Data center containment has gone mainstream over the past decade, which has led to widespread implementation and adoption by many sites. In fact, according to a recent survey by the Uptime Institute, 80% of sites have implemented either hot or cold aisle containment. While the survey represented mostly larger facilities, many medium and small facilities have either implemented or are considering some form of containment. This high rate of adoption has left a lot of people asking the same question: Is it better to contain the hot aisle or the cold aisle?

Assuming a computer room is configured in such a way that either is an option, hot aisle containment may be seen as the better option because it has some thermal efficiency and ride-through advantages. However, because every computer room is unique, there is no one definitive solution.  For this reason, it is important to understand all the differences between hot aisle containment and cold aisle containment so you can make a decision appropriate to a particular architectural environment and business strategy.

For clarification, cold aisle containment involves doors on the ends of the cold aisles and some form of partitions or roof over the cold aisle. Hot aisle containment includes doors on the ends of the hot aisle and a configuration of baffles and duct work from the hot aisle to the returns of the cooling units. Drop ceiling plenums are often used as the means to duct the return air back to the cooling units. Both strategies have their benefits as well as their challenges:

For more on data center containment and cooling optimization best practices, check out our recent webinar titled, Data Center Containment Best Practices: Key Considerations to Maximize ROI.