Blank cover panels, Blank cover panels -18 – Alcatel-Lucent OMNISWITCH 6800 User Manual
Page 44
Mounting the Switch
OmniSwitch 6800 Series Chassis and Hardware Components
page 2-18
OmniSwitch 6800 Series Hardware Users Guide
June 2007
Blank Cover Panels
Blank cover panels are provided with your switch and are used to cover empty backup power supply bays
and 10 Gigabit uplink bays (all OmniSwitch 6800 Series switches except for the OmniSwitch 6800-24 and
OmniSwitch 6800-24L). These cover panels play an important role in chassis airflow and temperature
management. They also protect the switch’s processor board and other sensitive internal switch compo-
nents from physical damage by closing off the chassis.
When blank cover panels are missing, air does not take the direct route from the air intake vent, through
the chassis, and then out through the fan exhaust vents (see
). Instead, a portion of the airflow is
allowed to be drawn in through the rear of the chassis. As a result, normal airflow is disrupted and an extra
task is placed on the fans to cool the chassis.
If your switch is not equipped with a backup power supply connection or 10 Gigabit uplink, and blank
cover panels are not installed over empty bay locations, airflow is adversely affected. Because they regu-
late airflow and help protect internal chassis components, blank cover panels should remain installed over
empty rear panel bays at all times.