Designing of computer rack 1 Abstract This is for school Final Year Project to design a server rack . Designing a server rack which will improve the issue on the rack to allow people to work more efficiently and faster. The designing of the rack is done with analysis from people working in the industries which helps to have a proper insight of the right improvement to be done. 2 References • • • • • • • • • • http://power-topics.blogspot.sg/2008/01/what-does-1u-2u-or-3u-mean.htm https://www.server-racks.com/rack-unit-u-ru.html https://www.openxtra.co.uk/kb/environment-monitoring/recommended-serverroom-temperature.html https://www.server-racks.com/rack-types.html http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/rack-server-rack-mounted-server http://www.dpstele.com/network-monitoring/server/computer-room.php http://www.4xem.com/server-racks/wall-mountable-racks/ https://www.cableorganizer.com/computer-cabinets/open-racks.htm http://www.gawtechnology.com/Server-Racks-Cabinets-and-Enclosures_c_418.html Buzz feed. (2014). 10 Popular Types Of Server Racks & Cabinets. Buzz Feed. Retrieved 18 November 2017, from https://www.buzzfeed.com/rackmountsolutions/10-popular-types-of-server-rackscabinets-timd?utm_term=.rulLM340gr#.em1YejZG8A • Dell. (2017). Company Information. Dell. Retrieved 17 November 2017, from http://www.dell.com/learn/uk/en/ukbsdt1/sb360/best-server-uk • Fakhim, B., Srinarayana, N., Behnia, M., & Armfield, S. W. (2013). Thermal performance of data centers-rack level analysis. IEEE Transactions on Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology, 3(5), 792-799. doi:10.1109/TCPMT.2013.2248195 • Finen. (2017). What's the Differences of These Various Types of Racks? - server rack/network cabinets/rack cabinets. Finen.net. Retrieved 18 November 2017, from http://www.finen.net/en/contact_d.asp?id=26 • Helbig, Joerg, and Steven Gizzi. 2015. Apparatus and methods for cooling rejected heat from server racks. US9016352 B2, and issued 2015. • Leblanc. (2017). The Different Types of Network Switches and Which Ones You Should Use | Connecticut & New York. Leblanc.com. Retrieved 17 November 2017, from 3 http://www.leblanc.com/blog/the-different-types-of-network-switches-and-whichones-should-use.html • Patankar, S.V., 2010. Airflow and cooling in a data center. Journal of Heat transfer, 132(7), p.073001. • Techopedia. (2017). What is a Blade Server? - Definition from Techopedia. Techopedia.com. Retrieved 17 November 2017, from https://www.techopedia.com/definition/2283/blade-server • • • • • • https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/hardware/refrigerator-gasket-replacement/ https://www.tmhardware.com/what-is-a-door-gasket.html https://avtech.com/Products/Environment_Monitors/ https://www.tripplite.com/products/server-racks-cabinets~12?2056=Wall-Mount https://www.startech.com/m/Server-Management/Racks/9u-rolling-server-rackportable~RK960CP http://www.sonnettech.com/product/rackmacmini.html 4 Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 2 References .......................................................................................................................................... 3 1. Introduction and background ........................................................................................................ 8 1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 8 1.1.2 Background ............................................................................................................................ 9 1.1.3 Issue found when working ................................................................................................... 10 1.2 Chapter synopsis ..................................................................................................................... 10 2. Literature Review .............................................................................................................................. 11 2.1 Type of Racks .............................................................................................................................. 11 2.1.1 Fully Enclosed Rack .................................................................................................................. 11 2.1.2 Open Frame Rack ................................................................................................................. 12 2.1.3 Wall Mount Rack .................................................................................................................. 13 2.1.4 Transportable Rack Cabinets ............................................................................................... 14 2.3.5 Summary of Existing Rack .................................................................................................... 15 2.2 Comparison ................................................................................................................................. 16 2.2.1 Rail Comparison ...................................................................................................................... 16 2.2.2 Mounting Hardware ............................................................................................................. 17 2.2.3 Front Doors & Back Doors .................................................................................................. 18 2.2.4 Side Panels ........................................................................................................................... 18 2.2.5 Accessories .......................................................................................................................... 19 2.3 Racks status requirement ........................................................................................................... 19 2.3.1 Ventilation............................................................................................................................ 19 2.3.2 Space Constrain ................................................................................................................... 20 2.3.3 Security ................................................................................................................................ 21 Chapter 3: Requirement Analysis ......................................................................................................... 