The Case for Containment

Air-cooled data centers still represent the majority of all data centers. This paper discusses the fundamental aspect of improving efficiency in these data centers, namely, airflow management. At the room and row level, containment systems offer many benefits for reducing computer room air handler fan power, as well as cooling system overhead. This paper explores the history of the development as well as current code and policy issues affecting the use or need of containment systems. Specific efficiency gains are cited, and extensive discussion of practical aspects of containment systems is given.