Cooling Network Switches

Due to their positioning within a server rack; usually at the top of the rear of the cabinet, network switches are prone to overheating. Being positioned in the rear of a 19″ cabinet means that they ‘breathe’ the hot exhaust emitted from the surrounding IT equipment. Leaving openings in the front of the rack to allow cool air in is poor airflow management and leads to the creation of more serious cooling issues.

In order to correctly cool network switches solutions are available in the form of SwithAir and SwitchFix. Both offer passive solutions to network switch cooling with active cooling available from SwitchAir. Units are placed in the front of the rack housing the network switch and direct cool air from the cold aisle to the air intakes of the network switch, usually at the rear, side or front of the switch.