[rescue] Deciding how to place machines in a rack.

[Patrick Finnegan]

On Friday 07 March 2008 11:51, Earl Baugh wrote:
> It seems that the recommendation is to keep the back door off, and
> either keep the front door off, or get one
> that has a lot of ventilation.    This all makes sense with the front
> to back air flow.
>
> But I'm curious about two things.  First, I'm trying to understand
> the purpose of the fans at the top of the rack.

If you want the fans at the top of the rack to do something, I'd suggest 
that you both leave the back door on the rack, and make sure that you 
have some sort of filler plates on the front rails of the rack that go 
from the top of the topmost machine all the way to the top of the rack 
(or at least as far as possible).  Or, you can just ignore the fan at 
the top, and leave the back door off.

In either case, the heat will tend to rise, and air should circulate 
between the rack and the rest of the room ok.  The fan at the top 
mostly is there to help with cooling if you have a back door on, which 
would trap air and heat inside the rack.

> Also, if I have any open space in the rack, I should bunch it up...
> I'm thinking it should be near the top.... or does
> it really matter where it is?

Yes, I'd suggest putting all of your machines in a contiguous space at 
the bottom of the rack, and using blanking panels (metal, cardboard, or 
otherwise) to cover the rest of the rack.

Pat
-- 
Purdue University ITAP/RCAC       --- http://www.rcac.purdue.edu/
The Computer Refuge               --- http://computer-refuge.org