22 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 22 3.2 Research Design.......................................................................................................................... 22 3.3 Sampling .......................................................................................................................................... 23 3.3.1 Sampling Frame ................................................................................................................... 23 3.3.2 Sampling Size ....................................................................................................................... 23 3.3.3 Sampling Method ..................................................................................................................... 24 3.4 Survey questions ......................................................................................................................... 24 3.5 Data Collection and Analysis ....................................................................................................... 24 5 3.6 Survey results ................................................................................................................................. 25 3.7 House of quality .............................................................................................................................. 28 4. Draft desgin of rack ....................................................................................................................... 30 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 30 4.2.1Rack Design 1 ........................................................................................................................... 31 4.2.2 Rack Design 2 ............................................................................................................................... 33 4.2. 3 Rack Design 3 .......................................................................................................................... 35 4.3 Pros and cons of each design .......................................................................................................... 37 4.3.1 Design 1 ................................................................................................................................ 37 4.3.2 Design 2.................................................................................................................................... 37 4.3.3 Design 3.................................................................................................................................... 37 4.4 Selected rack ............................................................................................................................... 38 6 Declaration I certify that the following reports contain no material that has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any institute , college or university. To the best of my knowledge or belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference id made in the text of this project. The project is also done for the sole uses of studies. 7 1. Introduction and background 1.1 Introduction A computer rack is a supporting framework which hold hardware modules containing severs and other computing equipment. A sever rack height is calculated in unit of U (abbreviated U or RU) is a unit of measure defined as 44.50 millimetres. Computer rack come in different sizes and height to hold different component which meant for different usage and purposes depending on what the customer need or requires. 42U is the most common height used in the industrial. Rack come with mounting slot which are also known as bays which is used to hold hardware unit in places with screws. Manufacturers of rack mount rail based on how much the component of the server rack. The U is measured by a group of three holes spacing from centre hole to another centre hole which does not vary regardless of the mounting holes. A most common issue with the rails assembly is that it does not line up with the holes in the server rack. The uneven hole spacing may cause issue to the installer if the installer does not pay attention to where the slide rail is installed. This is typically due to the misaligned with the different hole pattern. This requires the calculation for the height of the rack need to be more accurate and able to hold the component needed to be installed in the rack. The rack usually consist the power distribution panel which provide power to the different part of the rack controlled by breakers. There are also two types of server computer of 4U OR 2U depending on what the specification the customers' needs and size of the part to be installed in the computer. Knowing what the rack is built for and the specification requires will help to get the height required for the rack and if one rack is enough to fulfil what the customer need. The rooms has different roof height which has different abilities to fit different size of rack .The server rack which is going to be installed need to know what the best height for it to be able to be moved in and be installed in the room. This is the common reason why a company require multiple rack to run their operation. 8 1.1.2 Background Rack server are commonly installed in a special room known as the server room. Servers room are designed with fire precaution reasons and importantly the air conditioning. The following are the important aspect server room to allow the racks to last longer: • Temperature - Server room which temperature commonly found in the ranges from 10°C - above 28°C .When the temperature of your server room gets too high, your gear will likely shut down or get faulty due to overheating, bringing the entire network to a halt. The chip in the servers when operates at a high temperature it can blow and turn faulty which require a high cost to get it replaced. Replacing old equipment may also introduce a new sets of problem as it may not be running well with the existing equipment. • Humidity -this threats are much more unexpected than temperature threats but that does not mean they are any better. If the humidity levels are too high, you may have the risk of water build up on the components which may lead to rust and part failure. Humidity