Lab Monitoring in a Modular Data Center : implementing a Microcontroller Management System
Kallio, Selina (2024)
2024
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024060621803
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024060621803
Tiivistelmä
Due to the ever-growing highlight on environmental factors, the conservation of energy is receiving focus. Data centers can be a huge consumer of electricity in companies. Electricity use in cooling these data centers reflects straight to the used company resources, remarkably monetary savings can be found. The project was done for Nokia, who is currently building a new site to Linnanmaa, Oulu. The energy efficiency at the new site will be state of the art – an element coming into effect will be the harvesting of heat generated by the many devices in the data centers.
The implementation of hot/cold aisle functions can save over a third of the energy that would normally be used. To make functional aisles, the air must be truly separated. This is done with modular ceiling panels and automatically functioning laboratory doors. Open doors or ceilings lead to loss of heat and therefore loss of energy. This project took focus on monitoring the ceiling panels. They are placed on rails on top of the rack bodies many data centers consist of. Some devices are located above the panels. Also, power outlets and cabling are done outside the aisle formation. Human errors lead to forgetting to put the panels back into place after modifications, even being left open for multiple days. In small spaces this can cause the temperature to rise which creates its own risks for the environment, such as negatively impacting the longevity of device parts.
The data center ceiling panel monitoring in this minor proof-of-concept project was completed using microcontrollers and creating a circuit with copper tape. Despite the copper tape not being a durable solution, it was the easiest and most time and cost-effective solution. The circuit was formed to the top of the data centers, consisting of pieces of tape on both the ceiling panels and the rails in a specific formation. The layout of the tape defines how the microcontroller will react. The microcontroller connected to the circuit sends the circuit’s current status to its superior microcontroller. The superior microcontroller in turn alerts users of the data center’s situation.
The goal of the monitoring software was to notify users after a specific period of the ceiling panels being open. This enabled the faculty to go and confirm the laboratory status and fix the faults causing the failed status. The concept worked and based off the research, a solution such as this one could generate electricity savings. However, some flaws were discovered in the physical implementation side – the tape degraded under long-term stress and abrasion. This could be prevented in progressed models using harder metal embeds or microswitches instead of copper tape.
The implementation of hot/cold aisle functions can save over a third of the energy that would normally be used. To make functional aisles, the air must be truly separated. This is done with modular ceiling panels and automatically functioning laboratory doors. Open doors or ceilings lead to loss of heat and therefore loss of energy. This project took focus on monitoring the ceiling panels. They are placed on rails on top of the rack bodies many data centers consist of. Some devices are located above the panels. Also, power outlets and cabling are done outside the aisle formation. Human errors lead to forgetting to put the panels back into place after modifications, even being left open for multiple days. In small spaces this can cause the temperature to rise which creates its own risks for the environment, such as negatively impacting the longevity of device parts.
The data center ceiling panel monitoring in this minor proof-of-concept project was completed using microcontrollers and creating a circuit with copper tape. Despite the copper tape not being a durable solution, it was the easiest and most time and cost-effective solution. The circuit was formed to the top of the data centers, consisting of pieces of tape on both the ceiling panels and the rails in a specific formation. The layout of the tape defines how the microcontroller will react. The microcontroller connected to the circuit sends the circuit’s current status to its superior microcontroller. The superior microcontroller in turn alerts users of the data center’s situation.
The goal of the monitoring software was to notify users after a specific period of the ceiling panels being open. This enabled the faculty to go and confirm the laboratory status and fix the faults causing the failed status. The concept worked and based off the research, a solution such as this one could generate electricity savings. However, some flaws were discovered in the physical implementation side – the tape degraded under long-term stress and abrasion. This could be prevented in progressed models using harder metal embeds or microswitches instead of copper tape.