ASHRAE Datacom Series
ASHRAE Datacom Series
ASHRAE Datacom Series
1
treatment of datacom cooling and related subjects.
ISBN 978-1-947192-64-5 (pbk) ASHRAE Datacom Series, Book 1 1 ASHRAE Datacom Series
ISBN 978-1-947192-65-2 (PDF)
Fifth Edition
Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments is authored by ASHRAE Tech-
nical Committee (TC) 9.9, Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces and Electronic
Equipment. ASHRAE TC 9.9 is composed of a wide range of industry representatives,
including but not limited to equipment manufacturers, consulting engineers, data center
operators, academia, testing laboratories, and government officials who are all committed
to increasing and sharing the body of knowledge related to data centers.
Peachtree Corners
ISBN 978-1-947192-64-5 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-947192-65-2 (PDF)
© 2004, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2021 ASHRAE. All rights reserved.
ASHRAE has compiled this publication with care, but ASHRAE has not investigated, and
ASHRAE expressly disclaims any duty to investigate, any product, service, process, proce-
dure, design, or the like that may be described herein. The appearance of any technical data
or editorial material in this publication does not constitute endorsement, warranty, or guar-
anty by ASHRAE of any product, service, process, procedure, design, or the like. ASHRAE
does not warrant that the information in the publication is free of errors, and ASHRAE does
not necessarily agree with any statement or opinion in this publication. The entire risk of the
use of any information in this publication is assumed by the user.
ASHRAE STAFF
SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS Cindy Sheffield Michaels, Editor
James Madison Walker, Managing Editor of Standards
Lauren Ramsdell, Associate Editor
Mary Bolton, Assistant Editor
Michshell Phillips, Senior Editorial Coordinator
PUBLISHING SERVICES David Soltis, Group Manager of Publishing Services
Jayne Jackson, Publication Traffic Administrator
DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS
AND EDUCATION Mark S. Owen
Contents
Preface to the Fifth Edition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Chapter 1—Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Book Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 Primary Users of This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.4 Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Although there are reasons to want to consider the impact of equipment outlet
temperature on the hot aisle, it does not impact the reliability or performance of
the ITE. Also, each manufacturer balances design and performance require-
ments when determining their equipment design temperature rise. Data center
operators should expect to understand the equipment inlet temperature distribu-
tion throughout their data centers and take steps to monitor these conditions. A
facility designed to maximize efficiency by aggressively applying new operating
ranges and techniques will require a complex, multivariable optimization
performed by an experienced data center architect.
Although the vast majority of data centers are air cooled at the IT load, liquid
cooling is becoming more commonplace and likely will be adopted to a greater
extent due to its enhanced operational efficiency, potential for increased density, and
opportunity for heat recovery. Consequently, the fourth and fifth editions of Thermal
Guidelines for Data Processing Environments include definitions of liquid-cooled
environmental classes and descriptions of their applications. Even a primarily
liquid-cooled data center may have air-cooled IT within. As a result, a combination
of air-cooled and liquid-cooled classes will typically be specified for a given data
center.
Acknowledgments
ASHRAE Technical Committee (TC) 9.9 would like to thank the following
members of the IT subcommittee for their groundbreaking work and willingness to
share in order to further the understanding of the entire data center industry and for
their active participation, including conference calls, writing/editing, and reviews:
Dustin Demetriou (IBM), Dave Moss (Dell), Mark Steinke (AMD), Roger Schmidt
(IBM, retired), and Robin Steinbrecher (Intel, retired). Thanks also to Roger
Schmidt for leading the effort on updating this fifth edition.
A special thanks is due to Syracuse University Mechanical and Aerospace Engi-
neering Department and the leadership of Professor Jianshun Zhang and his team,
including PhD student Rui Zhang, for carrying out the research to investigate the
effect of high humidity and gaseous pollutants on information technology equip-
ment (ITE). The result of this work was the primary reason for this fifth edition.
ASHRAE TC 9.9 also wishes to thank the following people for their construc-
tive comments on the draft of this edition: Jason Matteson (Isotope), Jon Fitch
(Midas Green Technologies), John Gross (J. M. Gross Engineering, LLC), Dave
Kelley (Vertiv, retired), Ecton English, Gerardo Alfonso (Ingeal), and Vali Sorell
(Microsoft).
Finally, special thanks to Neil Chauhan of DLB Associates for creating a consis-
tent set of graphics for this updated edition.
1
Introduction
Over the years, the power density of electronic equipment has steadily
increased. In addition, the mission-critical nature of computing has sensitized busi-
nesses to the health of their data centers. The combination of these effects makes it
obvious that better alignment is needed between equipment manufacturers and facil-
ity operations personnel to ensure proper and fault-tolerant operation within data
centers.
This need was recognized by an industry consortium in 1999 that began a grass-
roots effort to provide a power density road map and to work toward standardizing
power and cooling of the equipment for seamless integration into a data center. The
Industry Thermal Management Consortium produced the first projection of heat
density trends. The IT Subcommittee of ASHRAE Technical Committee (TC) 9.9
is the successor of that industry consortium. An updated set of power trend charts
was published in IT Equipment Power Trends, Third Edition (ASHRAE 2018b).
These updated equipment power trends extend to 2025.
The objective of Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments, Fifth
Edition, is to do the following:
standard ETSI EN 300 019-1-3 (2014), which is referenced when there is a compar-
ison between data centers and telecom rooms. It is important to show the comparison
where some convergence in these environments may occur in the future.
