Vertical tray structure for rack in data center

1. A method of cooling electronic equipment on a rack, the method comprising:

vertically circulating ambient air from a workspace across a plurality of rack-mounted electronic devices, wherein the electronic devices are located in a plurality of trays, and wherein each tray has a major plane and is arranged so that its major plane is substantially parallel to a side plane of the rack;

cooling the circulated air with a heat exchanger, wherein the heat exchanger is connected to a vertical end of the rack via a sealed interface, and the cooling comprises capturing air heated by the electronic devices in a hot air plenum that is local to the rack and is thermally isolated from the workspace, and cooling the captured air using cooling equipment; and

re-circulating the cooled air to the workspace.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the re-circulated cooled air has a temperature that is substantially equal to a target temperature of the ambient air in the workspace.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein each device has a width dimension, a depth dimension, and a height dimension, wherein the height dimension is longer than the width dimension, and wherein the device is mounted to a corresponding tray having the major plane substantially parallel to the height dimension.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein each tray is arranged so that the major plane is substantially perpendicular to said vertical end plane of the rack and to a front plane of the rack.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein air is captured by one or more ambient air circulation fans located in a plenum that is local to the rack, wherein the plenum is located at the vertical end of the rack.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ambient air is circulated by one or more air circulation fans located in a plenum that is local to the rack, wherein the plenum is located at another vertical end of the rack.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the rack-mounted electronic devices are open to the workspace from at least one of a front side or a back side of the rack during operation.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

monitoring an ambient temperature of the workspace;

determining if the monitored ambient temperature exceeds a threshold; and

in response to determining that the monitored ambient temperature exceeds the threshold, performing at least one of:

increasing a flow of the circulated air across the plurality of rack-mounted electronic devices, or

decreasing a cooling temperature in the heat exchanger.

9. A system for cooling electronic equipment on a rack, the system comprising:

one or more air circulation fans for vertically circulating ambient air from a workspace across a plurality of rack-mounted electronic devices, wherein the electronic devices are located in a plurality of trays and wherein each tray has a major plane and is arranged so that its major plane is substantially parallel to a side plane of the rack;

a heat exchanger, local to the rack, for cooling the circulated air and re-circulating the cooled air to the workspace, wherein the heat exchanger is connected to a vertical end of the rack via a sealed interface;

a hot air plenum, local to the rack, for capturing air heated by the electronic devices, wherein the hot air plenum is thermally isolated from the workspace; and

cooling equipment for cooling the captured air.

10. The cooling system of claim 9 , wherein the re-circulated cooled air has a temperature that is substantially equal to a target temperature of the ambient air in the workspace.

11. The cooling system of claim 9 , wherein each device has a width dimension, a depth dimension, and a height dimension, wherein the height dimension is longer than the width dimension, and wherein the device is mounted to a corresponding tray having the major plane substantially parallel to the height dimension.

12. The cooling system of claim 9 , wherein each tray is arranged so that the major plane is substantially perpendicular to said vertical end plane of the rack and to a front plane of the rack.

13. The cooling system of claim 9 , wherein at least one of the one or more air circulation fans are located in a plenum that is local to the rack, wherein the plenum is located at the vertical end of the rack.

14. The cooling system of claim 9 , wherein at least one of the one or more air circulation fans are located in a plenum that is local to the rack, wherein the plenum is located at another vertical end of the rack.

15. The cooling system of claim 9 , wherein the rack-mounted electronic devices are open to the workspace from at least one of a front side or a back side of the rack during operation.

16. The cooling system of claim 9 , further comprising processing circuitry located at least in part on the rack, the processing circuitry configured to:

monitor an ambient temperature of the workspace;

determine if the monitored ambient temperature exceeds a threshold; and

in response to determining that the monitored ambient temperature exceeds the threshold, perform at least one of:

increasing a flow of the circulated air across the plurality of rack-mounted electronic devices, or

decreasing a cooling temperature in the heat exchanger.

17. A system of cooling electronic equipment on a rack, the system comprising:

means for vertically circulating ambient air from a workspace across a plurality of rack-mounted electronic devices, wherein the electronic devices are located in a plurality of trays and wherein each tray has a major plane and is arranged so that its major plane is substantially parallel to a side plane of the rack;

means for cooling the circulated air, wherein the means for cooling is connected to a vertical end of the rack via a sealed interface, the means for cooling comprising:

means for capturing air heated by the electronic devices in a hot air plenum local to the rack, wherein the hot air plenum is thermally isolated from the workspace; and

means for cooling the captured air to the temperature that is substantially equal to the temperature of the ambient air in the workspace; and

means for re-circulating the cooled air to the workspace.

18. The cooling system of claim 17 , wherein the re-circulated cooled air has a temperature that is substantially equal to a target temperature of the ambient air in the workspace.

19. The cooling system of 17 , wherein air is circulated vertically downward from a top to a bottom of the rack.

20. A system for cooling electronic equipment on a rack, the system comprising:

one or more air circulation fans for vertically circulating ambient air from a workspace across a plurality of rack-mounted electronic devices, wherein the electronic devices are located in a plurality of trays and wherein each tray has a major plane and is arranged so that its major plane is substantially parallel to a side plane of the rack; and

a heat exchanger, local to the rack, for cooling the circulated air and re-circulating the cooled air to the workspace, wherein the heat exchanger is connected to a vertical end of the rack via a sealed interface,

wherein the rack-mounted electronic devices are open to the workspace from at least one of a front side or a back side of the rack during operation.