Ventilation and Cooling Requirements

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Always provide adequate space in front of and behind the rack to allow for proper ventilation of rackmounted servers. Do not obstruct the front or back of the rack with equipment or objects that might prevent air from flowing through the rack. Rackmountable servers and equipment, including Oracle Server X7-2 and Oracle Server X7-2L, draw cool air in through the front of the rack and release warm air out the back of the rack. There is no airflow requirement for the left and right sides due to front-to-back cooling.

If the rack is not completely filled with components, cover the empty sections with filler panels. Gaps between components can adversely affect airflow and cooling in the rack.

The servers function while installed in a natural convection airflow. Follow these environmental specifications for optimal ventilation:

Ensure that air intake is in the front of the system, and the air outlet is in the back. Take care to prevent recirculation of exhaust air in a rack or cabinet.
Allow minimum clearance of 123.2 cm (48.5 inches) in the front of the system, and 91.4 cm (36 inches) in the back.
Ensure unobstructed airflow through the chassis. The Oracle Server X7-2 uses internal fans that can achieve a total airflow of 90 CFM and Oracle Server X7-2L uses internal fans that can achieve 140 CFM, within the specified range of operating conditions.
Ensure that ventilation openings, such as cabinet doors for both the inlet and exhaust of the server, are unobstructed. For example, Oracle Rack Cabinet 1242 and Sun Rack II cabinets are optimized for cooling. Both the front and back doors have 80 percent perforations that provide a high level of airflow through the rack.
Ensure that front and back clearances between the cabinet doors is a minimum of 2.5 cm (1 inch) at the front of the server and 8 cm (3.15 inches) at the back of the server when mounted. These clearance values are based on the inlet and exhaust impedance (available open area) and assume a uniform distribution of the open area across the inlet and exhaust areas, which improve cooling performance.

Note - The combination of inlet and exhaust restrictions, such as cabinet doors and the distance of the server from the doors, can affect the cooling performance of the server. You must evaluate these restrictions. Server placement is particularly important for high-temperature environments.
Manage cables to minimize interference with the server exhaust vent.