levels that are too low are also dangerous. Low humidity leaves the parts prone to static electricity, which could also seriously damage the parts. • Power -It always best to know as soon as possible when there is loss of power to • the racks therefore you either restore power or get your backup generators also known as undisturbed power supply(UPS) going. Losing power to those main key gear may cause great inconvenience to their customers or their own employee. Water Damage -This will rarely happen if there is no one maintaining the server room then a slow water leak could steadily build up and cause severe damage. Just a few drops of water in the wrong place could cause problems like short circuit to several pieces of critical part, leading to network downtime and lost revenue. • Air Flow Disruptions - One of the simplest, least expensive, and more effective ways to control the temperature of your server room is to use air flow management. By having proper managed air circulation in your computer server room, which will allow air regulating the temperature in a cost effective way. However, if there is a disruption to this flow, or one of your cooling units goes down, it won't be long before your servers execute thermal shutdowns. • Motion - Your server gear is valuable, so it's absolutely key that you physically protect it as well. This is especially important if the rack is located at a remote site which is away from your central office. You need to know the instant you have an unwanted visitor, otherwise you could suffer from damaging vandalism or theft. The above aspect are normally track by using sensors which allow the users and the customers to know immediately and able to verify the issues. This will able to help the user to reduce the damages and save on the maintenance costs. 9 1.1.3 Issue found when working Being in the line for close to 1 year, there a lot issue and inconvenience found when working on the rack. First is when maintenance work is carry out on the rack it inconvenient to access to the parts as the server are normally installed in a stacking method. The wiring will be normally be hidden at the back of the server which cause difficulty accessing the wire. This has cause more time required and manpower when doing maintenance work. The standard way of changing wires will be by removing the wires from the computer , remove the whole computer from the holding rails. After replacing the spoilt wire, we need to installed the computer back and connect all the wires back to check if it working. If this time does not work we have to keep repeating the process which slows down the process of maintenance. Secondly , will be the ventilation of the rack. Most of such computer as meant to be running for long hours nonstop which causes lots of heat to be produced in the process. Most rack does not come with ventilation fan or ventilation grill or hole for the air to flow. Hence this will cause the computer in the rack to get heat up easily and faster. When the heat keep rising in the rack it may spoil the chips present in the computer or the worse still cause fire to happen. Lastly will be the security issue, this is mainly use store company important document which they do not want other to get their hand on those document. Some racks does not come with door lock which will only allow certain personal able to access to the computer in the rack which will cause leak of important information to other. 1.2 Chapter synopsis • Chapter 1: This is all about the basics and background knowledge of the racks that is about. • Chapter 2: Comparing of existing product in the market, different parts use on the racks and the issue of the racks. • Chapter 3: Setting questions for the survey allow people in the industry to do and do an analysis for the required improvement for the racks. • Chapter 4 :Different design of the rack are done, out of the three different design need to select one which suit the best from the analysis of chapter 3. • Chapter 5: Material selection and stress analysis which suit the requirement of the rack. • Chapter 6 : Analysis of the racked selected whether it will fit the requirement. • Chapter 7 : Summary and conclusion 10 2. Literature Review 2.1 Type of Racks 2.1.1 Fully Enclosed Rack Fully enclosed rack is the most common type of rack available in the market. The rack is design for high density server and network applications. The rack also have one of the best security feature among the rack as it have lockable doors and secured side panels. This will help to reduce risk of having unwanted personal from getting access to the rack. The rack come in a vary of sizes ranging from 18U to 47U, 42U is the most common height used in the industrial. It also the most expensive rack to build due to it sizes and the amount of material needed to make such rack. There are lots of different type of fully enclosed racks built for different environment. One of it called seismic server rack which is designed to withstand shock from earthquakes. Such racks go through lots of testing to make sure it can stays operational when earthquakes happens. Typical such rack are bolted to the floor or to the wall to prevent the rack from tripping over. It has a rack top fan which helps to circulate the airflow. The front and the back of the door are normally perforated which help to facilities airflow. There are two types of side panel commonly found with the rack which is solid side panel and louvered side panel. The side panel are choose with regards to the rack will be installed in what environment and the user preference. Solid side panel gives a much tough built but will reduce the air flow compared to the louvered side panel. Both side panel has also greatly reduce the accessibility for maintenance work to be carry out. Both side panel are secured to the rack. This has only allow access of the user or technician to remove more server to create space to access to more server which is inconvenient and a waste of time. 11 2.1.2 Open Frame Rack The open frame rack looks similar to the fully enclosed rack. Open frame server racks only consist of rails but does not comes with any sides or doors. There are two type of racks which is a 2 post rack and 4 post rack. 2 posts racks generally have less depth