The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines modularity as “of, relating to, or based on a module or a modulus; constructed with standardized units or dimensions for flexibility and variety in use.”

The advent of modular design for cooling data centers raises new issues of effectiveness, efficiency, and flexibility and changes the economics of data centers applications. 
 

Modularity, when applied to data center infrastructure cooling, means that the cooling plant is optimized in modules rather than optimizing the infrastructure based on its full load. Figures 1 through 5 illustrate several containerized modules used in data-center applications.