Passive cooling relies on natural convection and airflow to regulate temperatures. This is often used as a first step in data center cooling.

• Hot aisle/cold aisle configurations – racks are arranged in rows so fronts face each other in cold aisles and backs face each other in hot aisles to prevent servers from drawing in hot air from those in adjacent aisles
• Blanking panels and cable managers – blocking off unused rack spaces and taming a tangle of cables aid the flow of cooler air through equipment and reduce heat build-up inside enclosures
• Thermal duct systems – a thermal duct kit added to a rack can route hot air through a drop ceiling, into the HVAC return air stream or out a window