and support less weight than the 4 post racks. They are commonly used in server room or data center rack applications which does not require any physical security and does not need added airflow control. The only difference between fully enclosed rack and open frame server rack is the doors and sides. The cost of building the open frame racks are less expensive due to less material is used and needed to build such a rack. It also provides excellent and easier wire and maintain the rack. This rack are commonly for just start up and firm with less sensitive information as the rack have almost zero security. Two post rack is the cheapest as the material required to build the rack is lesser. Two post rack can only accommodate smaller equipment like patch panels and switches. This is normally used in small offices which cannot fit larger scale servers enclosure. Four post rack take up more space than two post rack and cost more. four post are more stable than two post rack as there are more solid foundation. it also have the ability to hold larger scale and heavy equipment. These types of racks are far more common in serious network set ups, due to being far superior to two-post racks in everything save cost. 12 2.1.3 Wall Mount Rack Wall- mount racks are designed to be mounted and attached to the wall, hence help to save floor space and fits into area which cannot accommodate big and huge rack enclosures. Wall-mount server rack normally comes with a hinged wall bracket which allow the cabinet to swing away from the wall to allow easier access to equipment and cables. There are also optional of having casters and acrylic windows. Acrylic windows for monitoring of equipment without opening the wall rack and casters if the rack are placed on the floor or under desk. Wall-mount rack are less commonly used due to its small size and less accessibility compared to the others type of racks. Wall-mount racks offer less airflow as the sides and fronts are perforated. It also small and almost no space for maintenance. Wallmount racks are only suitable for use if there are lesser components are being equipped in the rack. It is not advisable for a big corporation to use a wall mount rack due to its size. 13 2.1.4 Transportable Rack Cabinets Transportable rack cabinets are small racks designed to be moveable and to be able to be transported. The lower cost models are designed for minimal transportation and for movement within the office area. For the more expensive models, usually come with shock isolators, airtight covers and tough outer shells to protect the components when transporting .The rack normally comes built-in handles and four swivelling casters. Its increased mobility makes this cabinet the ideal solution for telecommunication racks that need to interface with different equipment around your workspace. It also has bad air flow as it normally air tight which restrict the air flow to cool the rack. The accessibility for maintenance is also limited, the server need to be removed to allow access to the more depth of the server. 14 2.3.5 Summary of Existing Rack Fully Enclosed Open Frame Rack Wall Mount Rack Transportable Rack Racks • Most Expensive • Low in Cost • Low in Cost • Most Common • Common • Uncommon • Great Security • No Security • Security Features • Rare • Normal • Best Cooling • Bad Airflow • Security Features Ventilation • Best Space • Bad Space • Bad Airflow • Great Space • Easiest • Bad Accessibility • Bad Space • Good • Bad Accessibility Accessibility • Low to Expensive Cost Accessibility 15 2.2 Comparison 2.2.1 Rail Comparison Rails are used as support for the racks. It the whole base of the rack. It is also use to support the weight of the equipment and to ensure the rack not to fall when pressure is applied. It a important to choose the right rails as different equipment comes with different mounting. If the mounting is wrong, the whole rack cannot be used to installed the requires equipment. Universal Mounting Rails EIA Standard 10/32 Tapped Mounting Rails EIA Standard Mounting Rack Mount Rails Universal Mounting Rails Rails Rack mount rails are used to Universal rails are used to EIA standard mounting rails support the rack and to support a 19-inch EIA width are used to support 19-inch ensure that the rack will not rack mount and almost all EIA width rack mount and fall if being applied pressure other server equipment. some other server or weight. It also allows The depth is adjustable for a manufacturer’s rack equipment to be mount to variety of rack sizes and mountable equipment. these rails so it is important configurations. to choose the right mounting rail there is a rear cable management panel that’s removable for additional customization 16 2.2.2 Mounting Hardware This screw and cage nuts are used to hold the components on the rack firmly. The screw are in the front of the rack and caged nut will be mount on the rack. 10-32 Tapped Cage Nuts 12-24 Tapped Screws and Screws M6 Tapped Cage Nuts and Screws This type of cage nuts and Again, commonly used by This type of screw is commonly screws are usually used by American manufacturer but it is used for European rack American manufacturers. It is larger than a 10-32 screw. applications. It is also used in also commonly used in rack some US brand racks like mount applications. Compaq. It is also the largest screw in this comparison table. 17 2.2.3 Front Doors material This is the lockable door most of the rack. This is require by bigger company as they does not want their information to be leaked . Having a lockable door will help to filter to only a few person have access to the rack. Steel Perforated Steel Louvered The steel door increases the The perforated steel is great The louvered door is the best durability of the rack but it for ventilation and great for in terms of ventilation and decreases the ventilation of durability due to using steel durability as it is using solid the server rack. and having holes on the door. steel materials to make and it comes with ventilation slots. 