JP2006140343A - Cooling apparatus for server rack and cooling method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooling apparatus for a server rack capable of very effectively and uniformly cooling a server accommodated in a rack. <P>SOLUTION: A mount angle Q is erected vertically on the both of left and right sides in the rack P. The rack mounting server is detachably mounted on the mount angle Q. An air supply fan 10 is provided on the front surface of the server mounted on the mount angle Q for supplying cold air. There is provided a cold air passage for keeping cold air between the front surface of the server and the front door P1 of the rack P, by separating between the server and the mount angle with a partition plate mounted on the front surface of the mount angle Q where the server is not mounted. Waste heat and warm air exhausted from the server are interrupted with the partition plate to prevent the warm air from flowing back to the cold air passage. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a server rack cooling apparatus and a cooling method for uniformly cooling equipment in a server rack by efficiently blowing cool air into the server rack.

  Conventionally, as this type of cooling means, for example, the cooling means described in Patent Document 1 has been proposed. According to this cooling means, a cooling air passage is formed between the front door of the electronic device storage rack and the electronic device stored in the rack, and the ventilation fan blows the air from the cooling air passage toward the rear surface of the rack. The electronic equipment is cooled by sending cool air to the air.

JP 2004-39675 A

  As in Patent Document 1, the means for blowing cool air from the front side of the rack toward the rear side has a disadvantage that it becomes difficult to cool the devices such as servers housed in the rack on average. That is, in Patent Document 1, by providing the cold air outlet at the lower end portion of the front surface of the rack, the blown out cold air is concentrated on the upper part of the rack lower than the outlet and the cooling capacity tends to be biased. This tendency is the same when the cool air outlet is provided at the top front of the rack, and the cool air blown is concentrated from the top of the rack near the cool air outlet to the bottom. The closer to the bottom of the rack, the lower the temperature, and the closer to the cool air outlet, the worse the cooling performance (see FIG. 6). As described above, uneven cooling is extremely likely to occur at the upper and lower stages of the rack depending on the position of the cold air outlet, and there is a possibility that equipment may be hindered at a position where the rack is not sufficiently cooled.

  Furthermore, when the number of servers stored in the rack is small, there is a problem called a short circuit phenomenon (see FIG. 9). This phenomenon is likely to occur when, for example, cool air is blown from the upper front part of the rack and exhausted from the upper rear part of the rack, the server is stored in the lower part of the rack, and the upper part of the rack is empty. In this case, the normal cool air cools the servers at the bottom of the rack and moves to the rear of the rack, but at the top of this rack, the top of the rack is empty, so the cool air moves directly to the rear and remains cool. May be exhausted. Since the exhaust temperature at this time naturally becomes low, the sensor for detecting the exhaust temperature erroneously determines that the inside of the rack has been sufficiently cooled, and stops the cooling operation.

  On the other hand, rack-mounted servers that are stored in racks are mounted at mounting angles in the rack and stored in a stacked state, so that the servers around the power supply and CPU are not obstructed by the servers adjacent to the top and bottom. It is necessary to cool the semiconductor device. For this reason, in current rack mount servers, air intakes are provided on the front of the server, fans around the server are used to forcibly cool the power supply and semiconductor devices, and exhaust installed on the back of the server. The exhaust heat after cooling is discharged from the outlet. As described above, the rack mount type server is provided with a cooling means for cooling in a state where it is mounted in the rack. However, on the server rack side, until now, a means for cooling the entire rack and cooling the entire server has been adopted. Also in the said patent document 1, cold air is ventilated so that the whole inside of a rack may be cooled so that it may reach from the front surface of a rack to a rear surface. However, the portions that require cooling of the server are limited to the periphery of the power supply inside the server and the semiconductor device, and the other components are relatively excellent in heat resistance. Accordingly, it can be said that the conventional method of sending cool air to the entire inside of the rack and cooling the entire server is an extremely wasteful cooling means.

  Moreover, the cool air that cools the portions that do not need to be cooled is not only completely wasted, but also has the disadvantage of raising the effective cool air temperature after changing to warm air. That is, in the cooling means of Patent Document 1, the cool air that has cooled the entire server from the front of the rack is circulated to the rear of the rack as warm air, and is then discharged from the upper end of the rack or the like. . However, when the warm air is not sufficiently discharged outside the rack, the warm air is circulated to the front of the rack again to warm the cool air (see FIG. 4). Further, the heat of the warm air that is not exhausted can be trapped in the upper part of the rack and adversely affect the server installed at that position.

