On Wed, 7 Sep 2005 17:58:46 -0400, "Yoann Roman"
<gtg177b@prism.gatech.spam.edu> wrote:

>I'm looking to move my servers to a rack/cabinet in a 7-ft by 5.5-ft room.
>About 6 tower servers, 1 rack server, 4 rack switches, 3 routers/telecom,
>and 3 non-rack UPS.
>
>Would an enclosed cabinet work in terms of cooling? Any general
>recommendations of open rack vs. enclosed cabinet? Not much literature on
>the topic...

A closed cabinet needs sufficient forced air (fan(s)) to
deal with the thermal load and placement of components in
it. It is not just a matter of open or closed cabinet but
the exact equipment, placement, and closed rack. In
general, either option can work, but-

The room itself also needs active airflow. It is not enough
to just have an HVAC duct that only moves air when temp
deviates. If you had a failsafe 100% on-time blower for the
HVAC and large enough ductwork, it could suffice but
generally one looks at supplimental cooling local to the
room... and the way that's implemented can have a lot to do
with the area surrounding the room, the ceiling above or
floor below, and acceptible noise levels and/or noise
isolation.

Either way you approach the racks or cabinets, the room
tends to need similar ventilation rate, or to put it another
way, sufficient rate and a little excess is better than too
little.

The system/component chassis themselves are generally not
meant to aid in cooling, so whether that chassis is exposed
to outside air or not matters little relative to the front
intake and rear exhaust potential of whatever you choose.
For example, either way the cooling will be worse if you put
several butted-up against a corner wall(s). Some air will
recirculate and how much of an impact that has can depend on
the ambient room temp. Air-conditioning is desirable.