Best practice is to specify maximum allowable IT equipment inlet temperature and let mechanical plant find its own level. Managing temperature by thermostat set point frequently results in mechanical plant wasted energy and cycling or heating by cooling equipment....

Dramatic differences in required rates of temperature change could impact access to free cooling. Different RH requirements change access to free cooling and requirement for humidity management. Decisions about storage architectures are another IT management...

Not doing so violates hot and cold aisle segregation, resulting in the need for lower set points and higher air volume delivery, and therefore reduced total and redundant cooling capacity and higher operating costs. Servers are not the only equipment IT management is...