Data Center Software: External Modeling Functionality

When you think of the different parts that make up a data center, does the external environment come to mind? While it may not be your number one priority, the external environment can have an enormous impact on your data center’s performance, especially when it comes to your cooling system. With so many moving parts that make up a data center—and even more tools to manage each of these parts—it can be difficult to create a connected workflow to manage the entire data center cohesively.

Cadence data center solutions can model both the internal and external data center environment in one interface, removing the need for distinct external modeling applications. This functionality ensures a simpler, more connected workflow. ​This blog covers the main benefits of our data center software’s external modeling functionality and describes a few key features.

External Modeling Functionality: Benefits

The external modeling functionality helps designers and operators understand the impact of normal, extreme, and changing environments on the data center cooling infrastructure.

The software can calculate the efficiency of cooling equipment, such as chillers and cooling towers, to accurately model the cooling performance of the data center with changing outside weather conditions. We discuss how Kao Data used Cadence Reality DC to validate data center cooling systems externally in more detail in this blog. Our data center software can also model how generators and cooling systems interact to validate redundancy​. 

External Modeling Functionality: Specific Features

The software’s external modeling functionality makes it easy to build/model the external domain space with pre-made/editable objects specific to the external environment, including buildings, cooling towers, chillers, indirect and direct adiabatic cooling systems, and generators​. Additionally, the software offers the “External Conditions Wizard,” which leads software users through the process of setting up the environment. The External Conditions Wizard helps users set up air pressure, temperature, wind profiles, environmental contaminants, contaminants produced by objects (e.g., ACU, generator, or vent exhaust), solar intensity, and ground roughness​. The software includes data from over 9000 global weather stations provided by ASHRAE weather data viewer, streamlining your weather set up.

Software users can also better understand the building structure’s impact on airflow heat transfer and the movement of contaminants in the external environment by using the “building” object. The software can create nearly any simple building shape through the polygon shape option and our pre-built library options. The software can specify pollutants, such as exhaust gases, in the model or as a tracer to track airflow. It can even calculate solar radiation considering intensity in the simulation based on longitude and latitude considering cloudiness, moisture, and visibility​.

The new campus modeling takes external modeling to the next level by allowing multiple data halls to be positioned within buildings inside a campus external environment. When these data hall models are connected together and to their outside environment through a cooling system flow network, such as chilled water or ducted air systems, the entire chip to chiller system can be simulated in one place.

Learn More About Data Center External Modeling

Want a personalized walkthrough on how our data center software’s external modeling functionality can help you better design and manage your data center’s external environment? Fill out our free trial form to get started.