White Paper 134

Deploying High-Density Pods in a
Low-Density Data Center

White Paper 134
Revision 2
by Neil Rasmussen and Victor Avelar
> Executive summary

Simple and rapid deployment of self-contained, highdensity pods within an existing or new low-density data
center is possible with todays power and cooling
technology. The independence of these high-density
pods allow for predictable and reliable operation of
high-density equipment without a negative impact on
the performance of existing low-density power and
cooling infrastructure. A side benefit is that these highdensity pods operate at much higher electrical efficiency than conventional designs. Guidance on planning
design, implementation, and predictable operation of
high-density pods is provided.
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Contents
Click on a section to jump to it
The problem: unmanaged high

density
The solution: high-density

pods
Pod containment methods
Additional high-density pod

benefits
12
In-house vs. vendor-assisted

deployment
13
Real-time management of
high-density pods
16
Conclusion
17
Resources
18
Appendix A
19
Deploying High-Density Pods in a Low-Density Data Center
Introduction
High-density equipment such as blade servers, 1U servers, and multi-core, high-end servers
provide more computing-per-watt compared to previous generation servers. However, when
consolidated, this equipment requires concentrated power and cooling resources. Data
center operators and IT executives are often uncertain about the capability of their existing
data center and whether a new data center must be built to support higher rack densities. A
simple solution exists that allows for the rapid deployment of high-density racks within a
traditional low-density data center. A high-density pod, as illustrated in Figure 1, allows data
center managers to support a mixed-density data center environment for a fraction of the cost
of building an entirely new data center.
Low-density room
Figure 1
Basic concept of a highdensity pod
High-density
pod
Hot/cool air
circulation is
contained within
the pod
HEAT ENERGY OUT to

heat rejection system
A high-density island in the room
A mini data center with its own

cooling
> High density enables

high efficiency
In traditional data centers with
room-based power and cooling,
unmanaged high-density racks
can cause destabilizing effects
such as cooling inefficiency,
loss of cooling redundancy, hot
spots, thermal shutdown, and
circuit overload.
However, with todays new
power and cooling technologies,
high-density racks offer an
opportunity for dramatically
increased efficiency and
predictability, if deployed
effectively and supported by
smart row-based power and
cooling.
The high-density pods
described in this paper provide
a way to deploy high density
while at the same time
achieving increased overall
data center efficiency by
targeted, scalable, localized
power and cooling.
Thermally neutral or even positive

to the rest of the room
Hot/cool air circulation is localized
within the pod by short air paths
and/or physical containment
In this paper a high-density pod is defined as one or more rows of racks containing highdensity equipment all clustered together with dedicated row-based cooling that is deployed as
a unit. A high-density pod resides within the borders of a larger, low-density data center.
The high-density pod is not the same as a high-density data center, which is a data center
dedicated to supporting nothing but, or mostly, high-density racks. Managing for the deployment and operation of a high-density data center is not the subject of this paper.
High-density pod compared to spreading out strategy

Although todays IT equipment operates at high power density that is, each individual
server draws a high amount of power this does not always mean such devices must be
deployed in a high-density manner by packing them together in a rack. In fact, a popular
strategy has been to spread out high-density servers by installing fewer in each rack. If the
equipment is dispersed like this, the data centers average power density will likely stay in the
range that the data center was originally designed for. In this way, a variety of technical
problems can be avoided.
Schneider Electric Data Center Science Center
White Paper 134
Rev 2

However, the spreading out strategy may not be viable for a number of reasons:
Consumption of additional floor space, which may be difficult to justify or simply not
possible
Executive management perception that partially-filled racks are wasteful

Increased cabling costs (because of longer runs)
Increased cost and difficulty of maintenance cabling and mounting may be intertwined
with other equipment in a non-standard manner, scattered throughout the room
Related resource
White Paper 135

Hot-Aisle vs. Cold Aisle
Containment for Data
Centers
Reduced electrical efficiency of the data center, because cooling-system air paths are
longer and less well targeted. The longer the air path in an uncontained system, the
more chance there is for hot and cold air to mix. This mixing results in the lowering of
the return temperature to the air conditioner which means the system will be less efficient in removing heat energy. For more information regarding the containment of air
streams, see White Paper 135, Hot-Aisle vs. Cold-Aisle Containment for Data Centers.
For these reasons, it is expected that data enter operators will begin to deploy IT equipment
at its full density capability in pods rather than try to stay within an overall room power
density by spreading out the load. With new power and cooling technologies, there is now a
significant efficiency entitlement from concentrating high-density equipment into pods.
Related resource
White Paper 46
Cooling Strategies for UltraHigh Density Rack and Blade
Servers
The problem:
unmanaged high
density
This paper assumes the choice has been made to deploy high-density IT racks in a lowdensity data center. Row-based cooling, as a technique to implement these high-density
pods, is presented as a simple solution for addressing high-density power and cooling issues
in both existing and new data centers. For more information regarding alternatives for
deploying high-density equipment, including the option of spreading out IT equipment, see
White Paper 46, Cooling Strategies for Ultra-High Density Racks and Blade Servers.
Traditional data center design uses a raised floor to distribute cooling to low-density IT
equipment (Figure 2a) and air streams are uncontained. However, when high-density
equipment is randomly installed throughout a low-density data center the cooling stability is
upset and hot spots begin to appear (Figure 2b).
Low-density room
Low-density room
Figures 2a (left) and 2b

