Zinc Whiskers

Zinc Whiskers: Tiny Enemy, Big Problem

With the proliferation of data centers, the technologies used to house, cool and protect the various servers, switches, cables and power components have evolved as well.  Unfortunately some of these advancements are actually causing damage to such data center facilities. One such enemy creating havoc for raised floor installations and bigger headaches for system administrators are Zinc Whiskers.

Zinc Whiskers are collections of small metallic fibers which accumulate on various surfaces (specifically electroplated surfaces) over the life time of a data center. They can range from several microns to a few millimeters in length depending on how many fibers have interconnected. Raised floors which are not hot-dipped or sprayed are particularly susceptible to accumulation as they are the natural place for such zinc whiskers to settle over time and then become dislodged in large quantities once floor plating is shifted. The Zinc Whiskers then may float in the air until they settle again – sometimes ending up within server casings and in the worst case scenario, landing on the PCB boards which can cause short circuits.

The easiest solution for reducing both accumulation and the travel of Zinc Whiskers is proper air flow. Zinc Whiskers develop as a result of natural data center maintenance. Screwing/Unscrewing rack mounted hardware can create small filaments – which then accumulate because the raised floor tiles conduct air below the surface and push it directly into the racks. Outside of the rack enclosures there is no or little movement of air creating the perfect environment for Whiskers to develop.

Another overlooked but equally important concern of zinc whiskers is the danger to human health. As the size of the particles can vary from a few microns to a few millimeters, they can pose a health risk if inhaled. These combined factors combined with the management and upkeep of data centers can potentially make a raised floor data center a liability rather than an asset. Weigh the pros and cons carefully before co-locating your mission critical services at a raised floor data center.

The Co-Location facility at Vancouver Colocation  avoids this problem altogether by creating a hot aisle/cold aisle open rack system. Aside from constantly moving air in the entire data centre and reducing the likelihood of stagnant Zinc Whiskers forming, it has the secondary benefit of reducing hot pockets where air can linger and overheat one section of the data center. The hot/cold aisle architecture has been pre-designed in such a way that no additional cabling or ducting needs to be run, challenging the myth that raised floors are required for cable management and power distribution.