Power, UPS and cooling for small server rooms

Skills you'll practise

• Connect rack power safely, following the listing rules for power strips
• Describe VFD, VI and VFI UPS designs and N+1 redundancy
• Size a small-site UPS from measured loads, a company margin and the runtime needed
• Convert an IT load in watts to Btu/h and tons, and explain why the designer sizes cooling
• Handle a closet overheating event and raise the root cause

Course outline

1. 1.Power, UPS and cooling for small server roomsVideo · 2 min
2. 2.Power for the rackLesson · 18 min
3. 3.Choosing and sizing a UPSLesson · 22 min
4. 4.Heat and cooling in small roomsLesson · 18 min
5. 5.Power, UPS and cooling for small server rooms: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 19 questions
6. 6.The comms closet that overheats every weekendScenario
7. 7.Final exam10 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.

• OSHA standard interpretation (18 November 2002): Compliance requirements for relocatable power taps or 'power strips'
• ENERGY STAR: Uninterruptible power supplies, including buying guidance (size for all protected equipment plus growth, shutdown software, surge protection, cool location, automatic battery tests)
• ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Uninterruptible Power Supplies, Version 2.0 (definitions: VFD, VI and VFI input dependency, operating modes, bypass, N+1 and 2N, power factor)
• ENERGY STAR: Embedded data centers (server rooms and closets with less than 50 kW of IT load)
• ENERGY STAR: Manage airflow for cooling efficiency (blanking panels, cable management, recirculation)
• NIST Guide to the SI (SP 811), Appendix B.9: conversion factors (1 Btu(IT)/h = 0.2930711 W; 1 ton of refrigeration = 12,000 Btu(IT)/h)
• US Department of Defense UFC 3-580-01, Telecommunications Interior Infrastructure Planning and Design (21 November 2024). One building owner's criteria applying TIA-568, TIA-569, TIA-606 and TIA-607; used here as a worked example, not as a universal requirement
• Fiber Optic Association: Premises cabling installation (power, grounding and bonding of metallic hardware, documentation and leftover components for the customer)