2a Low-density data
center
2b High-density hot spots
Concentrated highdensity IT equipment
Stable
cooling
Unpredictable
cooling
Data centers designed for low-density racks (typically 1-3 kW / rack) vary dramatically in
construction. Ceiling heights, raised floor depths, room geometry, power distribution, and
raised floor obstructions are all quite different. In addition, IT managers vary in how they
define a high-density rack. This paper defines a high-density rack as 6 kW or higher.
Regardless of which number is used to denote a high-density rack, the following deployment
issues need to be considered:
White Paper 134
Rev 2

Delayed server deployment uncertainty of knowing which rack can cool a newly provisioned server just adds to the already long delay by having to perform a cooling assessment
Unplanned downtime due to overloaded power distribution circuits or thermal shutdown of IT equipment
Related resource
White Paper 121

Airflow Uniformity Through
Perforated Tiles in a RaisedFloor Data Center
Unpredictable cooling throughout the data center no certainty that every high-density
server will be properly cooled after every move, add, or change (see White Paper #121,
Airflow Uniformity Through Perforated Tiles in a Raised-Floor Data Center).
Loss of cooling redundancy as more high-density racks are added, air conditioning
units that were once redundant are now required to supply the concentrated airflows.
Some subsystems are extremely impractical or costly to instrument for power consumption (for example, PDUs due to number of output connections, or switchgear)
The solution:
high-density
pods
Fortunately a solution exists that can neutralize these issues and is discussed in the following
sections. Placing high-density racks in an isolated, standardized, and self-contained area of
the data center provides a low cost, viable solution to the challenges mentioned above. This
high-density pod avoids dependence on the unpredictable nature of raised floor cooling and
would not require complex computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis prior to installation.
Figure 3 illustrates three high-density pod implementation methodologies all of which are
capable of supporting independent power distribution, UPS, and cooling systems. This dropin solution eliminates the hot spots in Figure 2b by simply moving high-density equipment
into the pod that contains dedicated row-oriented cooling units. The heat generated from the
high-density IT equipment within this pod is rejected to the outdoors with no negative impact
to the existing data center cooling system or the surrounding low-density IT racks. In fact,
the pod acts as its own high-density data center within an existing low-density data center.
This self-sufficient pod is, at a minimum, thermally invisible or, more likely, is a net exporter
of cooling to the rest of the room.
Low-density room
Figure 3
Isolated, self-sufficient
high-density pod
High-density
zone
Hot/cool air
circulation is
localized within
the zone
HEAT OUT
to buildings heat
rejection system
Three basic methods

(Top view)
Uncontained
HOT-AISLE
containment
RACK
containment
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Rev 2
What is thermal visibility?

Isolated, standardized and self-contained high-density pods operate on the idea of isolating
server exhaust heat and directing all of that heat into the air conditioner intakes, where the air
is then cooled before being redistributed to the front of the servers. By isolating both hot and
cold air streams, the high-density pod, at a minimum, neutralizes the thermal impact that
high-density IT racks would otherwise have on traditional low-density data centers. In other
words, the pod is thermally invisible to the existing data center cooling system. Particularly
with hot-aisle and rack containment methods, however, it is quite likely that the row-oriented
cooling in the high-density pod will have a positive effect by actually adding cooling capacity
to the rest of the room.
Although this paper focuses on the cooling of high-density pods, it is also possible to power a
pod with its own dedicated UPS and power distribution. This may be desirable in situations
where the existing data center UPS is at capacity or is being phased out due to end-of-life or
when targeted power availability is required for a specific pod.
The system in Figure 4 integrates a cluster of high-density IT racks with a high-density rowbased cooling system and high-density UPS and power distribution system in a premanufactured, pre-tested pod.
Hot air is exhausted to the

hot aisle and returns to the
back of the air conditioners
Air conditioners return neutralized

(ambient room temperature) air to the
front of the racks
Figure 4
IT
rack
IT
rack
IT
rack
IT
rack
Front-view of a standardized
modular multi-rack highdensity pod (no containment
in this example)
Integrated row-based
air conditioners
Row-based cooling architecture

