The Advantages of Single and Double Aisle Air Flow Containment

For optimal data center operations, you will need some sort of method to keep it cool to prevent overheating of the server units. To effectively plan your air flow containment plan, you can choose from panels, doors and other air-leak prevention methods. However, as you plan all of these things, you’ll also need to assess your airflow and consider the layout of your containment plan, too, as it can be just as important to keep your system at the right temperature level. As you install your data center, consider the following air flow management systems—single aisle and double aisle containment—and how they could best work for you:

Single Aisle Containment

Designed for: Smaller, standard rooms

When you install a data center, you may have opted for the standard air flow containment. Those who use one aisle with two server racks most commonly use single aisle containment, as it is easy to install and customize. If you ever plan on relocating your data center, you could benefit from the single aisle containment model because of its flexible modular design. You can also easily install single aisle air flow containments on your own, making it a manageable air flow system for small spaces.

Two Aisle Containment

Designed for: Larger rooms with specific air flow necessities

To manage the heat produced from your data center in larger rooms, you may need a two aisle air flow management design. If you plan on keeping your data center in the same room for an extended period of time, a two aisle containment may best meet your needs.  A room’s air conditioning units often indicate how a two-aisle containment system will be modeled to best direct air flow patterns for the precise cooling your center needs. While two aisle containment systems may require extra planning in the initial stages to determine exactly where cooling and ventilation should be, your larger data center model will ultimately benefit from this plan.

Other considerations

As you consider your air flow management system, you may also want to determine how much heat is being released from your data center. Even if you have the best air flow containment plan, if your equipment is generating too much heat for your cooling methods to keep up, your plan may fail. An air flow containment consultant specializing in HVAC units may be able to determine how your aisle containment plan will work once enacted.