Because almost all data centers used raised floor construction in the 1990s, the subject was never even brought up in casual conversation during that time period. Having said that, a great deal has occurred in this regard since then.
However, over the past five to ten years, the debate has led to the production of a wide variety of whitepapers and analyses on the subject. You can find them on the internet. These have included the development of new terminology to define the effectiveness of cooling as well as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling of the performance of various types of cooling systems. The use of CFD modeling has taken place.
In an effort to put an end to the debate once and for all, a great number of companies that produce cooling systems and equipment have issued statements. Unfortunately, these statements have only served to stoke the fires of controversy even further. One of these manufacturers has taken such a stance that they have even gone so far as to declare that Aluminum raised access floor data centers are no longer required to meet modern requirements.
Equinix has a wealth of experience in the design, construction, and operation of both types of data centers. This is due to the fact that it manages more than 90 Internet Business Exchanges (IBXs) in various locations around the world. This is as a result of the fact that Equinix maintains data centers in virtually every region of the world. When we began construction on our first IBXs in 1998, we used slab floors and overhead cooling rather than raised floors, which caused many people in the industry to raise their eyebrows. Instead of raised floors, we opted to use slab floors. We decided to go with flat floors rather than raised ones.
In the years that followed, those IBXs performed exceptionally well, particularly when it came to managing loads with high power density (HPD), such as the first blade servers and high-performance optimized compute platforms such as the Sun Fire UltraSPARC boxes. In particular, these IBXs managed loads exceptionally well when it came to managing loads with HPD. When it came to managing loads with HPD, in particular, these IBXs did an excellent job of load management. In addition to this, the IBXs in question possessed a remarkable capacity for easily managing highly optimized high-performance computing platforms. In contrast to the traditional data centers, which were having trouble successfully cooling these loads despite their best efforts, our IBXs were completely problem-free in this regard.
Equinix, a major player in the data center industry, is currently in the process of building both kinds of data centers simultaneously. Why? The decision was made based on the requirements of the company, in addition to the requirements of the market at the time.
Any data center or other facility that is used for the transmission of communications should have business and operational requirements as the primary motivating factor behind their design. These requirements should serve as the driving force behind the design process. A number of other considerations, in addition to cooling, need to be made, which is especially important in a multi-tenant facility such as an Equinix IBX. It is possible to optimize a data center in a wide variety of different ways if it was constructed from the ground up by a single owner or tenant with a particular goal in mind. This type of data center is known as "built-from-scratch."On the other hand, a multi-tenant colocation facility needs to be able to meet the requirements of a wide variety of customers in order to be considered successful.
According to the findings of our investigation, neither design possesses a significant advantage over the other when it comes to the level of cooling efficiency that is required to accommodate the power density of the base design. Both designs, however, have their advantages and disadvantages. The amount of energy required to push cooling air through overhead ducts and diffusers is roughly equivalent to the amount of energy required by a pressurized raised floor system that delivers cooling air via perforated floor tiles. When compared to the amount of energy required by the system, the amount of energy required to push cooling air through overhead ducts and diffusers is roughly equivalent. Because the perforated tiles are so simple to rearrange, the raised floor has a distinct advantage over more conventional Cement raised floor in terms of the variety of configurations it can accommodate. The commercial raised floor systems has an advantage over more conventional Calcium Sulfate access floor as a result of this. When using overhead cooling, on the other hand, there are significantly fewer problems with air leakage and air bypass than when using other types of cooling. Because of the raised floor, it is somewhat more difficult to ensure that adequate airflow is maintained throughout the entire system.
When all of the different costs that were associated with the construction are looked at side by side, it becomes abundantly clear that neither strategy provides a material advantage over the other. In the end, the numerous component costs that are associated with each strategy lead to a cost that is comparable per square foot of data center area. This is the case because each strategy has its own distinct advantages and disadvantages.
Therefore, the needs of the business should be the primary consideration that is taken into account when choosing between the two distinct systems that are available. The raised floor method provides a number of benefits, one of which is increased future flexibility in multi-tenant buildings. This is just one of the many advantages provided by the hotel carpet method.
Because it is simpler to run new conduits or piping under a wholesale commercial carpet tiles than it is to run overhead in a live data center, the accessible raised floor plenum makes it easier to implement future changes, such as added cooling or electrical infrastructure. This is because it is easier to run new conduits or piping under a raised floor. This is due to the fact that running overhead in a live data center presents a greater challenge.(It is essential to keep in mind that the underfloor plenum in our IBXs with raised floors is utilized primarily for air delivery in addition to the routing of chilled water piping in the event that there is any chilled water piping at all.)Within this structure, the ceiling is covered with wires carrying both power and data. This fact is directly responsible for the fact that the space beneath the floor is home to a comparatively small number of obstacles. It is essential for certain types of facilities to have the ability to run future services to HPD cooling equipment like door coolers, in-row cooling units, or heat transfer media directly to servers. These types of cooling equipment are used in high-performance data centers. Door coolers, in-row cooling units, and in-row cooling units are the various varieties of cooling equipment that are included here.
The overall maintenance costs, as well as the costs associated with the installation and movement of equipment, can be reduced by using a slab floor, which is one of the slab floor's advantages. If you have a slab floor, as opposed to Aluminum Raised Floor Panels systems, which force you to deal with the challenges that come with point loading or moving loads, you won't have to worry about these issues at all because you won't be forced to deal with them. When compared to the costs that are associated with maintaining a raised floor, the costs that are associated with maintaining a floor that is flat, or slab, are significantly lower.
When it comes to the cost of ensuring seismic (earthquake) performance, a slab floor will typically have a lower price tag than other Concrete Raised Floor Panels options. When utilizing a slab, it is much simpler to anchor the equipment, and there is no requirement for the additional lateral bracing and reinforcement that is necessary when utilizing a system. On the other hand, when utilizing a raised floor system, these elements are essential. On the other hand, if you are going to use a raised floor system, then you absolutely need these components. When it comes to running a global business like Equinix, one of the most important factors to take into account is the demand from customers. According to projections made by industry experts, raised floors will become standard in data centers located in a wide variety of geographic locations across the globe in the not too distant future. Because of this, some of our designs include a raised floor, but the power supplies, data networks, and certain cooling functions (such as return air plenums for close-coupled cooling) are still housed in the ceiling. This is because the raised floor allows for better air circulation.
In a nutshell, the design of a data center ought to be evaluated based on how well it satisfies both the operational goals and the business goals that have been decided upon. This evaluation should take place as soon as possible. It is important that the contentious discussion be allowed to proceed.
