack densities and ramped up efficiency by using new data center cooling strategies and technology. 

rack densities

John Thompson, Chatsworth Products

After significant growth, Xfernet, a Los Angeles-based colocation, needed to move its facility into a 14,000 square foot data center space with shallow raised floors, low ceilings and limited footprint for new cooling equipment.

With cabinets having to support more equipment for the growing list of clients, maintaining equipment within acceptable operational temperatures was becoming a struggle.

At its current 200 watts per square foot, the company needed to reduce the physical white space of the data center to achieve higher rack densities. The white space was then constrained to 10,000 square feet to enable double the rack density at 4-5 kW per cabinet (20 square feet per rack).

At those densities, adding more air conditioning to the room would not be a cost-effective option, particularly in the long term, according to Sam Scott, Xfernet’s CEO and project lead.

Scott needed to find a solution that would provide ideal airflow to cool each rack, even though the room had low drop ceiling and shallow raised floors, which limited the amount of airflow volume into the room.

The Best Cabinet Configuration in Retrofit Deployments

In searching for a solution, Scott learned about Chatsworth Products (CPI) and its technology in data center cooling. Passive Cooling completely segregates hot and cold air, and can be applied at the cabinet or aisle level, providing increased equipment cooling performance in all elements of the data center mechanical plant, thereby reducing overall energy costs.

In Xfernet’s case, cabinet-level CPI Passive Cooling was the ideal solution: by deploying cabinets with Vertical Exhaust Ducts, airflow can be effectively managed regardless of architectural constraints.

Rack Densities

FIGURE 1: Vertical Exhaust Duct configuration is beneficial in retrofit deployments because it is the simplest and most cost-effective containment method to deploy and change. (Graphic: Chatsworth Products)

As Figure 1 shows, the patented Vertical Exhaust Ducts channel the hot exhaust air out of the cabinet and up into the drop ceiling, segregating the hot air out of the room, and ducting it back passively into the Computer Room Air Conditioner (CRAC) units. The cooled air from the CRAC units is then redistributed under the floor, into the room and through the racks. This cools the equipment without the need to overprovision the room, drastically reducing cooling costs.

Results

Xfernet was able to double rack densities and reduce its power usage effectiveness (PUE) rating from almost 2.0 to 1.47, mainly because of the efficiencies from CPI Passive Cooling, according to Scott.

“We saw the improvement immediately once we implemented the cabinets. It allowed us to fully service our clients. Clients pay per footprint of the cabinet space. When the limitation is compute power and ability to cool that power—if you can’t support that—they’ll look elsewhere,” Scott explains.

To learn more about how CPI helped Xfernet to increase rack densities without adding on cooling costs, read the complete case study.

John Thompson is a Field Application Engineer at Chatsworth Products.

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

Tagged With: Chatsworth Products, Colocation, data center cabinet, Data Center Cooling, Racks

Newsletters

Stay informed: Get our weekly updates!

Are you a new reader? Follow Data Center Frontier on Twitter or Facebook.
voices@richmiller.biz'

About Voices of the Industry

Our Voice of the Industry feature showcases guest articles on thought leadership from sponsors of Data Center Frontier. For more information, see our Voices of the Industry description and guidelines..

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Voices of the Industry

Building an Enduring World Begins with Accountability and Defining an Approach for Long-term Success

Building an Enduring World Begins with Accountability and Defining an Approach for Long-term Success TJ Faze, Head of ESG Strategy and Engagement at Vertiv, outlines the company's learnings around its recent ESG efforts.

White Papers

cloud data centers

Yes, the Cloud Is a Catalyst; It’s Also a Competitive Benchmark

Cloud data centers are typically located where the metrics of  total cost of ownership, flexibility, performance, and ‘righteousness’ are optimized. This white paper provides an overview of the US markets with the lowest total cost of ownership by ranking them based on land, energy, network and labor costs.

Get this PDF emailed to you.

We always respect your privacy and we never sell or rent our list to third parties. By downloading this White Paper you are agreeing to our terms of service. You can opt out at any time.

DCF Spotlight

Data center modules on display at the recent Edge Congress conference in Austin, Texas. (Photo: Rich Miller)

Edge Computing is Poised to Remake the Data Center Landscape

Data center leaders are investing in edge computing and edge solutions and actively looking at new ways to deploy edge capacity to support evolving business and user requirements.

An aerial view of major facilities in Data Center Alley in Ashburn, Virginia. (Image: Loudoun County)

Northern Virginia Data Center Market: The Focal Point for Cloud Growth

The Northern Virginia data center market is seeing a surge in supply and an even bigger surge in demand. Data Center Frontier explores trends, stats and future expectations for the No. 1 data center market in the country.

See More Spotlight Features

Newsletters

Get the Latest News from Data Center Frontier

Job Listings

RSS Job Openings | Pkaza Critical Facilities Recruiting

  • MEP Coordinator - Data Center Construction - Ashburn, VA
  • Data Center Facility Engineer - Chantilly, VA
  • Data Center Site Operations VP - Seattle, WA
  • Senior Electrical Engineer - Data Center - Denver, CO
  • Senior Estimator - Data Center Construction - Denver, CO

See More Jobs

Data Center 101

Data Center 101: Mastering the Basics of the Data Center Industry

Data Center 101: Mastering the Basics of the Data Center Industry

Data Center Frontier, in partnership with Open Spectrum, brings our readers a series that provides an introductory guidebook to the ins and outs of the data center and colocation industry. Think power systems, cooling, solutions, data center contracts and more. The Data Center 101 Special Report series is directed to those new to the industry, or those of our readers who need to brush up on the basics.

  • Data Center Power
  • Data Center Cooling
  • Strategies for Data Center Location
  • Data Center Pricing Negotiating
  • Cloud Computing

See More Data center 101 Topics

About Us

Charting the future of data centers and cloud computing. We write about what’s next for the Internet, and the innovations that will take us there. We tell the story of the digital economy through the data center facilities that power cloud computing and the people who build them. Read more ...
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

About Our Founder

Data Center Frontier is edited by Rich Miller, the data center industry’s most experienced journalist. For more than 20 years, Rich has profiled the key role played by data centers in the Internet revolution. Meet the DCF team.

TOPICS

  • 5G Wireless
  • Cloud
  • Colo
  • Connected Cars
  • Cooling
  • Cornerstone
  • Coronavirus
  • Design
  • Edge Computing
  • Energy
  • Executive Roundtable
  • Featured
  • Finance
  • Hyperscale
  • Interconnection
  • Internet of Things
  • Machine Learning
  • Network
  • Podcast
  • Servers
  • Site Selection
  • Social Business
  • Special Reports
  • Storage
  • Sustainability
  • Videos
  • Virtual Reality
  • Voices of the Industry
  • Webinar
  • White Paper

Copyright Endeavor Business Media© 2022