  Therefore, the present invention was created to eliminate the conventional drawbacks from the above viewpoint, and a server rack cooling device and a cooling method capable of cooling a server stored in a rack extremely efficiently and uniformly. It is for the purpose of provision.

  The first means of the present invention is a server rack in which mount angles Q are erected on both the left and right side surfaces inside the rack P, and a rack mount type server S is detachably attached to the mount angle Q. It is isolated by an air supply fan 10 that supplies cool air to the front of the server S that is installed, and a partition plate 20 that is installed on the front of the mount angle Q where the server S is not installed, and is provided on the front of the server S and the front of the rack P. A cool air passage 30 formed between the front door P1 and the warm air exhausted from the server S is blocked by the partition plate 20 so that the warm air does not flow back into the cool air passage 30. is there.

  The second means is that a blower chamber 50 for receiving the cool air supplied from the air supply fan 10 is mounted inside the front door P1 of the rack P, and the cool air passage 30 is cooled on the rear surface of the blower chamber 50. A plurality of blow holes 51 for blowing air are opened along the longitudinal direction, and a flap 52 for adjusting the amount of cool air blown from each blow hole 51 substantially uniformly is provided inside the blow chamber 50.

  The third means attaches the exhaust fan 40 for discharging the warm air discharged from the server S to the outside of the rack P in the rack P, and exhausts the air sucked by the exhaust fan 40 inside the rear side surface of the rack P. A chamber 60 is provided, and a vent hole 61 through which exhaust heat exhausted from the server S passes is opened in the front surface of the exhaust chamber 60, and the diameter of the vent hole 61 is larger as the vent hole 61 is farther from the exhaust fan 40. The exhaust heat is uniformly sucked into the exhaust chamber 60.

  The fourth means is a server rack in which mount angles Q are erected on both the left and right side surfaces inside the rack P, and a rack mount type server S is detachably mounted on the mount angle Q. A partition plate 20 attached to the mount angle Q closes the opening of the mount angle Q, and a cool air passage 30 for supplying cool air is formed between the front door P1 provided on the front surface of the rack P and the partition plate 20, In order to solve the problem, the cool air in the cool air passage 30 is sucked into the server S from the front opening of the server S and the exhaust heat exhausted from the server S is blocked by the partition plate 20 so as not to flow back into the cool air passage 30. This means.

  According to the first and fourth aspects of the present invention, the warm air discharged from the server S is blocked by the partition plate 20 so that the warm air does not flow back into the cool air passage 30, so that each server S stored in the rack P is provided. Can take in the cold air in the cold air passage 30 and efficiently cool the necessary part. Further, the cool air in the cool air passage 30 is no longer heated by exhaust heat exhausted from the server S or warm air after cooling. As a result, the server S stored in the rack P can be cooled extremely efficiently.

  Further, the blower chamber 50 according to claim 2 makes it possible to make the cool air blown into the cool air passage 30 uniform, and the conventional inconvenience that the cooling capacity is uneven depending on the position where the server S is housed is eliminated. .

  Further, the exhaust chamber 60 of the third aspect efficiently exhausts the exhaust heat and warm air exhausted from the server S to the outside of the rack P, so that the adverse effect of the warm air remaining on the upper portion of the rack P and affecting the server S can be prevented. It can be done.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an excellent effect such that the server stored in the rack can be cooled extremely efficiently and uniformly.

  In the best mode of the present invention, an air supply fan 10 that supplies cold air to the front surface of the server S mounted on the mount angle Q is provided. A cold air passage 30 is provided between the front surface of the server S and the front door P1 of the rack P so as to keep the cold air by separating the partition plate 20 mounted on the front surface of the mount angle Q to which the server S is not mounted. Exhaust heat and warm air discharged from the server S are blocked by the partition plate 20 so as to prevent the warm air from flowing back into the cool air passage 30, thereby achieving the original purpose.