2.2.4 Side Panels Solid Fixed Solid Removable Louvered Solid fixed panels decrease Solid removable panels do Louvered panels are panels the ventilation and does not not allow ventilation as well that allows ventilation as allow access to internal but allow access to internal well as access to the equipment that are mounted equipment that are mounted equipment that are mounted on the rack. on the rack. on the rack. 18 2.2.5 Accessories This is optional accessories which the user can add on to their rack. This will helps the user to fully utilise the rack. Fans Rollers/Casters Anti-Tip Feet Fans is the best way to Rollers and casters are The anti-tip feet are used to maintain the temperature for mounted or attached to the support and stabilize cabinets the server rack. It will not bottom of the server rack to to ensure that the server racks only control the temperature allow easy movement of the will not fall over due to the in the server rack but also server rack around the space. weight. This is recommended allow equipment to perform for heavy loaded racks. at their top performance and benefit the durability of the equipment. 2.3 Racks status requirement 2.3.1 Ventilation Ventilation is one of the most important factor for a server rack. The use of a rack is beneficial due to the increased airflow that they provide to the equipment. Stacking electronic equipment on the floor or a table will block ventilation instead a rack will be used to facilitate ventilation. Failure to do so can result in increased temperatures which may impact performance of the equipment and in extreme cases, causing equipment failure (Patankar, 2010). Server Racks serve more purpose than just increasing the airflow but increasing the airflow is one of the most important due to the performance and durability it brings to the equipment in it. This can be supported by Radmehr et. al. (2007), study in the airflow 19 distribution across server racks. The study came to a conclusion that the airflow is significantly better compared to other server cabinets and stands. 2.3.2 Space Constrain Another great advantage of a server rack is that it makes maintenance work easier. Racks keep everything in one place and to allow organizing all the cables, power cords and other wires make it easier for maintenance workers to carry out their duties and to be able to find potential problems easily. However, a problem with space constrain in the server rack is always a problem. Being able to organize everything in one location means that it will take up more space (Fakhim et. al., 2013). Despite being organized, space will be hard to be dealt with especially with only a single opening to carry out maintenance work. This leads to another problem, with the increased airflow and ventilation, it may only be making up for the available space in a rack. A smaller space means heat gets generated and trap in the rack more quickly than larger space. A better ventilation will only facilitate in keeping the temperature down but does not actually mean that it will be cooler than another server storage type. Internal dimensions of the server rack should be used as a guide to estimate the size and amount of equipment one can install. Currently, racks that are available in the market now only allow components to be installed in a single row which does not allow lots of space. By increasing the width of the rack, it will allow components to be placed side by side and will help solve the constrain of the rack. The internal dimension measurements should also take into account that rack equipment and accessories are usually mount internally to the rear of side of the stands. Although this problem can easily be avoided by modifying and custom making a server rack specially for your business. 20 2.3.3 Security Another benefit about using server racks is due to its security. Most server racks come with a locked enclosure. It will add as another layer of protection for data and equipment keeping not only people outside of the business but also internal employees that have access to the server room but not to the equipment. One example is the janitors. They may have access to the server room but do not have the keys to unlock the server racks to obtain confidential data. 21 Chapter 3: Requirement Analysis 3.1 Introduction The research method of this study will greatly influence the planning and design of the product. This research method is needed to provide this study an answer to whether the product is needed in the market or whether the improvement is needed. A positive result from the research will provide a good momentum to finish designing of the product where by a negative result may cause delay and unable to finish the design. The chosen research method for this study is to use a surveybased on 2 answers; yes or no as well as some openended questions. The survey is designed in this way to ensure that the answers collected will benefit the product creation. 3.2 Research Design This study is used to help improve the current server racks available in the market. There are some idea to helps improve the rack : • • • • Increase the width of the rack Install more fans on to the racks Increasing grills at the side panel to help improve air ventilation Having a removable side panels instead of secured side panels The idea is there and hope to help with the improvement of the rack. The following study will help with the designing of the racks. Hence suggestion and thought of the user and people working on the rack are needed to help. They will help to do a survey, from the survey it will help to gather their thought or even give suggestion on whether the improvement is needed. The suggestions and thoughts of users are needed and thus the choice of a survey, a quantitative research method. This will not only allow the researchers to know if this product will be a demand in the market but also collect possible improvement in the product design. 22 3.3 Sampling This quantitative research will appear in a form of a survey and will be asking some straightforward questions such as, “Do you think that such a product will be needed in the current market? Considering the use of more servers as well as components due to the increase usage of the Internet?”. Open ended question such as asking if there will be better suggestions or feedback will also be included in this survey. The reason behind this sampling is designed in a way not only to know if the product is still in demand in the market, it will also allow them to feedback on whether the improvement on the rack will be useful or not. Suggestion or idea on whether the method will help to improve may also be collected from the more experienced staff in the industry. 