A row-based cooling architecture makes it possible to have a room-neutral high-density pod.
Row-based cooling is an air distribution approach in which the air conditioners are dedicated
to a specific row of racks. This is in stark contrast with room-based cooling where perimeter
air conditioners are dedicated to the entire room. Row-based air conditioners may be
installed above IT racks, adjacent to IT racks, or in combination. An example of a row-based
air conditioner is shown in Figure 5.
White Paper 134
Rev 2

While most facilities and IT
personnel understand the basic
> Row-based cooling units
idea behind high-density pods,
Compared with the traditional roomthey question how the pod can be
oriented approach, the airflow paths of
room neutral in the midst of
row-based air conditioners are shorter
and much more predictable. In addition,
constant moves, equipment
all of the rated capacity of the air
additions, and changes. Consiconditioner can be utilized, and higher
dering their past experience with
power density can be achieved. At the
same time, the usable capacity of the
the variability and at times
perimeter (room-based) cooling system
perplexing nature of raised-floor
increases and in some cases its cooling
cooling, skepticism toward the
redundancy is restored to the original
design as IT load is removed from this
long-term predictability of highsystem and placed into the pod.
density pods is not surprising.
Though raised floors and highAlthough not discussed in this paper,
row-based cooling is also an effective
density pods are both governed
method for entirely cooling small lowby the same laws of fluid dynamdensity data rooms (1-3 rows of racks).
ics and thermodynamics, one
major aspect sets them apart
standardization.
If raised floors were standardized so that they all had the same depth, same dimensions,
same under floor obstructions, same under floor airflow pattern, same CRAC locations, and
same air leakage from tile cutouts, they could more easily be modeled in real time so as to
predict their behavior using design and planning software tools. If this standardization
existed, IT managers would be able to predict the cooling impact of adding a blade chassis to
a particular rack and make rational decisions based on the prediction. However, these raised
floor attributes by their very nature are customized and are not conducive to standardization.
Furthermore, the variability of all these attributes would make real-time computational fluid
dynamics (CFD) modeling nearly impossible in a typical data center.
Related resource
White Paper 130

The Advantages of Row and
Rack-Oriented Cooling
Architectures for Data Centers
Pod
containment
methods
In contrast, high-density pods use standardized hot / cold aisle widths, rack height, and air
path distances to the rack. Row-based cooling also eliminates the variability introduced by
the raised floor. These simplifications make it possible to design predictable high-density
pods using standardized tools. These design tools provide the confidence that any design
will capture and neutralize the expected amount of hot exhaust air. For more information on
the row-based cooling architecture, and how it compares to room-based cooling, see White
Paper 130, The Advantages of Row and Rack-Oriented Cooling Architectures for Data
Centers.
Server exhaust heat can be diverted back to the air conditioners in three ways: uncontained,
hot aisle containment, and rack air containment (see Figure 5). All of these methods
leverage a row-based cooling concept (e.g., the air conditioner is brought within a few feet of
the IT rack).
White Paper 134
Rev 2

Three ways to create a room-neutral
island in a low density room
Low-density room
Uncontained
HOT-AISLE
RACK
Figure 5
High-density pod
containment methods
containment
Hot/cool air
circulation is
localized within
the zone
High-density zone
Room-neutral island
in a low-density room
containment
1. Uncontained
> Importance of
blanking panels
Effective row-based cooling
depends on the isolation of hot
and cold air streams. If any of
the vertical space in a rack is
not filled by equipment, the
gaps between equipment allow
hot exhaust air to flow through
the rack and to the front of
equipment such as servers.
This mixing between the hot
and cold air streams reduces
the effectiveness of row-based
cooling. For more information
see White Paper 44, Improving
Rack Cooling Performance
Using Airflow Management
Blanking Panels (link in
Resource section)
Uncontained pods rely on the standard layout and widths of the common hot aisle and cold
aisle arrangement to keep hot and cold air streams from mixing. For this reason, uncontained pods depend on multiple racks in a row and are not effective in cooling stand-alone IT
racks. The hot and cold aisles formed by rows of racks (and in some cases walls) are what
isolate the hot and cold air streams as illustrated in Figure 6. The closer an IT equipment
rack is to a row-based air conditionec, the greater the amount of exhaust air that is captured
and cooled. As the distance between the IT rack and the row-based air conditioner increases
in an uncontained system, the more the hot exhaust air mixes with the surrounding air in the
data center.
When to use this method:
When IT racks designated for the pod are moved and relocated frequently
When IT racks are used from a variety of different vendors
Trade-offs:
More row-based air conditioners required at lower densities in order to properly capture
hot exhaust air from all IT racks.
WALL or ROW to help form hot aisle
Figure 6
Rack
CRAC
Rack
CRAC
Rack
CRAC
REAR
High-density pod
with no containment
Rack
Hot aisle
FRONT
White Paper 134
Rev 2
2. Hot aisle containment