  The apparatus of the present invention is used for a server rack in which a rack mount type server S is detachably mounted. This rack P is a rack P provided with mount angles Q standing on both left and right side surfaces inside the rack P so that the server S is mounted between the mount angles Q. In the present invention, a so-called 19-inch rack standardized to a width of 19 inches (482.6 mm) by the EIA (American Electronic Industry Association) is particularly suitable. However, a JIS standard “electronic equipment rack” should be used. Is also possible.

  In the apparatus of the present invention, this type of rack P is provided with an air supply fan 10, a partition plate 20, a cold air passage 30, and an exhaust fan 40.

  The air supply fan 10 supplies cool air to the front surface of the server S attached to the mount angle Q. The air supply fan 10 shown in the figure is mounted on the top of the rack P and blows cool air from the cooler R connected to the rack P downward from the upper front of the rack P (see FIG. 2). The blown cold air is sent to the cold air passage 30 on the front surface of the stored server S. The illustrated cooler R is integrally provided on the side surface of the rack P, and includes a cool air supply duct R1 that blows cool air toward the supply fan 10 and a circulation duct R2 that returns warm air from the exhaust fan 40 to the cooler R. ing. Further, an evaporation processing unit R3 for evaporating drain water discharged from the cooler R is also provided below the cooler R. Further, the exhaust heat of the cooler R is exhausted to the outside by an exhaust duct (not shown).

  The cool air passage 30 is a space formed between the front surface of the server S and the front door P1 of the rack P, and the cool air passage 30 is separated from the rear side of the rack P by the partition plate 20. The partition plate 20 is mounted on the front surface of the mount angle Q to which the server S is not mounted, and is provided so that warm air on the rear side of the rack P does not flow back into the cool air passage 30. That is, the cool air passage 30 has a structure in which the warm air blown from the exhaust heat side of the server S is not returned by the front surface of the server S mounted on the mount angle Q and the partition plate 20 (see FIG. 3). . The partition plate 20 is detachably formed on the mount angle Q as in the case of the front surface of the server S (refer to FIG. 4A). Then, the partition plate 20 is attached to the opening of the mount angle Q where the server S is not attached (see FIG. 7B). The server S is mounted with a rack mount type server that can be detachably mounted on the mount angle Q of the rack P. As a result, no opening remains on the mount angle Q (see FIG. 3C). The cold air in the cold air passage 30 partitioned by the partition plate 20 and the installed server S is taken into the server S from an air intake port provided on the front surface of the server S to cool necessary parts, and the rear surface of the server S Warm air is discharged from the exhaust port. In general, it is said that the environment suitable for the operation of the server S is that the intake air temperature on the front surface of the server S is 17 to 26 degrees.

FIG. 4 shows the backflow phenomenon of warm air after cooling the server S when the partition plate 20 is not attached. That is, in the upper stage of the rack P, this is a phenomenon in which warm air flows backward from the opening portion of the mount angle Q in which the server S is not accommodated to the cool air passage 30 to raise the temperature of the cool air blown from the supply fan 10. In order to confirm the temperature change due to this phenomenon, as shown in FIG. 10, the sensors T are arranged in the upper, middle, and lower stages in the cool air passage 30 of the rack P, and the temperature distribution at each position is measured every 2 seconds. The data shown in Table 1 were obtained. As a result, the temperature of the upper stage of the rack P has risen to 31 degrees, although it is about 23 degrees at the lower stage of the rack P, and an average temperature difference of 8.06 degrees may occur between the upper and lower stages of the rack. It turns out. This is because the warm air that has flowed back into the cool air passage 30 from the cool air sent from the blow hole 51 of the blow chamber 50 to the cool air passage 30 warms up. Note that the wind flow experiment in the present invention uses dry ice and slion tape, and specifies the wind direction and strength in the direction of the tape.

On the other hand, FIG. 5 shows the flow of warm air when the partition plate 20 of the present invention is mounted. In this case, since the warm air discharged from the server S is blocked by the partition plate 20, there is no back flow toward the cold air passage 30 side. When the temperature change in this case was measured, the data shown in Table 2 were obtained. As a result, the average temperature difference between the upper temperature and the lower temperature is 0.06 degrees, indicating that the upper and lower stages are less than 25 degrees of cool air suitable for the operation of the server S. Thus, it can be seen that the cool air in the cool air passage 30 is maintained at the temperature blown by the air supply fan 10 by blocking the warm air by the partition plate 20.

