Patent ID: 8639482

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for evaluating cooling performance of a cluster of equipment racks in a data center, wherein the cluster of equipment racks includes at least a first row of racks and a second row of racks separated by a cool aisle, with each of the equipment racks being configured to draw cooling air from the cool aisle, the method comprising: obtaining cool airflow data for cooling air supplied to the cool aisle from an in-row cooling unit included in the cluster of racks; conducting an analysis of airflows in the cool aisle including: determining first airflow values into a front face of each of the equipment racks from the cool aisle, and determining second airflow values into and out of each end of the cool aisle; determining, by the computer system, a recirculation index for at least one equipment rack using the first airflow values and the second airflow values; and determining a cooling capacity for the at least one equipment rack using the recirculation index.