RE: DATACENTER: AC and colo sizing question.

[Robert Chew <robert@verio.net>]

Right.  It is nice that most equipment has an operating range of 85F to 104F,
rather than the old days when things died more than a few degrees away from 70F.
The advice to have multiple units that someone made is a good one, even if all
you have are manual thermostats, you can set one as primary, and swap which one
is primary every few months.  Also, we have found that air circulation is critical
for avoiding hotspots.  I have the fan set to ON on all my air handler units, and
bits of ribbon on each duct so you can tell that it is blowing. Overtemp, low head
pressure (compressor), and fan motors are also SNMP trapped and forward to pagers,
but it is nice to have a visual clue.  We keep extra box fans around for emergencies.
Robert

On Thu, 10 Feb 2000 grisha@verio.net wrote:
> I thought you were hypothesizing. I didn't notice the "real question" part
> intially. Maximum operating temperature is specific to the equipment and
> is usually listed in the manual. I know that Ciscos usually shut
> themselves down at above 140F, Suns at aorund 110 or even less and Intel
> boxes usually keep running until the drives or CPU is permanently damaged.
> I think drives go out first, then the processor... I'd say anything above
> 90 is harmful.
> 
> But I think the biggest challenge will be humans and the
> building/fire/safety/osha/whetever regulations.
> 
> Grisha

--
Robert David Chew  rchew@verio.net [Verio Inc, Oregon Office]