An electronic rack includes a housing to contain one or more IT components arranged in a stack, a first rack aisle formed on a first side of the one or more IT components to direct cooler air received from the cooling unit upwardly, and a second rack aisle formed on a second side of the one or more IT components to direct warmer air to the cooling unit downwardly. The electronic rack further includes a cooling unit having one or more cooling units disposed underneath the IT components to receive first liquid from an external chiller system, to exchange heat carried by the warmer air using the first liquid to generate the cooler air, to transform the first liquid into a second liquid with a higher temperature, and to transmit the second liquid carrying the exchanged heat back to the external chiller system.