COOLING
It’s gettin’ hot in here Following news that the 2010s were some of the hottest years on record, Nick Osborne, data centre specialist at Aggreko, explores how providing sufficient air conditioning equipment is a key measure to avoiding overheating and that dreaded downtime.
s global temperatures continue to rise and adverse weather conditions become more prevalent, controlling and mitigating the vast amount of heat that data centres produce is a more pressing issue than ever for the sector. With over 175 zettabytes of data predicted to be in existence by 2025, it is even more vital that existing and future data centres have the correct infrastructure in place to ensure heat generated by server racks and IT apparatus is balanced. Cooling systems, both liquid and air-derived, are available to data centre providers to suit the requirements of facilities of all sizes and outputs. However, a survey by Science Direct found that 61% of data centres are running at low efficiency, particularly thanks to unsuitable cooling systems. With this in mind, it is vital that data centre providers understand the requirements of their facility and can benefit from the expertise of a specialist to select the best cooling solution.
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Extreme heat causes downtime Climate change is a contentious topic across all industries, not least the data centre sector. With the market predicted to account for a third of
Sixty-one per cent of data centres are running at low efficiency, particularly thanks to unsuitable cooling systems
18 www.datacentrereview.com March 2020
