What Is Gray Space?_
In data center design, gray space refers to the area containing power distribution units (PDUs), cooling distribution units (CDUs), and other mechanical/electrical equipment that bridge the utility feed and the IT equipment. It typically sits adjacent to the white space but is not part of the raised-floor compute area. This zone is critical for managing heat rejection, coolant circulation, and power conditioning before delivery to racks.
Technical Details
Gray space houses components like coolant distribution units for liquid cooling loops, which connect to facility chillers or dry coolers in the black space. It also contains row-level power whips and busways that feed rack PDUs, as well as overhead cable trays for fiber and copper trunking. The layout must accommodate service clearances per the OEM spec for CDUs and PDUs, and often includes leak detection and humidity control systems. In GPU clusters, gray space may also host rack-level networking switches for scale-out fabric, though these are sometimes placed in white space rows.
How Leviathan Systems Works with Gray Space
During Leviathan Systems deployments, gray space is where we terminate facility coolant supply and return lines before connecting them to rack manifolds, and where we run structured cabling from the white space to meet facility power feeds. Our field crew coordinates with facility engineers to ensure CDU placement and pipe routing do not obstruct rack service access.
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