Edge computing is becoming more and more common because of its many benefits to users, but how do you remove heat from these deployments? Cooling the equipment at the Edge is really no different from traditional data center cooling, but requires solutions that align with environmental factors and with typical thermal loads. Watch the video or read the transcript to get the facts you need.
So in our previous video blog, we talked about where the Edge is, and I think we've pretty well clearly defined it. It is a standalone cabinet of one or two footprints that’s any place but in a data center: a factory floor, warehouse, transit hub, under a cell tower in the field...you’ve heard all those definitions. So, we know where the Edge is; now we have to cool it.
That's our primary concern as it is with any IoT deployment: how to get rid of all that heat? But the good news is, Edge is not going to have that much heat to get rid of, but still heat that we will have to get rid of from those footprints. They're not going to be high densities – we're not talking 15, 20, 30 kilowatts per footprint; we're talking 2, 3, 5 or maybe 10 kilowatts in a single cabinet, and maybe in two cabinets. So, as we look at what is going into these cabinets and what is going into these footprints, we have to decide how we will get rid of the heat.
But because we are at the Edge, we have to still concern ourselves with environmental protection against dust, dirt, moisture and so on, as well as making sure we adequately can remove that heat with the products, and who will have to maintain that environmental integrity and perhaps operate in a wide range of ambient environments: hot, cold, dry, moist, dusty, sandy...whatever it may be.
So, when you're looking at cooling these Edge deployments, think low density, low to medium density, 5 to 10, 2 to 3 kilowatts per footprint. Think air conditioning. Rittal’s Blue e + is one solution. Maybe we go to a higher cabinet load, maybe we have two footprints...either way we can use our LCP DX in-row cooling, still keeping everything closed, sealed, safe and secure. That's how you're going to handle the cooling at the Edge.
Learn more about today’s most efficient options for cooling IT equipment by reading IT Data Center Cooling Best Methods.