Hot aisle containment pods are identical to uncontained pods except for the fact that the hot
aisle in every pair of rows is contained. The hot aisle becomes the hot exhaust channel by
enclosing it with ceiling panels and a door at each end of the aisle (Figure 7). In addition, the
racks rear doors are removed. The hot exhaust air is physically contained and unable to mix
with the ambient data center air. A wall or another row of racks is required to form a cold
aisle in order to isolate the cold supply air.
In cases where floor space must be conserved. This method is popular because it
consumes the same space as two rows of low-density racks.
In data centers with hot aisle / cold-aisle layouts

Trade-offs:
Hot aisle containment panels increase capital cost

Hot aisle containment may exceed work environment policies due to high temperature
Incompatible with some types of cabling, power strips, labels, and other materials that
are not rated for high temperatures
Not possible with a single row of racks

Authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) may require fire suppression in hot aisle
CRAC
Rack
Hot aisle
Rack
CRAC
REAR
Contained
hot aisle
Rack
Rack
Rack
CRAC
High-density pod
with hot aisle
containment
Rack
CRAC
Rack
CRAC
Figure 7
CRAC
FRONT
Rack
FRONT
3. Rack containment
Rack containment (also called rack air containment) is similar to hot aisle containment except
that the hot exhaust air is contained using the back frame of the equipment racks and a
series of panels to form a rear air channel. This channel can be attached to a single IT rack
or to a row of racks (Figure 8). The panels used to create the hot exhaust air channel
increase the depth of a normal rack by 20 cm (8 in). An optional series of front panels may
be used on rack containment arrangements that require complete containment of hot and
cold air streams as shown in Figure 9. This optional front containment adds an additional 20
cm (8 in) to the depth of the rack.
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> Why NOT use

containment?
In cases where hot aisle containment is the preferred method, but a single odd row is
It may appear that containment

would be the clear choice for
any row-based cooling scenario.
However, this is not always the
case.
left uncontained
When frequent access to and easy management of communication cables is required

For complete isolation in cases such as stand-alone open data center environments or
mixed layouts only when optional front containment is used
With row-based cooling,

containment is more important
at lower densities, where the
ratio of IT racks to air conditioners is higher. The higher this
ratio the greater the distance
between IT racks and air
conditioners, with more chance
for hot exhaust air to escape.
Higher densities, on the other
hand, mean a lower ratio of IT
racks to air conditioners, with
shorter air paths and less
chance for hot exhaust to
escape in this case, containment is less essential because
airflow is tightly targeted and
tends to behave all by itself.
In wiring closets that lack any form of cooling, exposing high-density equipment to high
temperatures only when optional front containment is used
When sound attenuation is required only when optional front containment is used
Trade-offs:
Front and rear containment panels increase capital cost

In a single rack configuration, cost increases substantially when cooling redundancy is
required
In addition, there may be

practical considerations that
rule out containment, such as
higher cost at certain rack
power densities, company
restrictions on hot work
environments (i.e., a contained
hot aisle), and incompatibility
with existing racks.
Rack
re
ar
do
or
s
Rack
Rack
CRAC
So
lid
CRAC
High-density pod with rack

containment
CRAC
FRONT
Figure 8
Rack
REAR
Return air contained
White Paper 134
Rev 2
Single rack
Figure 9
Solid rear
doors
CRAC
FRONT
Rack
CRAC
Solid front
doors
Rack
Optional front
containment
REAR
High-density pod with rack

containment plus optional
front containment
Soli
d
fron
t do
or s
FRONT
Rack
re
ar
do
or
s
Rack
CRAC
So
lid
CRAC
Multiple racks
Rack
REAR
An overall comparison of high-density pod methods is shown in Table 1.
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10
Table 1
Comparison of pod
containment methods
Selection
criteria
No
containment
Hot aisle
containment
Rack air
containment
Comments
Minimize
footprint
Good
Good
Moderate to poor
NO containment and HOT AISLE containment provide

minimum row spacing
RACK air containment adds 8 inches to the depth of
the rack but may be acceptable in consolidation
applications
Front AND rear containment adds 16 inches to the
depth of the rack should be weighed against
available floor space
Ease of change
management
Good
Moderate to poor
Moderate to poor
Taking racks in and out of an existing row is more

difficult when containment systems constrain the rack
with hardware, especially with front containment
Moderate
Good
Good
NO containment layout is closely linked to the existing

data center layout which could increase the number of
row-based units
Moderate to poor
HOT AISLE containment row-based CRAC positions

are independent of redundancy
More row-based CRACs needed to maintain
redundancy in rack containment
Moderate to good
RACK air containment and RACK air containment with

front containment may be limited since not all rack air
can be shared among all row-based coolers as with
HOT AISLE containment
NO containment depends heavily on rack power
density where high densities require less row-based
coolers
RACK air containment and rack air containment with
front containment highly-influenced by redundancy
(more coolers needed)
Good
Poor to moderate with RACK air containment only

