We're a school with a small server room that we're trying to keep cool (about 4 racks, plus some telco gear). We have a dedicated AC unit in the room right now, but it isn't able to keep up with the load in the space we have (the airflow isn't great). Room is hovering around 75 F with AC on full blast 24/7. On hot days it gets worse, and if the unit were to fail we'd go over temp pretty quickly.
Called in a few vendors like APC and Leibert, and they're pitching an in-row or wall-mount unit, but it's pretty pricey. Meanwhile, our regular AC vendor is pitching another wall-mount unit similar to what we have in the room already: http://www.e-comfortusa.com/products/mitsubishi-pkaa24ka4--puya24nha4-mr-slim--wall-mounted-mini-split-ac-cooling-only-system--24000-btu/5543 On the one hand, the "normal" unit is much cheaper. However, it lacks a few nice features (SNMP reporting on errors, for example, should a pump fail). Given that the unit we have can't keep up, I'm not sure if I want another of the same type. Meanwhile, APC/Leibert are telling me that I'm crazy to consider another "comfort" unit in this space, as they're not rated for this kind of use. The units they sell are pretty and shiny, but are 5x the price (plus installation). I feel like the in-row form factor might help us, as it would suck more hot air from the back of the rack rather than let it mix into the room. I need a little help cutting through the FUD on this one. Is "comfort" cooling so much worse that it's worth the extra $$$ for a data-center unit? Since we're a school, I need to save where I can (I'm also trying to get some better UPS in this room, so money I save on cooling can go towards power). Since the space isn't a "proper" data center (no hot/cold aisle, no raised floor, etc), I'm not sure where I should prioritize my funding. Any thoughts for cooling on a tight budget? Thanks, Jason -- Jason Healy | jhe...@logn.net | http://www.logn.net/ _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.lopsa.org https://lists.lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