3.3.1 Sampling Frame Participants are colleague which are dealing with the same products. Customers who often dealing with the same product. Lastly the technician doing maintenance work when there is fault with the racks.There will be no requirements based on age, gender and race as these factors will not affect the answers of the questions. This will allow the result collected to be as accurate as possible as these are the people handling the racks frequently. 3.3.2 Sampling Size The total number of people helping to do the survey is around 50. They are each doing the same survey regardless of their profession. This allow the result to be more accurate. 23 3.3.3 Sampling Method The sampling method will be to use a quantitative method through the use of survey.The results collected will then be grouped and calculated based on percentage for the “Yes and No” answers and for the open-ended answers to be grouped to possible suggestions and less possible suggestions. This is to help filter the finding base on majority of people who responded to the questions.The advantage of this sampling method is to take into account of what the majority of the people will think of the product assuming that these people are representing the entire population of professionals. However, the disadvantage of this sampling method is that the weightage of the answers may differ as the participants such as server engineers may understand more of the product compared to an operations manager. 3.4 Survey questions 1. Do you think that such a product will be an improvement to the similar product in the market? 2. Do you think that such a product will be needed in the current market? 3. Do you thinks that having a removable side panel will help to allow maintenance work to be done more efficiently? 4. Does increasing the width and reducing the height of the product help with the installation of the rack? 5. Does reducing the height of the product help with the installation of the rack? 6. Do you think to have more fans help with cooling down the rack? 7. Do you think having side panel with grill help with the ventilation? 8. What do you think will further improve the product? 3.5 Data Collection and Analysis After all the survey are done, the results will be tabulated according to the answer. The result will determine if the majority of the respondents feel that this product is not needed in the market, it will mean that the demand of the product will not be huge as compared to if the respondents feel that the product is needed in the market. It will also show whether the improvement is needed. The analysis of these results will allow the researchers to understand what the users want and need and it will be used to deduce the study’s hypothesis and to contribute to the findings of this study. This will greatly benefit the design of a server rack by equipping with improvements based on the thoughts of users. 24 3.6 Survey results Do you think that such a product will be needed in the current market? yes no Do you think that such a product will be an improvement to the similar product in the market? no yes 25 Do you thinks that having a removable side panel will help to allow maintenance work to be done more efficiently? yes no Does increasing the width and reducing the height of the product help with the installation of the rack? yes no 26 Does reducing the height of the product help with the installation of the rack? yes no Do you think to have more fans help with cooling down the rack? yes no The other two question are open end question which helps allows the person taking the survey to give suggestions which will helps with the designing of the racks. 27 Rack ventilation maintenance Accessibility Transportation 3.7 House of quality O ↑ ↓ ↑ Increase in fans 5 10 7 4 1 + Accessibility of the rack 6 4 7 10 1 + Comes with wheels 1 1 7 4 10 - Good wire management 4 4 10 7 1 + Have side panel 3 7 4 10 1 - Increase air grill 2 10 4 7 1 - Relationships: Strongest= 10 Strong= 7 Fair= 4 Weak= 1 - + + - - 28 3.8 Summary of analysis Air ventilation and accessibility of the rack is the most important aspect needed to the racks. Design of the rack will be depend on the two main aspect. Air ventilation can be solved by increased air grills to allow air flow. Ventilation fan are to be installed in the rack to assist ventilation in the rack too. Accessibility the second main requirement of the rack. Accessibility of the rack will allow maintenance work to be done at a faster time and more efficiently. Having a removable side panel will greatly increase accessibility of the rack to do maintenance. Security feature will still be the same allowing the rack to come with lockable door. 29 4. Draft desgin of rack 4.1 Introduction The following design of the rack are idea from the suggestion and feedback collected from the survey . 3 different design of the racks with different concept are done through AutoCAD. AutoCAD helps to design the racks to the requirement and provides a rough gauge and view of what is the final product going to look like. The rough idea of what the design concept is about will be given at each concept design. Each of the design comes with picture of the solid design then the design with the parts of the rack lastly the AutoCAD drawing with different view and dimension included. After this doing a summary of the 3 different design and choose one which is the best for the racks.Hence do a summary of the Chosen design and the reason thinking why it the better out of the 3 different rack. All the 3 design are design to accomdate aleast 34U of equipment in the rack. All three comes with different dimenion or even some different add on parts which the other may not have. The desgin also go by prioty of the need of the user such as ventalition and accessbility of the rack. The two needs are includes as the improvement in the following design. For the ventalitaion, fans and air grills are installed to help reduce overheating. For accessbility, the rack will include removable side panel which allow easy access to the servers in the rack. 30 4.2.1 Rack Design 1 This is