Good when using RACK air containment with front
containment
Will reduce the decibel level of the cooling equipment
but will not completely eliminate the noise
Minimize energy
consumption
Ease of
redundancy
Minimize # of
row-based
CRACs
(particularly at
low density)
Sound
attenuation
Installation in
thermally
unstable or
non-data center
space
Cost
Moderate
Poor to
moderate
Poor
Poor
Good
Good
Moderate to poor
Poor
Good
Dependent upon variables such as rack power density and number racks
Poor to moderate with RACK air containment only

Good when using RACK air containment with front
containment
Examples include wiring closets, offices, and
commercial spaces
Although the hot aisle containment has additional
panels that increase cost, it will require fewer rowbased coolers than no containment, particularly at
lower rack power densities
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11
Additional highdensity pod

benefits
The decision on whether to move forward with deployment of a high-density pod should also
consider the following benefits:
Standardization of design elements

Compatibility with any data center, new or existing
Configurability with dedicated UPS and power distribution
Configurability with any level of redundancy
Configurability with any number of IT racks
Standardized design elements

In order for high-density pods to provide predictable performance they must include standard
design elements. This includes components such as air conditioners, power distribution,
UPS, and racks. In addition, standard dimensions play a key role in predictably isolating hot
and cold air flows. Standard dimensions include hot / cold aisle widths, rack height, and
standard (short) airflow travel distances.
Related resource
White Paper 116

Standardization and Modularity
in Network-Critical Physical
Infrastructure
Modularity is also a benefit of standardization and allows high-density pods to be quickly

deployed, altered over time, and even moved to another data center. Standardized components and dimensions greatly simplify the design process. These pre-designed standard
solutions may even be re-ordered for other data centers. Data center personnel can also
leverage standardization by deploying predictable capacity and change management
software that maintains the peak performance of the high-density pod (this is discussed
later). For more information on standardization see White Paper 116, Standardization and
Modularity in Network-Critical Physical Infrastructure.
Compatible with any data center, new or existing

High-density pods are modular and independent of room-based cooling architectures and
existing UPS architectures. Therefore, few constraints exist to prevent their deployment in
new or existing data centers. Sufficient floor space must be available and the floor must have
enough weight-bearing capacity. All other aspects of a standardized high-density pod are
replicable in multiple types of data centers.
Configurable with dedicated UPS and power distribution

The architecture of the high-density pod allows for deployment of pod-specific UPS and PDU
configurations in cases where the existing data center UPS is at capacity or is being phased
out due to end-of-life. These systems are rack-based and designed to be modular and
scalable.
Configurable with any level of redundancy

Redundancy levels vary depending upon the criticality of the IT assets. Traditional data
center design is such that the entire physical infrastructure is built to satisfy the redundancy
requirements of the most critical set of assets. This type of design is extremely expensive
both from a capital cost and operational cost perspective. A much more cost-effective design
is to provide redundant power and cooling only where and when required. High-density pods
allow for this targeted redundancy / availability approach by including redundant power and
cooling modules when appropriate. Note that the core infrastructure such as chilled water
White Paper 134
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12

piping and electrical service entrance must be designed and built on day one with the highest
redundancy level required.
Configurable with any number of IT racks

High-density pods are scalable in that they accommodate the number of IT racks required at
a specific power density. These pods can range in size from a single IT rack to 20 or more
racks depending on local codes.
Combining these characteristics results in a highly flexible, high-density solution that can
extend the life of a legacy data center and postpone the capital outlay required for building a
new one.
Attribute
Traditional
approach
Pod
approach
Comments
Positioning the data

center as a source of
corporate competitive
advantage
Difficult
Easier
Simple economics cost of doing

business is lower per unit of
computational output
Very difficult
Easy
Table 2
Just-in-time IT
deployments
Deployments are highly dependent

on modular and predictable power
and cooling which affects management and ability to quickly deploy
Deploying highdensity equipment:

traditional vs.
pod approach
Predictability of
performance
High
Low
Strongly linked to data center

infrastructure efficiency
Likelihood of hot spots
High
Very low
Management applications insure

optimal placement of equipment in
pods to prevent hot spots
Cooling efficiency
Poor
Excellent
Room based cooling units are

oversized to overcome under-floor
obstacles, distance, air mixing,
demand fighting, etc.
Ability to plan
Poor
Excellent
Standardization / predictability
facilitate what-if scenarios before
moves, adds, and changes
In-house vs.
vendor-assisted
deployment
The data center owner has two options for the deployment of high-density pods: in-house
deployment or vendor-assisted deployment. In both cases a solid project plan is required.
More specific information regarding data center projects and system planning is available in
white papers 140, Data Center Projects: Standardized Process and 142, Data Center
Projects: System Planning.
White Paper 134
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13
In-house deployment
Related resource
White Paper 140