  A blower chamber 50 is mounted inside a front door P1 provided on the front surface of the rack P (see FIG. 1). The blower chamber 50 temporarily receives the cool air supplied from the air supply fan 10 and sends the cool air to the cool air passage 30 from the blow hole 51 provided on the rear surface of the blower chamber 50. At this time, a flap 52 is provided inside the blower chamber 50, and the amount of cool air blown from each blower hole 51 is made substantially uniform (see FIG. 8). The illustrated flap 52 has a substantially L-shaped side surface, and protrudes from the inner surface of the air blowing chamber 50 facing the air blowing hole 51 near the air supply fan 10. This is because the cooling air rapidly descends as the air blowing hole 51 is closer to the air supply fan 10, so that it is difficult to pass through the air blowing hole 51. Therefore, when the flap 52 is provided in a portion close to the air supply fan 10, the cold air strikes the flap 52 protruding in an approximately L shape, changes the air direction, and passes from the blow hole 51 to the cold air passage 30.

  FIG. 7 shows the flow of cool air when the flap 52 is attached to the blower chamber 50. This experiment was also conducted by using wind ice experiments using dry ice to identify the wind direction and strength in the direction in which the SLION tape flutters. The server S to be mounted on the mount angle Q is tested in the following three patterns: “attach to the upper half”, “attach to the lower half”, and “attach to the whole”. As a result, it was proved that the air volume in each blowing hole 51 was uniform in any pattern.

  On the other hand, FIG. 6 shows a state in which cool air is blown without wearing the flap 52 of the present invention. That is, the cold air blown from the air supply fan 10 to the air blowing chamber 50 is sent from the air blowing hole 51 toward the cold air passage 30, but in the upper stage of the rack P near the air supply fan 10, the amount of cold air sent from the air blowing hole 51. Is decreasing. On the other hand, in the lower stage of the rack P, it can be seen that the amount of cold air is large and the air volume is uneven.

  An exhaust fan 40 that exhausts the warm air exhausted from the server S to the outside of the rack P is mounted on the upper rear surface of the rack P. At this time, an exhaust chamber 60 sucked by the exhaust fan 40 is provided inside the rear surface of the rack P, and warm air is exhausted through the exhaust chamber 60. A vent hole 61 through which exhaust heat exhausted from the server S passes is opened in front of the exhaust chamber 60. The vent hole 61 is formed such that the diameter of the vent hole 61 increases as the distance from the exhaust fan 40 increases (see FIG. 12). This is because the suction force by the exhaust fan 40 decreases as the distance from the exhaust fan 40 decreases. Therefore, the exhaust heat is uniformly sucked into the exhaust chamber 60 by increasing the diameter of the vent hole 61 as the distance from the exhaust fan 40 increases. It is provided as follows.

Table 3 shows the temperature of each stage when sensors T (not shown) are installed in the upper, middle, and lower stages on the back of the rack P, and the exhaust chamber 60 having the vent hole 61 shown in FIG. 12 is used. It is the measured data. As a result, the temperature difference between the upper and lower stages of the rack P is almost the same and is 0.22 degrees on average, which indicates that the warm air discharged from the server S is discharged uniformly from each stage.

On the other hand, Table 4 shows the temperature at each stage when the exhaust chamber 60 having the conventional vent 61 shown in FIG. 11 is used. Each vent hole 61 is formed with the same diameter. As a result, it can be seen that the upper and middle temperatures of the rack P are high, and the temperature difference is 2.18 degrees on average. This is because the suction force decreases as the distance from the exhaust fan 40 increases, and therefore the lower-stage warm air cannot be sufficiently sucked by the vent holes 61 having the same diameter. For this reason, the warm air that could not be discharged escapes above the rack P, raising the temperature of the middle and upper stages of the rack P.

  As described above, the warm air discharged from the server S can be efficiently discharged by the vent hole 61 of the present invention, and the warm air that cannot be discharged remains in the upper part of the rack P and adversely affects the server S on the upper part of the rack P. The fear has been resolved.

