[dc-ops] General opinions about AC cooling..

[randal k]

Eric,
Slab floors and in-row are all the rage these days. With containment, they
can be extremely efficient. The biggest upside for us as a public colo
facility is being able to build tremendous outside plant up front (water
tower, pumps, chillers) and then being able to incrementally add-on
targeted in-row cooling as needed. Also, the water-only in row units are
dirt cheap (they're a coil+fans, no compressor).

It also avoids the inevitable under-floor rats nest - going overhead forces
you to plan & use troughs, which makes things easier down the road. Also
better on my knees :)

We learned our lesson the hard way - investing into a water+glycol solution
with DX cooling in each CRAC. More compressors, more maintenance, more
expensive CRACs (they have compressors + lot-o-logic :(  ... bleh.

On the other hand, a lot of folks are wary of overhead water.

I'm very interested in everyone's input here as well :-)

Randal
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