Data Center Projects:
Standardized Process
Related resource
White Paper 142

Data Center Projects:
System Planning
Related resource
APC TradeOff ToolTM

Data Center InRowTM
Containment Selector
IT managers can easily deploy smaller sized pods or smaller data centers (less than 20
racks) with no previous experience. A worksheet and checklist is provided in Appendix A.
This worksheet can serve as a helpful guide and facilitates the collection of information
required to specify and deploy a high-density pod. The worksheet assumes the project owner
has knowledge of the IT equipment associated with the planned high-density pod (e.g. total
power requirements, plug requirements, rack U-height requirements and communications
cabling requirements).
If the worksheet is properly filled out, an educated decision can be made on which pod
containment method to choose. APC TradeOff Tool, Data Center InRow Containment
Selector, (see Figure 10) can help select the most appropriate pod containment method.
The results generated by the tool are based on typical scenarios and in some cases the
recommended containment option may differ from the actual final design.
Once a containment type is chosen, a decision must be made on which components the pod
will include. The worksheet helps data center staff determine whether to include a dedicated
UPS, PDU, or chiller. In some cases, certain preferences and constraints dictate which
components are included in a pod and which are not. Table 3 provides a list of possible
constraints that could affect the ultimate configuration of the high-density pod.
Constraint
High-density pod requirement
None
Racks and row-based cooling units
No spare power
distribution positions
Racks, row-based cooling unites, and rowbased power distribution unit (PDU)
No spare power capacity on existing

UPS system
Racks, row-based cooling units, row-based UPS

system, and row-based PDU
Table 3
High-density pod components under various
constraints
No spare cooling capacity on existing Racks, row-based cooling units, and packaged
chiller
chiller
No spare power or cooling capacity
on existing UPS and chiller

system, and packaged chiller
No spare power or cooling capacity

on existing UPS and chiller or spare
power distribution positions

system, packaged chiller, and row-based PDU
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14
Figure 10
Interactive tool for
containment
method selection
Even with the constraint of no spare UPS, chiller, or power distribution capacity, it is still
possible to extend the life of an existing data center by installing a high-density pod with its
own dedicated power and cooling resources. For example, the high-density pod in
Figure 11 includes its own chiller plant, UPS, and power distribution. It is assumed that the
data centers electrical service entrance has sufficient spare capacity to supply power to this
packaged solution. In cases where a data center has run out of spare electrical service
capacity, a decision must be made to install an additional utility feed(s) or build a new data
center. Other factors beyond the scope of this paper such as available floor space, virtualization potential, business objectives, leasing contracts, and future growth plans factor into the
buy-or-build decision.
Cooling distribution unit
Figure 11
Packaged standalone highdensity pod
Packaged chiller
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15

From the time a need for a high-density pod is identified, IT and facilities personnel can
expect to populate the racks in a given pod in one to three months, assuming the required
budget is approved. However, internal company processes may extend the proposed
timeline.
Vendor-assisted deployment
Although it is possible for data center staff to deploy high-density pods without outside
assistance, projects involving data centers with 20 or more racks can be considerably more
complex. In such cases consultation with design experts and project managers is recommended.
Vendor-assisted deployment usually begins with an assessment of the existing data center or
the design plans for a new data center. In either case an assessment provides the design
experts with valuable information, including preferences and constraints, which allows
optimum design decisions. Assessments help answer questions such as:
Can an existing row be retrofit with row-based air conditioners to avoid downtime?
If spare chilled water capacity is unavailable should a self-contained air conditioning unit
be used as opposed to a packaged chiller?
What steps can be taken to increase the speed of deployment of a future high-density
pod?
An effective assessment (such as Schneider Electrics Blade Server Readiness Assessment)
measures spare bulk power and cooling capacity as well as spare distribution capacity. Bulk
cooling capacity is measured at the chiller while the distribution capacity is measured at the
CRAH units on the data center floor. This data provides an estimate of cooling capacity and
compares constraints against current and future requirements. Ultimately this will help
answer the question, When will I run out of cooling capacity and require a high-density pod?
After measuring and analyzing the data, a plan is created to meet future high-density needs.
In the end, an effective design plan for mixed-density data centers should incorporate power,
cooling and floor space utilization efficiency. An effective design plan allows a data center to
use up its power, cooling, and space resources all at the same point in the future, thereby
avoiding stranded resources.
Real-time
management
of high-density
pods
The architecture of row-based cooling makes real-time modeling of cooling performance

possible. Design tools can configure racks, row-based air conditioners, UPS, and power
distribution based on high-density pod specifications such as average and peak power
density per rack, containment, redundancy, and plug types. Once a high-density pod is
deployed, real-time planning and management tools allow IT personnel to maintain predictable operation even after moves, adds, and changes take place. Examples of appropriate
design and planning tools include InfraStruXure Designer and APCs Capacity and Change
Manager. For more information on management and its critical role in predictable performance, see White Paper 150, Power and Cooling Capacity Management for Data Centers.
Related resource
White Paper 150

