M320 Cabinet Airflow Requirements

When you mount the router in a cabinet, you must ensure that ventilation through the cabinet is sufficient to prevent overheating. Following is a list of requirements to consider when planning for chassis cooling:

• Ensure that the cool air supply you provide through the cabinet can adequately dissipate the thermal output of the router.M320 Environmental Specifications lists the router's environmental specifications, including its operating temperature and thermal output.
• Ensure that the cabinet allows the chassis hot exhaust air to exit from the cabinet without recirculating into the router. An open cabinet (without a top or doors) that employs hot air exhaust extraction from the top allows the best airflow through the chassis. If the cabinet contains a top or doors, perforations in these elements assist with removing the hot air exhaust. For an illustration of chassis airflow, see M320 Cooling System Description.
• Install the router as close as possible to the front of the cabinet so that the cable management system just clears the inside of the front door. This maximizes the clearance in the rear of the cabinet for critical airflow.
• If you operate the router in an enclosed 800-mm cabinet, you must install a baffle on the inside of the rear door of the cabinet to prevent the router from overheating at elevated ambient temperatures. The baffle separates the cool air intake from the hot air exhaust in the rear of the cabinet (for baffle dimensions and location, see Figure 1). We recommend that the baffle be made of soft foam with a depth of 2.25 in. (57 mm) so that it slightly touches the rear of the router when the rear cabinet door is closed.
• Route and dress all cables to minimize the blockage of airflow to and from the chassis.

Figure 1: Airflow Baffle Template