JP2015072966A - Rack mount for storage - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rack mount for storage enhancing the cooling efficiency of HDD.SOLUTION: A rack mount for storage includes a base board 12 mounting a plurality of HDDs 20 arranged in a predetermined number of rows, a plurality of power supply units 90 arranged at positions in the depth direction when viewing from the plurality of HDDs 20, and having an exhaust fan 91, and a housing 10 consisting of a lower plate 10a for supporting the base board 12 and the plurality of power supply units 90 and a pair of transverse plates 10b standing on both sides of the lower plate 10a. A second air flow path for supplying a part of air flow sucked from the front to the HDD row on the depth side is configured to supply the external air to the HDD row on the depth side through a space provided between the lower surface of the base board 12 and the lower plate 10a.

Description

  The present invention relates to a storage rack mount in which a large number of magnetic disk devices (hereinafter referred to as HDDs) are mounted and stacked on a server rack of a computer system, and in particular, a plurality of mounted HDDs are efficiently cooled. It relates to a rack mount for storage.

  Generally, a server rack of a computer system includes a rack mount for storage equipped with a large number of HDDs arranged in a vertical and horizontal direction and a power supply unit that supplies power to the large number of HDDs, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, and the like. A computer server is configured by stacking and holding a control rack mount mounted with a control circuit in multiple stages, and a commonly used 19-inch rack is an EIA (Electronic Industries Alliance: American Electronic Industries Association). ) Is defined as a width of 19 inches (about 482.6 mm) and a height of 1.75 inches (about 44.5 mm), and the depth is not specified.

  The server rack configured in this way needs to cool the heat generated from the mounted HDD and CPU. For example, the storage rack mount according to the prior art has, for example, 14 units in the lateral direction when viewed from the front of the rack, A total of 56 HDDs are mounted in the depth direction, and a plurality of power supply units including exhaust fans for supplying power to the multiple HDDs are mounted in the depth direction. The fans of the plurality of power supply units are racks External air is introduced from the front and air that has absorbed heat from the HDD is exhausted to the back of the rack.

  In addition, the following patent document is mentioned as a document describing the technology related to the cooling of the server rack. Patent document 1 includes a plurality of fans installed near the center of the control device in parallel to the front of the device. It has a fan unit, a plurality of fans installed upstream or downstream of the heating element, and a rectifying plate and a rectifying duct installed to collect the cooling air and prevent diffusion, turbulence, and backflow. A technology that efficiently cools large electronic devices, discharges heat outside the device, cools it, and provides holes for intake and exhaust on the side and back of the device to reduce the intake area from the front and improve the performance against dust Patent Document 2 describes a plurality of first evaporative cooling devices that cool a plurality of server racks installed in a server rack, and a plurality of condensers that cool the refrigerant vapor of the first evaporative cooling device. When A second evaporative cooling device thermally connected via a plurality of thermal connectors, and a top box having a heat exchanger provided at the upper part of the server rack for exchanging heat with a refrigerant cooled outside the server rack. However, a technique is described in which the second evaporative cooling device has a collecting pipe for transferring heat to the top box.

JP 2009-266852 A JP 2013-65227 A

  Although the technology described in the above-mentioned patent document describes a technology for cooling HDDs and CPUs in a server rack, recent computer systems increase the number of HDDs to be mounted as large-capacity data processing is required. In order to increase the number of HDDs, the general server rack width is defined as described above, so the number of HDDs in the width direction is limited, and the number of rows of HDDs installed in the depth direction is increased. It is necessary to let