Power and Cooling Capacity
Management for Data
Centers
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Rev 2
16
Conclusion
In the past it was a major challenge for IT personnel to successfully deploy a mix of highdensity and low-density equipment in the same data center space. Traditional data centers
were specified to cool a uniform rack power density and were not capable of predictably
cooling a large number of high-density racks. Now architectures such as row-based cooling
allow for the rapid deployment of high-density pods within an existing or new low-density data
center. Modular row-oriented power and cooling can be added where and when high-density
racks are required, without any negative effect on the existing room-level infrastructure. In
combination with capacity and change management systems, pods offer a high-density
deployment solution capable of maintaining predictable operation even after moves, adds,
and changes.
About the author

Neil Rasmussen is a Senior VP of Innovation for Schneider Electric. He establishes the
technology direction for the worlds largest R&D budget devoted to power, cooling, and rack
infrastructure for critical networks.
Neil holds 19 patents related to high-efficiency and high-density data center power and cooling
infrastructure, and has published over 50 white papers related to power and cooling systems,
many published in more than 10 languages, most recently with a focus on the improvement of
energy efficiency. He is an internationally recognized keynote speaker on the subject of highefficiency data centers. Neil is currently working to advance the science of high-efficiency,
high-density, scalable data center infrastructure solutions and is a principal architect of the APC
InfraStruXure system.
Prior to founding APC in 1981, Neil received his bachelors and masters degrees from MIT in
electrical engineering, where he did his thesis on the analysis of a 200MW power supply for a
tokamak fusion reactor. From 1979 to 1981 he worked at MIT Lincoln Laboratories on flywheel
energy storage systems and solar electric power systems.
Victor Avelar is a Senior Research Analyst at Schneider Electric. He is responsible for data
center design and operations research, and consults with clients on risk assessment and
design practices to optimize the availability and efficiency of their data center environments.
Victor holds a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute and an MBA from Babson College. He is a member of AFCOM and the American
Society for Quality.
White Paper 134
Rev 2
17
Resources
Click on icon to link to resource
Hot-Aisle vs. Cold-Aisle Containment

for Data Centers
White Paper 135
Cooling Strategies for Ultra-High Density

Rack and Blade Servers
White Paper 46
The Advantages of Row and Rack-Oriented

Cooling Architectures for Data Centers
White Paper 130
Browse all
white papers
whitepapers.apc.com
Standardization and Modularity in NetworkCritical Physical Infrastructure

White Paper 116
Data Center Projects:Standardized Process

White Paper 140
Data Center Projects: System Planning

White Paper 142
Power and Cooling Capacity Management

for Data Centers
White Paper 150
Improving Rack Cooling Performance Using

Airflow ManagementTM Blanking Panels
White Paper 44
Airflow Uniformity Through Perforated Tiles

in a Raised-Floor Data Center
White Paper 121
Browse all
TradeOff Tools
tools.apc.com
Contact us
For feedback and comments about the content of this white paper:
Data Center Science Center
DCSC@Schneider-Electric.com
If you are a customer and have questions specific to your data center project:
Contact your Schneider Electric representative
White Paper 134
Rev 2
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Appendix A: Worksheet and checklist for deployment

of a high-density pod
Power
The room
The pod
Data / input
Value
Comments
Criticality level:
1, 2, 3, or 4
Goal for the availability and reliability of the pod,

consistent with the business mission. See White
Paper 122 for guidance and choosing an appropriate criticality level.
Average rack power density (kW)
Average IT load per rack. (The pods cooling will be

designed to handle this.)
Peak rack power density
Maximum anticipated IT load in any rack of the pod.

(The pods cooling will be designed to handle this.)
Is there sufficient service entrance

capacity to support this high-density
pod? (Yes / No)
Electrical service entrance capacity must be able to

support the incremental power load added by the
pod (IT load plus power/cooling infrastructure).
Type of data center floor: raised floor

vs. hard floor
What floor-to-ceiling height is available

for the pods equipment, taking service
clearances into account?
(indicate ft. or m.)
The height available for proposed and future

equipment, taking into consideration all applicable
service clearances per local jurisdiction. For
example, sprinklers will affect available height.
Will pod include a separate dedicated

UPS?
If no, skip to item 12.
Whit is available source input voltage to

the UPS(s) or PDU(s)?
How much current is available from the

subpanel that will power the UPS(s) or
PDU(s)?
Total spare current of the subpanel feeding the

room must be shared with cooling equipment in
item 21. Electrician is best source for information.
10
How many 3-pole breaker positions are

available in the panel(s)?
Total number of spare 3-pole positions available to

be used by UPS(s) and PUD(s). Electrician is best
source of this information.
11
What is preferred UPS runtime?

