Summary: Modern data centers are complex systems that mostly use cold and hot aisles to cool equipment. The recommendation is to maintain a temperature of at least 70 to 75 degrees although Google now runs its servers at 80 degrees.
The modern data center is a remarkably complex system that runs hundreds of thousands of servers. Keeping the running efficiently and safely requires maintaining the correct temperature at all times. Any drastic increase in temperature can cause the formation of condensation which can lead to moisture and damage to the equipment.
Most data centers place racks in a particular method to form cooling corridors. Cold air runs along the intake of the servers which is usually on the front and extract the hot air from the rear. It is important to maintain proper rack hygiene and avoid hot leaking to the cold intake lane.
There is a recommendation to maintain a temperature of between 70 and 75 degrees in data centers to prevent any issues. However, there are some studies to show that 70 and below might be a waste of energy. The only reason to maintain a lower temperature is if the latency to backup cooling is high.
Companies like Google maintain servers at 80 degrees and others are now following suit. However, it is important to note that this is only applicable to large data centers and to the expected life times of the equipment.
