Case Study: Enconnex Designs Custom Aisle Containment Solution for Alibaba Cloud

Aisle containment systems often attach to the roofs of cabinets, with the cabinets forming the long sides of the aisle. Door assemblies are placed at the end of the aisle to complete the enclosure. While this design is straightforward, it can create problems in some data centers.

In today’s dynamic data center environment, IT teams often need to move cabinets around to streamline maintenance and accommodate new equipment. They purchase cabinets on casters for that purpose.

Another popular option is to buy fully integrated racks from IT solution providers. The provider procures, tests, configures and integrates the equipment and ships the cabinet to the customer for plug-and-play installation. This saves the time and disruption of onsite integration.

Attaching the aisle containment panels to the roofs of the cabinets isn’t the best solution in these scenarios. Ideally, the data center should have an aisle containment system that independently supports all of the panels. Learn the basics of aisle containment.

Meeting the Requirements of Alibaba Cloud

Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing subsidiary of Alibaba Group, has a global footprint of green data centers that use energy-saving technologies to ensure peak efficiency. In the Philippines, Ali-Cloud was building out four points of presence (PoPs) that would process in parallel, with three PoPs in one colocation facility and one in another colocation facility. The two data centers had different specifications and requirements.

The customer acquired 200 cabinets, which were to be integrated and installed by Enconnex’s partner Rahi. Ali-Cloud then turned to Enconnex for a customized aisle containment solution at a reasonable cost and with a fast lead time. The aisle containment solution had to be constructed ahead of time so that the pre-integrated cabinets could be rolled into place.

Ali-Cloud preferred a hanging frame aisle containment system that is independent of the cabinets. The containment frame attaches to the data center ceiling, with the weight load distributed away from the cabinets.

The Enconnex Hanging Frame Solution

One of the facilities had a concrete slab ceiling with a Unistrut ceiling suspended below it. The Unistrut ceiling cannot bear the weight of the hanging frame containment system, but the concrete slab can. Enconnex offers a unique hanging frame system that attaches to the concrete roof with threaded rods. The Unistrut ceiling can still be mounted after the containment system is installed.

Competitive solutions can only be mounted to the Unistrut ceiling. Enconnex saved the customer the cost and lead time of a ceiling retrofit. The Enconnex team also conducted an onsite survey and designed a system that would precisely match the specifications of the data center.

The ceiling in the other colocation facility couldn't bear any weight load, so a freestanding aisle containment system was a good choice in that environment. In that facility, the Enconnex installer built out two freestanding containment pods in one week.

Ensuring Customer Satisfaction

After successful installation and integration, the customer expressed their satisfaction. They acknowledged that it was a challenging time to do business in the Philippines. The global pandemic caused customs lockdowns and local curfews, but, nevertheless, “The project team helped us a lot in overcoming all kinds of difficulties and delivered the project on time.”