Controlling heat in the server room

Regarding keeping a server room cool: on the low end, there's box fans. On the high end, there are architectural changes to the building.

What are some practical ways to keep the room cool without resorting to either of these extremes?

Solution 1:

Turn unneeded servers off!

I know it sounds obvious, but I've seen numerous servers left on for no reason, or because people weren't sure they were being used!

Solution 2:

To add to the advice of "Turn unneeded servers off!" is virtualization. The best way to control heat is to eliminate it. If multiple server can be consolidated into fewer servers, less power is consumed and less heat is produced.

Solution 3:

Make sure you've got the hot and cold aisles right with the air flow configured properly. It'll help the servers a lot if you haven't done that.

Without resorting to architectural changes, we've used portable air conditioners in addition to large fans for times when we were doing structural work (like swapping out UPS systems).

Solution 4:

Portable air-conditioning units where you just hang a heat-exchanger out of a window work well for a short-term solution until you can get something designed-in.

Solution 5:

At the low end:

• Fans in a closed space are not going to work, as it will just circulate the heat rather than removing it.
• Ventalation fans providing fresh air can help when there is a suitable place to pull air in and push air out to.
• A small free standing or surface mount air conditioner will work well for small server rooms and comms cabinets, you will need to make sure they are placed in such a position that the air can circulate. They also require somewhere to vent the heat out to.

At the high end:

• Get someone in to do a survey and do the calculations for you, it is easy to spend a fortune on something that is either going to be way over the top, or not sufficent.