We live in a world of electrical power. It runs our lights, heating, cooling, computers, and machinery. Consider a data center or any large power-hungry facility -- they need power to function and they must ensure enough power is always available. But power isn’t free. Data center managers closely track power as the cost of energy used by a server over its useful life routinely exceeds its purchase price. And most data centers spend twice that amount to cool the servers and remove heat from the facility.
Here's a quick review on the basics of electricity -- Volts, Amps, Watts and Watt-hours. Adding information on cost at the bottom turns this review of the basics into a necessary part of any critical facility manager's job.
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Topics:
Know your power,
Power basics,
energy efficiency
Your power monitoring needs are unique. You need a system built specifically to meet these needs. Sound expensive? Packet Power’s "Monitoring Made to Measure" approach to building power monitoring systems significantly reduces installation time, saving you time and money compared to other power monitoring solutions.
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Topics:
data center monitoring,
Know your power,
power monitoring,
wireless power monitors,
Facilities monitoring,
wireless power monitoring,
Monitoring made to measure
When your existing monitoring devices are not keeping up with new demands, it’s time for a change. But upgrading monitors in a facility can be daunting. How do you change out equipment without disrupting operations? How much time and money will installation, configuration and the overall deployment take? What unexpected problems and costs may arise?
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Topics:
data center temperature monitoring,
data center cooling,
environmental monitoring,
temperature monitoring,
remote temperature monitoring,
data center environmental monitoring,
computer room temperature monitoring,
data center humidity
Data center industry jargon is filled with acronyms and expressions. Even the most experienced professional can get caught off guard by a new term or an old abbreviation. Here are the acronyms and phrases you’ll run into the most.
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Topics:
data center operations,
Data center power,
DCIM
Power and environmental monitoring can reduce outages and downtime by keeping you abreast of operating conditions within your critical facilities at all times. You can be alerted to issues quickly before they escalate into serious problems. And you might be able to save money with more efficient power consumption. You cannot entirely prevent outages, but you can be prepared by constantly monitoring conditions in your facility.
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Topics:
realtime alerts,
data center operations,
Know your power,
power monitoring,
Power basics,
Facilities monitoring,
remote monitoring,
environmental monitoring software,
facility downtime,
wireless power monitoring
At the heart of every power monitoring device is the current transducer (CT). If you have ever wondered why they are used or how they work, here's a quick review of AC CT basics.
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Topics:
Know your power,
power monitoring,
Technical Information,
Power basics
Power distribution units (PDUs), commonly referred to as power strips or rack mounted power distribution units (RMPDUs), are critical components within a data center's power hierarchy. They include multiple outlets that provide power to rack level equipment and can balance the demand to prevent circuits overloading. Having the right power distribution units for your facility can help you do even more -- like remotely access critical data on power usage in real time, examine historical trends, and even remotely manage power usage.
PDUs range from “basic PDUs” to various types of “smart PDUs.” The terms describing smart PDUs are often used interchangeably, making the distinctions confusing. Let’s clarify the PDU options and how they compare.
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Topics:
realtime alerts,
Know your power,
energy efficiency in data centers,
Power basics,
smart power cables,
Facilities monitoring,
reduce energy costs,
smart devices,
wireless power monitoring
Critical facilities like data centers require a power infrastructure that is energy-efficient and cost-efficient but, above all, reliable. Downtime is expensive and even possibly "career limiting." Power problems can also result in damage to equipment. Power monitoring helps avoid downtime by providing facility management with the information needed to allocate power most effectively, detect problems early, and resolve issues with minimal disruption.
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Topics:
data center monitoring,
power monitoring,
data center power monitoring,
Facilities monitoring,
facility downtime,
power capacity planning,
wireless power monitoring,
data center downtime
You may be getting less power throughout your facility than you think, thanks to something known as power factor. Power factor affects power management, especially if you’re running very high power equipment such as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). Power factor also affects accurate cost measurement since you are effectively getting less usable power than you’re paying for. So it pays to understand power factor and how it affects your operations.
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Topics:
Know your power
Hot spots in a data center must be closely monitored: let the warmest areas in your facility get too warm and you risk degraded performance, outages, and potential equipment damage. Yet they can also drive how much you spend to cool your entire data center. The key is to find them, monitor them, and manage them.
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Topics:
data center temperature monitoring,
Know your power,
environmental monitoring,
data center hot spots,
remote temperature monitoring