  However, when the number of HDD installation rows in the depth direction is increased, the air flow supplied to the HDD row at the back position is heated by the HDD on the near side, so that the cooling efficiency of the HDD at the back side is lowered and the cooling is sufficiently performed. It was a problem that was not done. Although it is conceivable to increase the rotational speed of the fan in order to improve the cooling efficiency, there has been a problem that the power consumption is increased and the noise is increased.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a storage rack mount capable of improving the cooling efficiency of the mounted HHDD.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a base board on which a plurality of HDDs arranged in a predetermined number in the horizontal direction and a predetermined number of rows in the back direction are mounted, and in the back direction as viewed from the plurality of HDDs. A plurality of power supply units having exhaust fans, a base plate supporting the base board and the plurality of power supply units, and a casing made up of a pair of horizontal plates standing on both sides of the lower plate; A storage rack mount comprising:
A first air flow passage for supplying external air sucked from the front surface of the storage rack mount to the plurality of HDDs arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions, and a part of the air flow sucked from the front surface of the storage rack mount being racked A first feature is that a second air flow passage is provided to supply to the HDD row on the back side of the mount.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the storage rack mount according to the first feature, the second air flow passage passes through a space provided between the lower surface of the base board and the lower plate of the housing, and The second feature is that external air is supplied to the HDD row, and the invention according to claim 3 is the storage rack mount according to the second feature, wherein the base board is a lower surface of the base board. A third feature is that a plurality of air holes for discharging external air are opened from the space provided between the housing and the lower plate of the housing to the rearmost HDD row.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the storage rack mount according to the first aspect, the second air flow path is configured to connect the external air sucked from the front surface of the server rack to the horizontal plate of the housing at the back of the HDD array. And a plurality of air holes for supplying the external air discharged from the ends of the pair of horizontal duct portions to the HDD row at the back position. It is a fourth feature that it is composed of the formed back duct part.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the storage rack mount of the third or fourth feature, a dummy HDD having the same shape as the HDD blocks the air hole at a position where the HDD is not mounted on the base board. The fifth feature is that it is arranged.

  The storage rack mount according to the present invention includes a first air flow path for supplying external air sucked from the front of the storage rack mount to the plurality of HDDs arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions, and a suction from the front of the storage rack mount. By providing the second air flow passage for supplying a part of the air flow to the HDD row at the back of the rack mount, the cooling efficiency of the mounted HHDD can be improved.

The figure which shows the rack mount for storage which mounts HDD by embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the rack mount for storage which does not mount HDD by 1st Embodiment. The figure for demonstrating the air flow of the rack mount for storage by 1st Embodiment. The figure for demonstrating the rack mount for 2nd Embodiment storage. The figure which shows the rack mount for 3rd Embodiment storage. The figure which shows the rack mount for 4th Embodiment storage. The graph which shows the relationship between fan rotation speed and noise. The graph which shows the temperature change of each row | line at the time of carrying HDD multi-row mounting.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a storage rack mount according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
The storage rack mount according to the present embodiment is arranged in 14 rows in the horizontal direction and 5 rows in the depth direction when viewed from the front of the server rack on the left side of the server rack as shown in FIG. The base board 12 on which the plurality of HDDs 20 are mounted, the plurality of power supply units 90 that are disposed on the rear side in the back direction when viewed from the plurality of HDDs 20 and have an exhaust fan 91, and the lower surface of the base board 12 The base board 12 is composed of a lower plate 10a that supports the plurality of power supply units 90 and a pair of horizontal plates 10b that are erected on both sides of the lower plate 10a. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of air holes 13 opened in the width direction are provided between the fourth and fifth rows of HDDs.

  With the storage rack mount configured as described above, when the HDD 91 is mounted and the fan 91 of the power supply unit 90 is driven to start cooling and exhausting as shown in FIG. The air flow 80a passing through the HDD 20b from the HDD 20e and the air flow 80b passing through the space between the lower plate of the housing 10 and the base board 12 are generated, and the air flow 80a and the base board passing through the HDD 20b from the HDD 20e are generated. The air flow 80b flowing upward from the 12 air holes 13 is joined at the front position of the innermost HDD 20a, and is discharged as an air flow 80c in the power supply unit 90.

  As described above, in the storage rack mount according to the present embodiment, the airflow supplied to the HDD 20a joins and supplies the heated airflow 80a and the unheated airflow 80b through the other HDDs. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the temperature of the air flow supplied to the HDD 20a from increasing, and to prevent the cooling efficiency of the HDD 20a at the back position from decreasing. For example, even if the HDD temperature in each row of the storage rack mount in which n + 1 HDDs are mounted exceeds the allowable temperature range as shown in the practice of FIG. be able to. Further, the noise due to the rotational speed of the fan increases as the air volume increases. However, since the rotational speed is not increased as shown by the arrows in FIG. 8, it is possible to prevent the noise from increasing.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which all the HDDs 20a are mounted at the position of the fifth row has been described. However, in actual storage rack mounts, not all HDDs may be mounted during storage capacity specifications or maintenance. As shown in FIG. 4A, the air resistance of the empty area 31 on which the HDD is not mounted on the base board 12 is reduced as compared with other parts. There is a possibility that the air flow 80z in which a large amount of the air flow 80b passing between the base board 12 and the base board 12 flows out is generated, and the cooling efficiency to other HDDs is lowered.

