Solving the Heat and Power Problems Raised By Blade Servers

As blade servers become more powerful and businesses pack more and more of them into data centers, cooling the thin devices is becoming more of a challenge. A rack of blade servers can generate as much as 14 kilowatts, nearly the heat given off by two electric ovens. The simplest solution is to add air conditioning capacity, but this is expensive and can’t prevent failures on the inevitable occasions when the air conditioning temporarily fails. And while adding air conditioning may be necessary, it also makes sense to evaluate the airflow conditions in the room in order to determine whether or not the existing capacity is being effectively utilized.