APC’s suite of cooling solutions

In order to ensure backend power systems, the American Power Conversion (APC) has introduced a cooling solution suite to sustain the unpredictability of Information Technology (IT) environments, especially in developing countries.

This suite, APC said is a range of new InfraStruXure compatible modular cooling solutions to support the delivery of precise and predictable chilly environs to high-density loads.

Country General Manager, Africa at APC, Mr. Carl Kleynhans, said his firm's latest solutions include the InfraStruXure InRow RC, InfraStruXure Cooling Distribution Unit (CDU) and the Rack Air Containment System (RACS).

“Today’s IT managers face a completely new set of cooling and thermal problems in the data centre,” he said, noting that in a traditional data centre environment higher temperatures are addressed by supplying an over-abundance of cooling to the room, which is extremely wasteful and ultimately cost prohibitive.

Besides the heat density issues, IT equipment loads, the manager said, are becoming more dynamic, exacerbating the challenge of maintaining an acceptable thermal ‘rate of change’ in accordance with ASHRAE Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments.

"Simply put, cooling IT equipment too quickly could be just as dangerous as allowing it to run too hot. And to effectively address these new realities, cooling solutions must not only minimise the mixing of hot and cold aisle airstreams and deliver dynamic cooling and airflow performance, but also properly match the fluctuating IT equipment heat loads and airflow" Mr. Kleynhans said.

He also pointed out that APC’s cooling solutions serve the needs of a variety of IT environments, from wiring closets and computer rooms to data centres of all sizes.

The company’s scalable solutions, he said, include air distribution units, portables and precision cooling systems, and serve specific cooling needs for diverse environments.

Explaining further, he said, APC’s InfraStruXure InRow RC for instance, is a modular cooling solution that is installed next to the IT equipment rack in applications ranging from small computer rooms to large data centres.

This, he said, could be set up at both sides of a rack enclosure, the unit could also predictably deliver up to 60 kilowatts (kw) of cooling per rack of IT equipment or up to 30kW per rack with full redundancy.

On the InfraStruXure CDU, he said, it’s a flexible chilled water distribution system designed for the InfraStruXure InRow RC unit. Whereas the APC’s Rack Air Containment System, is a modular enclosure designed with the blade server in mind to facilitate predictable cooling to moderate, high and ultra high-density heat loads.