  Therefore, the storage rack mount according to another embodiment of the present invention may be configured such that a dummy HDD 30 having an outer shape similar to that of the HDD is disposed at the position of the empty area 31 as shown in FIG. good. The storage rack mount according to this embodiment can prevent a decrease in cooling efficiency to other HDDs due to the empty area 31 in which no HDD is mounted. The dummy HDD 30 is not limited to the same shape as the HDD that is the actual machine, and may have a long shape that closes the air hole 13 at the position of the empty area 31 as shown in FIG.

  Furthermore, the storage rack mount according to the present invention is not limited to the configuration in which the air flow that does not pass through the HDD is supplied from the lower space of the base board 12 to the rear HDD. For example, as shown in FIG. A pair of horizontal duct portions 71 having an internal space for circulating external air sucked from the front surface of the server rack to the front position of the HDD 20a on the horizontal plates 10b standing on both sides of the lower plate 10a constituting the A rear duct portion 72 in which a plurality of air holes 73 for supplying an air flow discharged from the ends of the pair of horizontal duct portions 71 to the row of HDDs 20a at the rear position of the duct portion 71 (the front position of the HDD 20a) are opened; And the air flow that has passed through the pair of lateral duct portions 71 and the back duct portion 72 may be supplied to the HDD 20a at the back position.

  Note that the vertical width of the inner duct portion 72 is preferably less than half of the height direction dimension of the HDD in order to allow the air flow passing over the base board 12 to pass therethrough. In this case, a dummy HDD 30 may be provided.

  As described above, the storage rack mount according to the present embodiment supplies a part of the air flow sucked from the front of the server rack to the HDD on the rear side of the rack mount without using a plurality of HDDs as heating sources. By providing the air flow passage (the space between the lower plate 10a of the housing 10 and the base board 12 or the lateral duct portion 71 and the inner duct portion 72), it is possible to prevent the cooling efficiency of the rear HDD from being lowered. . Further, the HDD row to be supplied by the second air flow passage according to the present invention is not limited to the innermost HDD row, and may be configured to supply to the HDD 20b row shown in FIG. 3, for example.

10 housing, 10a lower plate, 10b horizontal plate, 12 base board, 13 air hole,
31 empty area, 71 horizontal duct part, 72 back duct part, 73 air hole,
80a air flow, 80b air flow, 80c air flow, 80z air flow,
90 power supply unit, 91 fan, 30 dummy HDD

Claims (5)

A plurality of power supply units having a base board on which a plurality of HDDs arranged in a predetermined number in the horizontal direction and a predetermined number of rows in the back direction are mounted, and an exhaust fan arranged at a position in the back direction when viewed from the plurality of HDDs A storage rack mount comprising: a base plate supporting the base board and a plurality of power supply units; and a casing made up of a pair of horizontal plates standing on both sides of the lower plate,
A first air flow passage for supplying external air sucked from the front surface of the storage rack mount to the plurality of HDDs arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions, and a part of the air flow sucked from the front surface of the storage rack mount being racked A storage rack mount, characterized in that a second air flow path is provided to supply to the HDD row on the back side of the mount.   The second air flow passage is configured to supply external air to the HDD row at the back position through a space provided between a lower surface of a base board and a lower plate of the housing. The storage rack mount according to claim 1.   3. The base board has a plurality of air holes for discharging external air from a space provided between a lower surface of the base board and a lower plate of the housing to the HDD row at the back position. Rack mount for storage.   A pair of horizontal duct portions having an internal space for allowing the second air flow passage to supply external air sucked from the front surface of the server rack to the horizontal plate of the housing to the front position of the HDD row at the back position; 2. A back duct portion having a plurality of air holes for supplying external air discharged from the end portions of the pair of lateral duct portions to a HDD row at a back position. Rack mount for storage.   5. The storage rack mount according to claim 3, wherein a dummy HDD having the same external shape as the HDD is disposed at a position where the HDD is not mounted on the base board so as to close the air hole.