the first deign for the rack which is 1544 mm and 588 mm which is about to hold at least 34U of equipment in the rack. The rack comes with removable side panels which allow easy access for maintenance to be carry out. The removable side panel and mount at the side with the help of screw. There also rubber gasket surrounding the edge which also act as sound insulation as well as blocking and reducing water leaking in the rack in situation of water leakage. The gasket also helps with blocking the air flow from escaping from the side which help to ensure the air flow in the rack will pass by all servers. Rack fans are installed at the back of the rack. It able to help cool down the servers and circulate the air flow. It also able to suck in the air conditional in the room to help reduce the temperature of the servers in the rack. There also ventilation grill in the front allow the heat to escape which will reduce the overheating from happening in the rack. This will helps to reduce the overheating issue from happening.There a glass panel at the front which allow user to check the status of the rack thru the indicator without the needs of opening the rack door.There are 4 removable eye bolt on top of the rack use to help with the installation of the rack. The rack may weigh up to 150kg, which cause tools like crane and pallet jack use for installation.The bolt are used when the rack need to be crane up to a ship or even building for installation. There also ventilation grills on the front door of the rack which will helps to allow air to be flowing in and out of the rack. At the top and bottom of the rack are also thru which also allow the air to flow and circulate the computer. Every rack will come with a environmental monitoring unit which help to tracks the environment surrounding and situation which allow the user to change or one thing which will allow the server to maintain running in unfavourable situation. If there is a situation where condensation might occur, a heater will be place at the bottom of all the servers to prevent it from happening. 31 32 4.2.2 Rack Design 2 This is the second design for the rack. This rack a height of 772mm and width of 1176mm which is a wider design which will allow the rack to be shorter. This will allow rack to able enter a shorter ceiling area. The wider width will allow the server to be installed side by side. It able to hold a least 17U at one side of the rack which still able to hold the same as design number 1. The rack will also have the same parts as the first design just in a smaller scale. It comes with removable side panel and removable eye bolts. Eyebolts are for the same purpose to assist with installation of the rack. The rack may weigh up to 150kg, which cause tools like crane and pallet jack use for installation.There also rubber gasket surrounding the edge of side panel which also act as sound insulation as well as blocking and reducing water leaking in the rack in situation of water leakage. The gasket also helps with blocking the air flow from escaping from the side which help to ensure the air flow in the rack will pass by all servers. Rack fans are installed at the back of the rack. It able to help cool down the servers and circulate the air flow. There also ventilation grill in the front allow the heat to escape which will reduce the overheating from happening in the rack. There a glass panel which allow user to see the status of the rack thru the indicator without the needs of opening the rack door. 33 34 4.2. 3 Rack Design 3 This is design number 3 of the rack. The rack come with a total height of 1692mm and width of 638mm .The rack comes with removable side panels with ventilation grills which allow easy access for maintenance to be carry out and air flow. The removable side panel and mount at the side with the help of screw. There also rubber gasket surrounding the edge which also act as sound insulation as well as blocking and reducing water leaking in the rack in situation of water leakage. The gasket also helps with blocking the air flow from escaping from the side which help to ensure the air flow in the rack will pass by all servers. Rack fans are installed at the back of the rack. It able to help cool down the servers and circulate the air flow. It also able to suck in the air conditional in the room to help reduce the temperature of the servers in the rack. There are also ventilation grill in the front allow heat to escape which will reduce the overheating from happening in the rack. This will helps to reduce the overheating issue from happening. There a glass panel at the front which allow user to check the status of the rack thru the indicator without the needs of opening the rack door. There are 4 removable eye bolt on top of the rack and legs of which can help to raise the height and use to mount on the floor of the room. These are use to assist with the installation of rack. The leg can be use to mount on pallet and the eye bolt use to crane the rack up for installation.. Every rack will come with a environmental monitoring unit which help to tracks the environment surrounding and situation which allow the user to change or one thing which will allow the server to maintain running in unfavourable situation. If there is a situation where condensation might occur, a heater will be place at the bottom of all the servers to prevent it from happening 35 36 4.3 Pros and cons of each design 4.3.1 Design 1 The pros • • • • Have ventilations fan installed at the back of the rack at the top and bottom Come with removable side panels Allow wire management to be done behind the servers. The grill are locate at the front and back which allow air flow through the servers. The Cons: • • Height require a ladder to access to the top of the rack. Requires a room with high ceiling to fit the rack. 4.3.2 Design 2 The pros: • • • Have ventilations fans at the back of the rack Come shorter in height does not require stool or ladder when doing maintenance Able to fit in to the common room height The cons: • • • Require more space on the floor Bulky Not ergonomics for taller person 4.3.3 Design 3 The pros: • • • • Have more grills to allow more air flow Comes with removable side panels Allow wire to be managed and hidden behind the servers Mount on the floor