1.3 ADOPTION
It is the hope of ASHRAE TC 9.9 that many equipment manufacturers and facil-
ities managers will follow the guidance provided in this book. Data center facilities
managers can be confident that these guidelines have been produced by IT manu-
facturers.
Manufacturers can self-certify that specific models of equipment operate as
intended in data processing air-cooling environmental classes A1, A2, A3, A4, and
H1 and the liquid-cooling environmental classes W17 through W+.
1.4 DEFINITIONS
air:
conditioned air: air treated to control its temperature, relative humidity, purity,
pressure, and movement.
supply air: air entering a space from an air-conditioning, heating, or ventilating
apparatus.
annual failure rate (AFR): average number of failures per year.
availability: a percentage value representing the degree to which a system or compo-
nent is operational and accessible when required for use.
basic input/output system (BIOS): set of computer instructions in firmware that
control input and output operations.
cabinet: frame for housing electronic equipment that is enclosed by doors and is
stand-alone; this is generally found with high-end servers.
computer room: a room or portions of a building serving an ITE load less than or
equal to 10 kW or 215 W/m2 (20 W/ft2) or less of conditioned floor area.
Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments, Fifth Edition 5
humidity:
absolute humidity: the mass of water vapor in a specific volume of a mixture
of water vapor and dry air.
humidity ratio: the ratio of the mass of water to the total mass of a moist air
sample; it is usually expressed as grams of water per kilogram of dry air (gw/kgda)
or as pounds of water per pound of dry air (lbw/lbda).
relative humidity (RH):
a. Ratio of the partial pressure or density of water vapor to the saturation pres-
sure or density, respectively, at the same dry-bulb temperature and baro-
metric pressure of the ambient air.
b. Ratio of the mole fraction of water vapor to the mole fraction of water
vapor saturated at the same temperature and barometric pressure; at
100% rh, the dry-bulb, wet-bulb, and dew-point temperatures are equal.
information technology (IT): the study or use of systems (especially computers and
telecommunications) for storing, retrieving, and sending information.
information technology equipment (ITE): devices or systems that use digital tech-
niques for purposes such as data processing and computation.
information technology original equipment manufacturer (IT OEM): tradition-
ally, a company whose goods are used as components in the products of another
company, which then sells the finished item to users.
IT space: a space dedicated primarily to computers and servers but with environ-
mental and support requirements typically less stringent than those of a data center.
liquid cooled: cases where liquid must be circulated to and from the electronics
within the ITE for cooling with no other form of heat transfer.
mean time between failures (MTBF): the average time between system breakdowns.
power:
measured power: the heat release in watts, as defined in Chapter 6, Section 6.1,
“Providing Heat Release and Airflow Values.”
nameplate rating: term used for rating according to nameplate (IEC 60950-1,
under clause 1.7.1: “Equipment shall be provided with a power rating marking,
the purpose of which is to specify a supply of correct voltage and frequency, and
of adequate current-carrying capacity” [IEC 2005]).
rated current: “The input current of the equipment as declared by the manu-
facturer” (IEC 2005); the rated current is the absolute maximum current that is
required by the unit from an electrical branch circuit.
rated frequency: the supply frequency as declared by the manufacturer.
Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments, Fifth Edition 7
rated frequency range: the supply frequency range as declared by the manu-
facturer, expressed by its lower- and upper-rated frequencies.
rated voltage: the supply voltage as declared by the manufacturer.
rated voltage range: the supply voltage range as declared by the manufacturer.
power usage effectiveness (PUETM): the ratio of total amount of energy used by a
computer data center facility to the energy delivered to the computer equipment. See
PUETM: A Comprehensive Examination of the Metric (ASHRAE 2014c) for more
information.
printed circuit board (PCB): an electronic circuit consisting of thin strips of a
conducting material such as copper that have been etched from a layer fixed to a flat
insulating sheet and to which integrated circuits and other components are attached.
rack: frame for housing electronic equipment.
rack-mounted equipment: equipment that is to be mounted in an Electronic Industry
Alliance (EIA) or similar cabinet; these systems are generally specified in EIA units,
such as 1U, 2U, 3U, where 1U = 44 mm (1.75 in.).
reliability: percentage value representing the probability that a piece of equipment
or system will be operable throughout its mission duration; values of 99.9% (“three
nines”) and higher are common in data and communications equipment areas. For
individual components, reliability is often determined through testing; for assem-
blies and systems, reliability is often the result of a mathematical evaluation based
on the reliability or individual components and any redundancy or diversity that may
be used.
room load capacity: the point at which the equipment heat load in the room no longer
allows the equipment to run within the specified temperature requirements of the
equipment; Chapter 4 defines where these temperatures are measured. The load
capacity is influenced by many factors, the primary factor being the room theoretical
capacity; other factors, such as the layout of the room and load distribution, also
influence the room load capacity.
room theoretical capacity: the capacity of the room based on the mechanical room
equipment capacity; this is the sensible capacity in kilowatts (tons) of the mechan-
ical room for supporting the computer or telecom room heat loads.
stock keeping unit (SKU): the number of one specific product available for sale. If
a hardware device or software package comes in different versions, there is a SKU
for each one.
temperature:
dew-point temperature: the temperature at which water vapor has reached the
saturation point (100% rh).
dry-bulb temperature: the temperature of air indicated by a thermometer.
8 Introduction
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