I can hear my mother telling me this like it was yesterday, “It’s the little things that make a big difference.”  So often do we get caught up in the big picture that this can be all but forgotten. As I walk around the raised floor I am reminded of this by the sight of one and two open U spaces appearing sporadically throughout the center. The saying, “It’s the little things,” could not be more true for this scenario. Considered best practice throughout the data center industry, blanking, more often than not becomes an afterthought at best. Open spaces left within racks allow the hot isle air to recirculate to the cold isle leading to a number of problems from placing operating equipment at risk of overheating to the added energy costs. Now rack blanking and the use of various types of blanking panels is nothing new to the personnel that work at a data center. To get the most out of this “little thing that makes a big difference” though, a new approach or deliberate effort, to blanking could go a long way.    Continue reading The Raised Floor Perspective- Blanking →