Environmental Requirements

Temperature and Humidity Specifications

Ambient intake air temperature is often different from ambient room temperature. You should measure the operating temperature and humidity directly in front of the cabinet cooling air intakes rather than check only ambient room conditions. Table 1-14 “Computer Room Environment” lists the computer room temperature and humidity specifications for Superdome servers.

At altitudes above 10,000 feet (3048 m), the lower air density reduces the cooling capability of air conditioning systems. If your facility is located above this altitude, the recommended temperature ranges may need to be modified. For each 1000 feet (305 m) increase in altitude above 10,000 feet (up to a maximum of 15,000 feet), subtract 1.5° F (0.83° C) from the upper limit of the temperature range listed in Table 1-14 “Computer Room Environment”.

	NOTE: Operating ranges refer to the ambient air temperature and humidity measured 0.5 meter from the air intake cooling vents at the same height as these vents.

Power Dissipation

Table E-1 “Typical Superdome Configurations” shows Superdome power requirements by configuration (i.e. number of cell boards, amount of memory per cell, and number of I/O chassis). This requirement applies to 32-way-capable systems with PA8600 or PA8700 processors.

There are two columns of power numbers (Watts). The Power Breaker column shows the power used to size the wall breaker at the installation site. The Typical Power column shows typical power. Typical power numbers are for PA8600 systems and may be used to assess average utility cost of cooling and electrical power. Expect these typical numbers to be about 18% less for PA8700 systems. Table E-1 “Typical Superdome Configurations” also shows the recommended breaker sizes for 4-wire and 5-wire sources.

Acoustic Noise Specification

The acoustic noise specification for the Superdome is as follows:

The above levels are appropriate for dedicated computer room environments, not office environments.

Care should be taken to understand the acoustic noise specifications relative to operator positions within the computer room or when adding Superdomes to computer rooms with existing noise sources.

Air Flow

Superdome requires the cabinet air intake temperature to be between 20ο C and 30ο C at 2400 CFM. Any cooling system layouts described in Chapter 2 can be adapted to cool the Superdome.

Figure 1-16 “Airflow Diagram” illustrates the location of the inlet and outlet airducts on a single cabinet.

Figure 1-17 “Typical Superdome Room Space Return Air Cooling System” through Figure 1-19 “Typical Superdome Ceiling Plenum Return Air Cooling System” illustrate typical cooling system layouts, adapted from the typical cooling system described in Chapter 2.

Figure 1-16 Airflow Diagram

Figure 1-17 Typical Superdome Room Space Return Air Cooling System

Figure 1-18 Typical Superdome Ducted Return Air Cooling System

Figure 1-19 Typical Superdome Ceiling Plenum Return Air Cooling System