  The cooling method of the present invention uses the above-described apparatus. The opening of the mount angle Q is closed with a partition plate 20 attached to the mount angle Q in which the server S is not accommodated, and the front door P1 of the rack P is separated from the front door P1. A cold air passage 30 for supplying cold air to the plate 20 is formed, and the cold air in the cold air passage 30 is sucked into the server S from the front opening of the server S, and the exhaust heat discharged from the server S is cooled by the cold air passage. This is a cooling method in which the partition plate 20 blocks so that it does not flow back to 30. At this time, the server S takes in cool air from the front opening of the server S with a fan or the like attached to the server S, and sufficiently cools the semiconductor device such as a power source and a CPU with the fan in the server S. Is. The warm air after cooling is discharged from the rear surface or the side surface of the server S and is discharged from the rack P without returning to the cool air passage 30. As a result, only the cool air is always supplied to the cool air passage 30 provided in the front surface of the server S, and the temperature is maintained at a suitable temperature for cooling the server S.

  In addition, each structure of the example of illustration in this invention is only one Example of this invention, and can change freely in the technical range currently known, such as a design change of the shape of each structural member, a dimension, change of a form, etc. Is something that can be done.

It is a perspective view which shows one Example of this invention. It is the perspective view similarly seen from the side. (A) shows the mount angle and the partition plate of the present invention, (B) is a perspective view showing a state before mounting to the mount angle Q, and (C) is a perspective view showing the same state after mounting. It is the schematic which shows the backflow state of the warm air in the conventional rack. It is the schematic which shows the backflow state of the warm air in this invention. It is the schematic which shows the flow of the cold air in the conventional rack. It is the schematic which shows the flow of the cool air in this invention. It is a principal part enlarged view which shows the flap of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the short circuit phenomenon in the conventional rack. It is the schematic which shows the position of the sensor with which the rack was mounted | worn. It is a front view which shows the vent hole of the exhaust chamber in the conventional rack. It is a front view which shows the vent hole of the exhaust chamber in this invention.

Explanation of symbols

P rack P1 Front door
Q Mount angle R Cooler R1 Cold air supply duct R2 Circulation duct R3 Evaporation processing unit S Server 10 Air supply fan 20 Partition plate 30 Cold air passage 40 Exhaust fan 50 Air chamber 51 Air hole
60 exhaust chamber 61 vent hole

Claims (4)

  In a server rack in which mount angles are erected on both the left and right sides inside the rack, and a rack mount type server is detachably mounted on the mount angle, an air supply fan that supplies cool air to the front of the server mounted on the mount angle And a cooling air passage formed between the front of the server and the front door provided on the front of the rack, separated by a partition plate attached to the front of the mount angle where the server is not installed. The server rack cooling apparatus is characterized in that the warm air is blocked by a partition plate so that the warm air does not flow back into the cool air passage.   A blower chamber that receives the cool air supplied from the air supply fan is mounted inside the front door of the rack, and a plurality of blower holes along the longitudinal direction are provided on the rear surface of the blower chamber to blow cool air into the cool air passage. The server rack cooling device according to claim 1, wherein a flap that opens and adjusts the amount of cool air blown from each blower hole substantially uniformly is provided inside the blower chamber.   The rack is provided with an exhaust fan that exhausts the warm air discharged from the server to the outside of the rack, and an exhaust chamber that is sucked by the exhaust fan is provided inside the rear side of the rack, and the server is provided at the front of the exhaust chamber. A vent hole through which the exhaust heat exhausted from the air passes is opened, and the vent hole diameter is set to be larger as the vent hole is farther from the exhaust fan, so that the exhaust heat is uniformly sucked into the exhaust chamber. The server rack cooling device according to claim 1 or 2. In a server rack in which mount angles are erected on both the left and right sides inside the rack, and a rack mount type server is detachably mounted on the mount angle, a partition plate that is mounted on a mount angle that does not store the server The opening is closed, a cool air passage for supplying cool air is formed between the front door provided on the front of the rack and the partition plate, and the cool air in the cool air passage is sucked into the server from the front opening of the server, A server rack cooling method, wherein the exhaust heat exhausted from the server is blocked by a partition plate so as not to flow back into the cool air passage.

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