Cooler Servers with Less Cooling

Physics dictates that keeping servers cool requires a certain amount of CRAC (Computer Room Air Conditioner) capacity. Intuition suggests that providing additional cooling would reduce server temperatures even further. As is often the case however, too much of a good thing can be bad. While it is commonly known that mixing is the bane of efficient cooling and items such as blanking panels, floor closures, hot/cold aisle are effective, less well known is that mixing has another dimension - under the raised floor. This case study illustrates the negative effects an unbalanced cooling load can have and offers a solution to the problem.