Evaluate air cooling vs. liquid cooling for your data center

Most data centers adopt air cooling as their first cooling method. The technology has become more efficient over time, but the basic setup has remained the same: An HVAC system removes warm air and generates cold air that circulates around hardware in the facility. Air cooling generally uses one of three setups -- room-, row- or rack-based cooling -- depending on what a facility requires.

Because air cooling is so widely used and understood, most data center staff know exactly how to maintain and support it. Maintenance activities are straightforward and skills can transfer across facilities. Facilities have many vendor options for air cooling, which enables them to optimize cooling expenses.

Physical and virtual densities increase as systems use more storage and rack space, which can make it a challenge for HVAC systems to keep everything cool. This leads to increased operating expenses -- and with energy costs on the rise, air cooling can easily become too expensive for organizations to justify. Additionally, data centers that use evaporative cooling or cooling towers as part of their air cooling systems might face water restrictions and shortages due to climate change.

Another challenge air cooling presents is the noise pollution created by an increased number of cooling fans and pumps. Fans and pumps produce a lot of noise, which poses hearing risks for data center staff working in the facility.