Charlie Bass, Business Development Manager at Cannon Technologies MENA, identifies the five key points to address when selecting the correct cabinet.
In the early days of the data centre industry, cabinets were viewed as little more than steel boxes to conveniently locate equipment. However, to meet the demands for greater data storage, bandwidth and processing power, cabinet specification has become a fine art and the five key areas to address are capacity and size, power allocation, cooling and climate control, access, and security.
Capacity and size
In the vast majority of cases a 600mm deep cabinet is not going to suffice and even a depth of 800mm is unlikely to offer enough space to house today’s high density servers. Selecting a 1000mm or 1200mm version is therefore advisable. It makes sense to look at the requirements and purchase the most suitable cabinet. For instance, it might be more appropriate to have large apertures with brush strips at the top and base, alongside cable management to allow cables to go from front to back, or into the centre and up and down.
The most important issue with patching is maintaining the bend radius of the cable, something that a cabinet with enough in-built flexibility will be able to facilitate.It is always better to over-specify than under-specify, as any extra space will almost certainly be utilised by the next generation of server technology.
Power allocation
Power distribution units (PDUs) are a ubiquitous part of any cabinet installation. Total energy demand required per unit has risen dramatically over the past 15 years, from an average power density of 1-2kW to an average of 4-6kW per cabinet or more. Making sure that there is enough room is imperative – anyone trying to fit a 30 socket vertical PDU in a 32U cabinet will soon run into problems.
According to the Uptime Institute, human error causes around 70 per cent of the problems in data centres. Therefore, using PDUs with lockable sockets is a great way to avoid any accidents, while intelligent PDUs allow managers to see power consumption in real time and make informed decisions regarding electrical capacity.
Cooling and climate control
Recent research from DCD Intelligence, a division of DatacenterDynamics found that the number of high-density cabinets and servers – those over 10kW per cabinet – as a proportion of total cabinets increased by 8.5 per cent globally between 2012 and 2013 to 15.2 per cent.
A cabinet plays a vital role in maintaining the integrity of a cooling system and by controlling the air temperature, server components at the board level are kept within a manufacturer’s specified temperature and/or humidity range.
Cold aisle containment encloses the cold aisle and prevents the mixing of cold air and hot exhaust air. State-of-the-art aisle cocooning systems enclose the space between two facing rows of cabinets, sealing the airspace between them with a low-level ceiling and access controlled corridor door(s). Again, it is important to make sure that a cabinet is suitable for use with a chosen cooling infrastructure.
Access
Traditional cabinet designs utilise totally detachable side panels for maintenance or moves, adds and changes (MACs). However, panels that are removed for even the shortest period of time can totally ruin cold air/hot air separation and negate the benefits of an aisle cocooning system.
Using a unit that has sliding partition panels for cabinets bayed in rows is recommended. Used in pairs the narrow partition panels can slide backwards and forwards to open cross cabling apertures between adjacent cabinets, or completely close off inter-cabinet access providing a highly secure solution.
Also on this subject, cabinets with raised feet for levelling can create a backwash of air underneath them, while there may be gaps either down the sides or where there is missing equipment. Blanking plates should be used to cover these as part of any best practice policy and there are a variety of quick fit blank panels with no tools required to fit them.
Security
With any data network there is always a risk that the information that flows through it could be intercepted and used for malicious purposes. However, there are a number of processes that can significantly reduce the likelihood of this happening, including the physical security of cabinets.
Modern locking systems such as swinghandles are highly secure, robust, ergonomic, and can be retrofitted – to add another layer of protection they can be installed with an electronic keypad. A locking system will usually be used in conjunction with a personal identification number (PIN) or radio frequency identification (RFID) device.
Point of order
The key to successful cabinet specification is to be as precise as possible during the planning stage and be realistic about potential levels of growth. One important way to avoid any issues is to talk to leading manufacturers and explain your requirements. They will also be able to anticipate any issues and use their vast experience to help make sure that the right cabinets are selected first time, which will ultimately save valuable time and money.
ABOUT CANNON TECHNOLOGIES MIDDLE EAST
With a 36 year pedigree, Cannon Technologies Middle East (part of Cannon Technologies Group Ltd) provides T4 Data Center Solutions around the globe – from building complete data centers as turnkey projects up to TIA 942 Tier 4; to suites of intelligent, environmentally managed infrastructure racks, including cold-aisle cocooning, per-rack access control, video surveillance, intelligent power distribution and UPS. At top turnkey level Cannon designs, supplies, integrates and commissions the IT architecture for military and commercial applications, for mission critical projects.
For more information please visit www.cannontech.ae
For the full feature and further details of cabinets and containments please visit www.insidenetworksme.com/issue03/
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