Airflow and hot/cold aisles
How air moves through equipment and aisles, and how to spot layouts that cook your servers.
- Level
- Beginner
- Length
- About 30 minutes
- Contents
- 3 lessons · 1 video · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 1 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Explain front-to-back airflow and hot/cold aisle containment
- Identify reversed equipment or rows from a layout diagram
- Recommend fixes such as blanking panels and matching fan direction
Course outline
- 1.Airflow and hot and cold aislesVideo · 1 min
- 2.Front-to-back airLesson · 12 min
- 3.Raised floors, perforated tiles and cable openingsLesson · 12 min
- 4.Equipment airflow direction and fan optionsLesson · 12 min
- 5.Airflow and hot/cold aisles: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 20 questions
- 6.Rack running hot after a switch installScenario
- 7.Final exam6 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- ASHRAE TC 9.9: Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments
- ANSI/TIA-942: Telecommunications infrastructure standard for data centers
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.