Area Networks Finds Everything It Needs—and More—in CoolCube 10 When Marc Castelluccio began investigating options for cooling his cramped computer room, the director of information technology at Ohio-based Area Networks, an application service provider, was forced to rule out a number of solutions right off the bat. Located on the fourth floor of a 15-story building in downtown Cleveland, the company's office "just didn't have any real estate on the floor where we could place a condenser," Castelluccio explains. Likewise, attempting to run one up to the roof above the 15th floor proved too costly. "So we pretty much ruled out that type of air conditioning solution," he says. "In a high-rise building such as ours, you don't have a lot of choices." Although a water-cooled unit was already operating within the company's computer room, Castelluccio not only desired supplemental cooling, but also wasn't completely satisfied with the performance of the existing solution. "If there is ever any problem with the water supply, then that unit is dead," he says. Another challenge Area Networks faced was the company's impending move. Although no date has been determined, "we've been talking about moving for a while and looked at a lot of sites, but nothing has happened yet," notes Castelluccio. "We needed an A/C solution to use here, but wanted something that we could take with us to our new location, which is going to happen eventually." Although he considered a variety of air conditioning units—including models from Train, Liebert and APC—Castelluccio found the answer to all of his requirements in MaxPower's CoolCube 10, a product that was introduced to him by MaxPower reseller Jim Butler of Computer Room Design. The industry's only modular air conditioning solution, CoolCube 10 enables users to deploy the same 10,000 Btu/h base unit in a variety of capacities, including using it as a stand-alone portable unit, rack-mounting it in an open 19-inch rack, placing it on a shelf, or hanging it above a drop-ceiling. Because the compact units can also be stacked for either redundancy or capacity, Castelluccio was able to easily fit the CoolCube 10 into his small computer room environment, where floor space is at a premium. In fact, he stacked four units, delivering much-needed 40,000 Btu/h of cool air to four large racks of servers and computer equipment. Furthermore, when Area Networks moves into its future building, Castelluccio will not only be able to easily relocate the CoolCubes, he will also have the option of installing them in a different manner if desired. "We will definitely take them to the new data center and use them either for spot cooling or maybe place one in each corner," he confirms. "If you put something on the roof and move, you lose the entire cost." The mobility of the CoolCube 10 is just one among a long list of benefits that Castelluccio has discovered with the solution. Noting that the unit runs off standard 110V power without requiring any special electrical wiring, the IT director reports installation was a breeze. He also gives accolades to the CoolCube's self-contained designed. "All you need is electricity and somewhere to blow the air," he says. "It requires no water and no refrigerant. I like that it doesn't run on water, so that is never a possible point of failure." The CoolCube's direct drain capability is another factor Castelluccio appreciates. "You don't have to empty any trays," he notes. "They just flow right into the drain." Furthermore, the CoolCube's stacking option not only provides a space-saving alternative, but delivers much-desired redundancy for Castelluccio's critical equipment. "The units are all acting as one from a capacity standpoint, but you can lose one of the four and still be up and running, thanks to the redundancy factor," he explains. Even the most impressive of benefits still need to fit within the budget, a prerequisite the CoolCube 10 did with ease. "The CoolCube 10 is very affordable," Castelluccio adds. "It's very cost efficient, especially if you ever want to move it."