Raised Floors Going the Way of the Horse and Buggy? January 14, 2008 One of the design features of FIRELOCK's Server Vaults is the integrated Unimount Ceiling grid for mounting overhead cable management systems. FIRELOCK developed this overhead mounting system because the traditional raised floor environment is fast becoming obsolete for a variety of reasons. Equipment specifications are changing and data centers continue to increase in complexity. A solid floor with overhead cable management has many advantages that help meet today's data center requirements. One example of the changing server environment is the shear weight of server racks. To maximize the space efficiency of equipment it is not uncommon to find racks filled to capacity. The depth of the typical 1U device has also increased in recent years. These factors combine to create individual server racks that can weigh over 3,000 pounds, nearly twice the weight of the typical rack unit of just a few years ago. An obvious hazard from this change in specifications is the threat of costly mission critical equipment crashing through a weak spot in a raised floor. Perhaps a less perceptible threat is the tilting of a heavy server rack on an over-stressed raised floor. An off-kilter floor increases wear on hard drives and can lead to the premature death of costly equipment. In contrast, solid floors can be laser-leveled to create a perfectly flat floor that stays flat when loaded with high-density racks. For data center operators in California and other seismically active regions, there is the issue of the stability of a raised floor system in an earthquake. Raised floors have major implications for the installation and maintenance of the data center's fire suppression system. Because the area under the floor tiles must be treated like a separate zone, extra plumbing and detection systems must be installed in these plenum areas. Naturally, this increased complexity increases the cost of purchase, installation and operation. The fire suppression system is also much more likely to be needed in a raised floor environment. Raised floors allow dust, bits of cardboard and other trash to accumulate and become a fire hazard. The nature of IT equipment requires a clean environment for optimum performance and longevity. It is easy to see if a solid floor is clean, but without removing the tiles of a raised floor you don't know what lurks beneath the surface. Moving tiles stirs up dust, which compounds the problem. Aside from being a tedious, dirty job that no one wants to do, moving tiles to clean the plenum spaces can actually shorten equipment life by sending airborne dust into delicate electronic components. Another fundamental change in data center designs is the tremendous increase in the number of network and power cables in today's high-density server racks. Some data centers now have so many cables that there is barely enough room for them to fit in existing plenum channels. As plenums fill up with wiring the airflow is constricted, reducing efficiency and increasing costs to keep the server environment cool. Day-to-day operations are also affected by the way cables are managed. It is much easier (and cost effective) to keep cables visible and accessible in overhead runs. The time it takes to troubleshoot a cable issue in an overhead system versus under a raised floor can be the difference between a quick fix and costly downtime. Moving racks into and out of the data center can much more complex, and even dangerous, when raised floors are involved. The ramps onto the elevated floor must be negotiated with caution and planning to make sure everyone and everything comes out in good condition when the job is done. In contrast, maneuvering fully loaded server racks on a solid floor is much safer and more efficient.