Servers, and other rack mounted equipment are typically designed to draw cool air in through the front panel vents and exhaust the warm air through the rear. Having any gaps between equipment or “empty U’s” can actually hurt your cooling efficiency by allowing cold air to pass through tot he rear of the cabinet. If you have hot/cold aisle containment in your data center then this is definitely something you want to avoid! Conversely you don’t want any hot air to pass to the front of the cabinet and be drawn back into your IT equipment.

Without Rack Containment Blanking Panels hot air flows back to the front of the cabinet.

With rack containment blanking panels installed hot air is restricted from flowing to the front of the rack.

AKCP provides blanking panels that can be used to fill these 1U or 2U gaps you may have in your cabinet. They aid in sealing and containing the rack, preventing the hot/cold air mix that can so severely harm your PUE numbers.

AKCP also provides blanking panels with cable brushes, these are ideal for a situation where leaving a 1U space is required for cable runs. In a typical cabinet where you have network switches bringing network cables from the rear to the front of the cabinet is necessary. With our bushed blanking panels, we can maintain containment and efficiency while still allowing these cables to be routed where you need them. Brushed blanking panels are available in 1U and 2U versions also.