Most data centers and network rooms have a variety of basic design and configuration flaws that prevent them from achieving their potential cooling capacity and prevent them from delivering cool air where it is needed. These problems are generally unrecognized because computer rooms have typically been operated at power densities well below their design values. However, recent increases in the power density of new IT equipment are pushing data centers to their design limits and revealing that many data centers are incapable of providing effective cooling as expected.

The paper breaks down the common flaws into five contributing categories, and addresses each in turn:

• Airflow in the rack itself
• Layout of racks
• Distribution of loads
• Cooling settings
• Layout of air delivery and return vents