Open Rack Vs Closed Rack

[juandc]

Hello,

If you are building a datacenter, would you choose Open Rack or Closed Rack?. What is the advantage of using closed rack?

Thanks
Juan

[whcdavid]

There are no physical or protection for it. Also, you can't control the heat flow.

Just my 2 cents.

Thanks
David.K

[SiteSouth]

There is less chance of someone accidentally unplugging stuff from a locked cabinet.

Some clients will want to store things like software CDs and other items and would prefer people don't see them just sitting there or potentially being "borrowed" by other customers.

Also, if you want corporate clients most will require a locking cabinet.

[jrcastell]

Aside from the physical security that a closed rack provides, from a heat control perspective, does a closed rack with fans provide better air circulation and heat control than an open rack where heat can supposedly escape from any side? Which solution is the better solution for a 10x11 computer room without raised floors? Thanks!

[arnold]

Hello,

It all depends on, Is your room designed to distibute heat very well?, if not I woud recommend you to use open rack.

[jrcastell]

I wouldn't say so. It's a 10x11 room with it's own AC intake and return. The return is directly above the rack; however, the room could get warm because the temperature is controlled by a thermostat in a separate larger room. The people in the other room aren't too excited about it feeling like a meat locker, so I would expect the temp to fluctuate as the air kicks on and off.

I think I will end up sticking with an open rack in order to allow the heat to escape better.

Thanks.

[whcdavid]

Hey jrcastell,

Welcome to our board, sure please try it and don't forget to post your experience here. Good luck with it.

Thank You
David.K

[jrcastell]

Thanks! Will do...

[whcdavid]

Another disadvantage from open rack is that you can't optimize the air flow.

[gallant]

In cases where there is no raised floor (or when the area under the raised floor is not used as the air supply plenum), I recommend open racks. Do think about a separate AC unit for the data room though. It may be worth the expense. Typical 'people space' HVAC equipment does not control humidity. In fact, the cooling process removes moisture from the air. (That's why AC units generate condensate.) Dry air means more static electricity and static is a server killer.
Also, there are cheap temp/humidity monitors that can send emails if parameters are exceeded. You may want to consider one or more of those just so you know what's going on in your data room.

[jrcastell]

Well, it turns out that the server room does not have it's own AC unit even though it has it's own intake and return. Even then, however, the real return is located in a separate room. Don't ask me how it's configured because I couldn't explain it. The issue is that I need to keep the servers on the rack cool.

What do you think of the following portable self-contained air conditioning solution from APC?

http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=AP7003

I was also looking into a few water cooled racks, but they require a water supply line to be routed to the rack. Also, there's a self contained air cooled rack, but it costs around $6,000 dollars. It would cost less, around $5,000 dollars, to set up a separate AC for the room.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks.

[SiteSouth]

but it costs around $6,000 dollars

At that kind of pricing, if you need additonal racks you're better off putting in a new AC unit.

[www.lanjam.com]

Well open rack vs closed racks basic decisions are as follows:

1. Do you need a controlled environment for your equipment because your current room does not have sufficient HVAC ? a. Yes = Enclosed Cabinet b. No = Open rack or frame only cabinet
2. Do you need to prevent public access to your equipment because your current room is not secured or if secured there is still a need to restrict access to the equipment ? a. Yes = Enclosed Cabinet b. No = Open rack or frame only cabinet
3. Do you have a very dirty environment where a enclosed cabinet might offer some contamination protection for your equipment thereby extending equipment life ? a. Yes = enclosed cabinet b. No = frame only cabinet or open rack


That should narrow it down somewhat for you, to look at different options for two-post racks, four post racks, cabinets, and such go to www.chatsworth.com.

Hope that helped you decide.