Strategies for Deploying Blade Servers

When blade servers are densely packed, they can exceed the power and cooling capacities of almost all traditional data centers. Blade servers offer significant advantage over traditional servers- improving the processing ability while consuming less power per server. As blades become more densely packed, existing power and cooling systems become stressed

There are a number of strategies that can be used to deploy blade servers.

The core challenge related to blade server installation for most existing data centers is related to power and cooling distribution. Most data centers have raw power and cooling capacity but do not have the infrastructure to deliver this capacity to a high density area. The reasons for these problems include:

• Insufficient airflow
• Insufficient power distribution

There are five basic approaches to cooling blade servers. Once an approach is chosen, there are a variety of different products and techniques that can be used to implement it. These approaches are:

• Spread the load
• Borrowed cooling
• Supplemental cooling
• High density area
• Whole room

The process of preparing the physical environment to support the deployment of blades includes the following key elements:

• Identifying the constraints of the existing facility
• Identifying user needs and preferences
• Determining the appropriate design approach for power and cooling
• Designing and subsequently implementing the design

Another common situation is where an assessment of the current installation identifies problems which can be easily corrected and increases the ability of the data center to handle blade power and cooling requirements.

The deployment of blade servers results in significant improvement in processing ability, can stress an existing data center's power and cooling system. There are a variety of approaches to powering and cooling blade servers. The best approach for a specific installation will depend on the constraints of the existing design and the needs and preferences of the data center operator.