Do You Trust Occam's Razor?
Occam's (or Ockham's) razor is a scientific principle attributed to the 14th century logician and Franciscan friar William of Ockham.
The principle states that "Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily".
Occam's razor claims that,
"Simpler explanations (solutions) are, other things being equal, generally better than more complex ones".
Apply Occam's razor to the problem below and see if you came up with the same conclusion I did.
A recent "blog" article written by an associate of a multi-billion dollar company heavily involved in the Data Center industry identified three ways that under-floor cabling "Causes" data center energy loss.
The three points were:
- Blockage of air due to cables
- Cool air leakage through rack cable cutouts
- Cool air leakage through PDU cable cutouts
The article went on to note how each of these areas can contribute to airflow bypass, and we all know that airflow bypass contributes to energy inefficiency.
The problem: Cabling under a raised floor has the potential to contribute to energy inefficiency if not properly addressed.
The multi-billion dollar company's solution: Pull all cables from under the raised floor and run them overhead using the multi-billion dollar company's overhead racking system.
A blog reader's solution: Leave cables under-floor, but run them in the hot aisle and fill cable cutouts with brushed grommets.
Which solution follows Occam's razor?
Which is the simpler solution to the problem?
Right, the blog reader's solution, running cables in the hot aisle and using brushed grommets to seal cable cutouts is the simplest solution. As Occam's razor states, generally the simplest solution is the best solution.
Ken Koty,
sales@pducables.com
P.S. If you are looking for a quick fix to cover existing cable cutouts, the Air-Guard Surface Mount is designed to retro-fit around existing cables without the need to disconnect cables. Brushed grommets have been proven to eliminate over 95% of potential airflow bypass