(minutes)
See White Paper 52 for guidance
12
Total spare capacity of all existing UPS

system(s) dedicated to the data center
This will determine if there is sufficient existing UPS

capacity to support the new high-density pod,
taking into consideration desired redundancy and
distribution.
13
How will the electrical distribution

cables be routed from the PDU(s) to the
racks? (overhead or underfloor)
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Cooling
Data / input
Value
Comments
14
Which method will this high-density pod

use? No containment, hot aisle containment, or rack containment?
15
What existing heat rejection methods

are available at the site? Chilled water,
glycol, refrigerant, water cooled?
Identifies the types of heat rejection systems that

are available at the site. This will help in designing a
high-density pod with a compatible cooling system.
16
What is the total sensible capacity

(kW) of the existing cooling system?
The total cooling capacity (in kW) available from

the existing cooling system. For chilled water
systems, this will be the capacity of the chiller plant.
For DX systems, this will be the total of all the CRAC
units.
17
What is the spare sensible capacity of

the existing chilled water system? (kW)
To be filled out if chilled water spare capacity will

be used for this high-density pod.
18
How is cooling system piping routed?

Overhead or underfloor?
Identifies how the following are routed:

DX glycol, condenser water, humidification and
condensate lines
Chilled water supply/return piping
19
How will the chilled water piping be

routed to the new cooling units?
Overhead or underfloor?
Routing for refrigerant, humidification, and

condensate lines
20
What is the source input voltage to the

new CRAC / CRAH unit(s)? (volts)
If no, skip to item 12.
21
How much current is available to power

the new CRAC / CRAH unit(s)? (amps)
22
Does the cooling solution require both

critical and non-critical power inputs?
If NO, skip next two items.
23
What voltage feeds the critical power

input of the cooling unit?
Voltage for power to fans and controls
24
What voltage feeds the non-critcal

power input of the cooling unit?
Voltage for power to compressor (DX only),

humidifier, and pump
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Monitoring / management
Data / input
Value
Comments
25
What type of physical security system is

required for the high-density pod?
Door card, cameras, motion detectors?
26
What building management system

(BMS) does the existing data center
use? (Name of system or none used)
27
What network management system

does the existing data center use?
(Name of system or none used)
28
What is the preferred level of instrumentation? (typical or full)
Identifies the preferred instrumentation level for

the high-density pod, using various sensors such as
temperature, humidity, water and motion.
29
How is the structured cabling within the

data center routed? Overhead or
underfloor?
Structured cabling refers to networking cables

connecting infrastructure equipment.
White Paper 134
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Deploying High-Density Pods in a

Low-Density Data Center

by Neil Rasmussen and Victor Avelar

> Executive summary

The problem: unmanaged high

The solution: high-density

Pod containment methods

Additional high-density pod

In-house vs. vendor-assisted

Deploying High-Density Pods in a Low-Density Data Center

HEAT ENERGY OUT to

A high-density island in the room

A mini data center with its own

> High density enables

Thermally neutral or even positive

High-density pod compared to spreading out strategy

Schneider Electric Data Center Science Center

White Paper 134

Deploying High-Density Pods in a Low-Density Data Center

Executive management perception that partially-filled racks are wasteful

White Paper 135

Figures 2a (left) and 2b

Concentrated highdensity IT equipment

Schneider Electric Data Center Science Center

White Paper 134

Deploying High-Density Pods in a Low-Density Data Center

White Paper 121

Three basic methods

Schneider Electric Data Center Science Center

White Paper 134

Deploying High-Density Pods in a Low-Density Data Center

What is thermal visibility?

Hot air is exhausted to the

Air conditioners return neutralized

Row-based cooling architecture

Schneider Electric Data Center Science Center

White Paper 134

Deploying High-Density Pods in a Low-Density Data Center

White Paper 130

Schneider Electric Data Center Science Center

White Paper 134

Deploying High-Density Pods in a Low-Density Data Center

WALL or ROW to help form hot aisle

Schneider Electric Data Center Science Center

White Paper 134

Deploying High-Density Pods in a Low-Density Data Center

2. Hot aisle containment

In data centers with hot aisle / cold-aisle layouts

Hot aisle containment panels increase capital cost

Not possible with a single row of racks

Schneider Electric Data Center Science Center

White Paper 134

Deploying High-Density Pods in a Low-Density Data Center

> Why NOT use

When to use this method:

It may appear that containment

When frequent access to and easy management of communication cables is required

With row-based cooling,

Front and rear containment panels increase capital cost

In addition, there may be

High-density pod with rack

Return air contained

Schneider Electric Data Center Science Center

White Paper 134