Submittal

RKAT05--WW-ENG, Rev 0, 12/2015

Panduit Net-Access™ Cabinet Doors Keep Data Center Equipment Cool and Secure

Evaluation of airflow test results compared to actual server operating conditions showed that the

real effect of perforation pattern percent open area on the equipment is minimal over the relatively

wide range of percent open areas tested. The highest airflow density servers the team evaluated, in

a cabinet with the lowest percent open area perforation pattern, resulted in only a fraction of a

degree rise in the servers’ exhaust temperatures. That perforation pattern’s AFC

would be 54%,

well below the ANSI/BICSI 002-2014 minimum value of 63%. These results suggest that the

ANSI/BICSI AFC

minimum value is a conservative target.

We used resistance to penetration to evaluate the security effectiveness of perforation patterns.

Finite element analysis results showed that an increase in perforation percent open area reduces

the force required to penetrate the pattern. An 80% open area perforation pattern requires 34%

lower force to penetrate than Panduit’s 69% open area pattern.

Based on the study findings, there is no apparent reason that perforated cabinet doors must be any

more open than what is needed to meet the ANSI/BICSI 002-2014 AFC

minimum value. A further

increase in percent open area has a nearly unmeasurable effect on the IT equipment in the cabinet

while having a clear negative effect on resistance to door penetration.

Here are key takeaways from this study:

 The ANSI/BICSI 002-2014 AFC

minimum requirement of 63% appears to be a

conservatively safe target for perforated cabinet doors.

 Panduit Net-Access™ cabinets, which use 69% open area perforation patterns, all exceed

the ANSI/BICSI 002-2014 AFC

minimum requirement.

 Cabinet door perforation patterns with open areas that exceed the ANSI/BICSI AFC

minimum provide virtually no cooling benefit, with a resulting server exhaust temperature

increase of less than 0.5°C.

 Increasing the perforation pattern percent open area from Panduit’s current 69% open

area to 80% open area results in a 34% reduction in the force required to penetrate the

perforation pattern.

Based on the test results, the Panduit Laboratories team concluded that there is no compelling

reason to choose cabinets with door perforations with higher percent open area than required to

meet the AFC

minimum value.