Computer and telecommunications equipment room cooling: a review of literature

Due to technology compaction, the information technology (IT) industry has seen a large increase in power density and heat dissipation within the footprint of computer and telecommunications hardware. The heat dissipated in these systems is exhausted to the room and the room has to be maintained at acceptable temperatures for reliable operation of the equipment. Cooling computer and telecommunications equipment rooms is becoming a major challenge. This paper reviews the literature dealing with various aspects of cooling computer and telecommunications equipment rooms. Included are papers on experimental work analyzing cooling schemes, numerical modeling, energy saving schemes, natural convection room cooling, forced convection room cooling, cooling raised floor versus nonraised floor type installations, and other related areas.