Vertical Backplane Storage Cooling via Directed Airflow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Computer systems in data centers generate significant waste heat, leading to suboptimal airflow and heat removal from heat-producing components like hard disk drives, resulting in inadequate computing or storage capacity and potential server operation issues due to inefficient cooling systems.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a data storage system with vertically-oriented backplanes and air passages within the chassis to direct airflow upwards along the vertical faces of the backplanes, ensuring effective heat removal from mass storage devices, and the use of air moving devices to induce airflow through the chassis, optimizing heat dissipation and increasing storage density.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If standard off-the-shelf hard disk drives are used in servers, then storage cost is reduced, but storage density and space utilization deteriorate due to wasted space in server chassis
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional horizontal hard disk drive mounting to vertical mounting configuration. The backplane is oriented vertically within the server chassis, and hard disk drives are mounted vertically on the backplane, utilizing the vertical dimension of the chassis to maximize space utilization and storage density while maintaining compatibility with standard off-the-shelf drives
2Temperature
If air moving systems are used to induce airflow through racks, then heat removal capability is improved, but airflow bypassing heat producing components occurs, reducing cooling efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements localized airflow management by positioning air moving devices adjacent to specific heat-producing components such as hard disk drives and power supplies. This ensures that airflow is directed precisely where needed, preventing bypassing of heat-producing components and optimizing cooling efficiency for each local thermal zone within the server
3Ease of operation
If hard disk drives are fully powered up at all times, then storage accessibility is improved, but heat generation increases, challenging cooling system capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service cooling where each heat-producing component such as hard disk drives and power supplies has its own dedicated air moving device. This allows each component to independently manage its own thermal environment, ensuring continuous cooling for powered-up drives while maintaining storage accessibility without overwhelming the overall cooling system
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration enhances heat removal efficiency, increases storage capacity by maximizing the use of vertical space, and improves server operations by ensuring continuous and effective cooling, even in densely packed data centers.
Implementation Method 1
one or more air passages extending beneath at least one of the backplanes from the inlet end towards the exhaust end of the chassis. The one or more air passages each supply an upwards-directed airflow along at least one of the opposite vertical faces of a vertically-oriented backplane to remove heat from at least one heat producing component of one or more mass storage devices coupled to the vertical face
Implementation Method 2
air moving devices to induce airflow through the chassis, optimizing heat dissipation
Data Source
AI summary
A system for storing data includes a rack and one or more data storage modules mounted on the rack. The data storage modules may include a chassis, two or more vertically-oriented backplanes coupled to the chassis, two or more mass storage devices coupled to the backplanes, and one or more air passages extending beneath one or more of the backplanes. Each backplane is configured to preclude airflow through the backplane between opposite vertical faces and can couple mass storage devices on one or more of the opposite vertical faces. One or more of the air passages can supply an upwards-directed airflow along one of the opposite vertical faces of a backplane to remove heat from a heat producing component of a mass storage device coupled to the vertical face of the vertically-oriented backplane.