for more stability The cons: • • • • Additional height require due to the mount on the floor Require a room with high ceiling to fit the rack. Prone to water damaged due to increase of grills. Requires ladder or stool to access the top 37 4.4 Selected rack The first design is the rack selected which suits the best according to research. It comes with removable side panels which help to improve the way to do maintenance work faster and more efficiently. The side panel has allow access to the wire at the back of the servers without the need to remove the servers to gain access to the wire. There also a glass panel at the front door to allow user to check the status of the rack without needs of unlocking the door. The rack will also help to improve the overheating issues from happening. There ventilation fan installed at the back of the rack at the top and bottom. This will help to circulate the air flow in the rack hence help to reduce overheating. There also through area at the top and bottom of the rack to ensure the rack to flows past the servers and cools down the server. There also front grill which allow the hot air to get out of the rack. The rack also provides good security features. The front door is lockable to only allow wanted personal access to the rack. The lockable door will prevent people like the cleaner or rivals of business interests to gain any information of the company from the servers. The first design suit the suggestion and feedback from the survey better comparing to the other 2 design which comes with other risk factor. It also less bulky than the other 2 design in term or size and space. 38 Work need to be done next semester • • • • material selection Stress analysis of rack summary of the selected rack summary and conclusion The above is the thing still pending to be done in the next semester. From selecting material which will suit the rack the most and stress analysis of the whole rack. This will helps to show whether the rack is able to sustain the stress put on it. Then the summary of the whole rack including material use for the 2 chosen. Lastly the summary of the whole project and final conclusion of the project. 39 Running head: designing a computer rack 1 Designing a computer rack: Name: Institution affiliation: Date: 1 Designing a computer rack 2 Abstract A computer rack is simply a supporting framework that holds hardware modules which contain severs and other computing equipment. A rack server is a computer whose sole function is to act as a server & is usually designed in such a manner that it can be installed in a framework known as a rack. The rack has mounting slots designed to hold hardware unit & is secured in place with screws. In this research project a server rack which will improve the issue on the rack to allow people to work more efficiently and faster will be designed. The design of the rack will be carried using analysis from people working in the industries who will help in the design process by providing proper insight of the right improvement to be done. To begin with people’s views were collected through random sampling to eliminate biasness. As per the results from the sampling process, a bigger percentage of people who were interviewed agreed with the fact that a server rack with the following properties should be designed so as make the server rack more efficient. First, the server rack should have more fans to facilitate the cooling process, a removable side panel to improve efficiency of height of the rack for maintenance works as well as a reduction of the height of the rack to facilitate the installation process. Afterwards, the best material for the server rack was selected. Cold rolled steel was selected because of its high strength characteristics in comparison to the hot rolled steel. Secondly, tempered steel was selected because of its high impact resistance in comparison to regular glass. Stress analysis of the rack was carried out so as to determine where high stress will be experienced on the rack. Lastly, a summary of the selected rack was prepared detailing the measurement of the rack, material used on the rack as well as point on the rack which experience high stress levels. Designing a computer rack 3 Material selection Different computer server racks are made up of different materials despite the fact that in most cases they tend to look the same. Some of the rack materials are inferior to others while others are made of quality materials. Some of the materials used to make up computer server rack include graded steel, commercial steel tempered glass, annealed glass, and cold rolled steel as well as hot rolled steel. The cold rolled steel is better in performance compared to the hot rolled steel since it offers the rack increased strength. Additionally, the cold rolled steel allows for detailed finer finishes to be carried out on the rack in comparison to the hot rolled steel. Secondly the tempered glass which is used is much better than regular/annealed glass since its impact resistance is five times more than the impact resistance of annealed glass. The tempered glass is utilized on the storage units of a server rack as well as wall mount units since they make it easy to view server equipment & still keep the equipment safe. In this case the material that will be utilized will be cold rolled steel rack since it has more strength in comparison to hot rolled steel. Additionally tempered glass will be used on the server rack storage units. Designing a computer rack Computation simulation of Airflow of the racks 4 Designing a computer rack CFD analysis of air flow of the racks Stress analysis The maximum stress produced in the rack was 2.6211e+008 Pa while the Minimum was 51791 Pa 5 Designing a computer rack 6 References Barroso, Luiz André, Jimmy Clidaras, and Urs Hölzle. The Datacenter As A Computer. [San Rafael, Calif.]: Morgan & Claypool, 2013. Print. Koerner, Marc, and Odej Kao. "Evaluating SDN Based Rack-To-Rack Multi-Path Switching For Data-Center Networks." Procedia Computer Science 34 (2014): 118-125. Web. Yang, Chun Mei et al. "Car's Internal Shield CNC Machining Technology And Analysis Of Machine Tool Rack Mechanical." Key Engineering Materials 522 (2012): 206-209. Web.
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