Effectiveness of Rack-Level Fans—Part I: Energy Savings Through ConsolidationSource: Journal of Electronic Packaging:;2017:;volume( 139 ):;issue: 004::page 41011Author:Eiland
,
Richard;Fernandes
,
John Edward;Nagendran
,
Bharath;Mulay
,
Veerendra;Agonafer
,
Dereje
DOI: 10.1115/1.4038235Publisher: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Abstract: In general, smaller fans operate at lower efficiencies than larger fans of proportional linear dimensions. In this work, the applicability of replacing smaller, 60 mm baseline fans from within the chassis of web servers with an array of larger, geometrically proportional 80 mm and 120 mm fans consolidated to the back of a rack is experimentally tested. Initial characterization of the selected fans showed that the larger fans operate at double peak total efficiency of the smaller fans. A stack of four servers were used in a laboratory setting to represent a rack of servers. When all four servers were stressed at uniform computational loadings, the 80 mm fans resulted in 50.1–52.6% reduction in total rack fan power compared to the baseline fans. The 120 mm fans showed similar reduction in rack fan power of 47.6–54.0% over the baseline. Since actual data centers rarely operate at uniform computational loading across servers in a rack, a worst case scenario test was conceived in which the array of larger fans were controlled by a single server operating at peak computational workload while the other three in the rack remained idle. Despite significant overcooling in the three idle servers, the 80 mm and 120 mm fan configurations still showed 35% and 34% reduction in total rack fan power compared to the baseline fans. The findings strongly suggest that a rack-level fan scheme in which servers share airflow from an array of consolidated larger fans is superior to traditional chassis fans.
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contributor author | Eiland | |
contributor author | Richard;Fernandes | |
contributor author | John Edward;Nagendran | |
contributor author | Bharath;Mulay | |
contributor author | Veerendra;Agonafer | |
contributor author | Dereje | |
date accessioned | 2017-12-30T11:44:09Z | |
date available | 2017-12-30T11:44:09Z | |
date copyright | 10/27/2017 12:00:00 AM | |
date issued | 2017 | |
identifier issn | 1043-7398 | |
identifier other | ep_139_04_041011.pdf | |
identifier uri | http://138.201.223.254:8080/yetl1/handle/yetl/4242996 | |
description abstract | In general, smaller fans operate at lower efficiencies than larger fans of proportional linear dimensions. In this work, the applicability of replacing smaller, 60 mm baseline fans from within the chassis of web servers with an array of larger, geometrically proportional 80 mm and 120 mm fans consolidated to the back of a rack is experimentally tested. Initial characterization of the selected fans showed that the larger fans operate at double peak total efficiency of the smaller fans. A stack of four servers were used in a laboratory setting to represent a rack of servers. When all four servers were stressed at uniform computational loadings, the 80 mm fans resulted in 50.1–52.6% reduction in total rack fan power compared to the baseline fans. The 120 mm fans showed similar reduction in rack fan power of 47.6–54.0% over the baseline. Since actual data centers rarely operate at uniform computational loading across servers in a rack, a worst case scenario test was conceived in which the array of larger fans were controlled by a single server operating at peak computational workload while the other three in the rack remained idle. Despite significant overcooling in the three idle servers, the 80 mm and 120 mm fan configurations still showed 35% and 34% reduction in total rack fan power compared to the baseline fans. The findings strongly suggest that a rack-level fan scheme in which servers share airflow from an array of consolidated larger fans is superior to traditional chassis fans. | |
publisher | The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) | |
title | Effectiveness of Rack-Level Fans—Part I: Energy Savings Through Consolidation | |
type | Journal Paper | |
journal volume | 139 | |
journal issue | 4 | |
journal title | Journal of Electronic Packaging | |
identifier doi | 10.1115/1.4038235 | |
journal fristpage | 41011 | |
journal lastpage | 041011-7 | |
tree | Journal of Electronic Packaging:;2017:;volume( 139 ):;issue: 004 | |
contenttype | Fulltext |