Climate control for server racks

Climate control problems in server racks, created by the installation of blade and 1U servers, can be avoided by the installation of an LCP liquid cooling package from Rittal.

The LCP is a climate-controlled package fitted to the side panel of the server rack and solves the problem of high heat losses by providing scalable cooling using air/water heat exchangers.

Key advantages for the user include even distribution of the cold air in front of the 482.6mm (19in) level, unrestricted accessibility, plus the investment safeguards of a scalable system.

When cooling air is routed through an enclosure, the devices on the uppermost levels often lose out.

This problem is avoided by the LCP, which is installed to replace the side panel of an enclosure, or alternatively one side panel each of two adjacent TS 8 enclosures.

It accommodates without restriction on later expansion, one, two or three air-water heat exchangers, each with a cooling capacity of 4-8kW (and an airflow rate of 700m3/h).

This air-flow is directed horizontally, immediately across the front of each server row, and ensures equal thermal conditions from top to bottom of the enclosure.

The closed-circuit cooling guarantees perfect functioning even in warm rooms, placing no additional load on the room air-conditioning.

The water circuit can be connected to a Rittal supplied recooling system by way of quick-lock couplings.

Intelligent condensate management is also integrated.

No installation space for active components is lost within the enclosure, and the side installation maintains accessibility of the 19in level over its full height, from both front and back.

Each module possesses its own controller, which can be integrated into a monitoring network via computer multicontrol (CMC) as appropriate.