Skip to the main content.
- CASE STUDY -

Involta Data Centers

Involta needed a monitoring system that could meet the needs of their
new and existing facilities. Packet Power delivered.

Involta data center exterior

 

PACKET POWER CREATED A SIMPLE SOLUTION FOR A RAPIDLY GROWING COMPANY’S COMPLEX NEEDS

When equipping its facilities in Duluth, Minnesota and Akron, Ohio, Involta had very specific requirements. As a multi-tenant data center, the company needed to track its power consumption at the cabinet level for billing purposes as well as for its own capacity-planning needs. The information had to be highly accurate and specific to each client. It also had to be obtained using hardware that integrated well with the unique power-distribution design in those newer facilities. Packet Power was chosen because it met all these needs. 

At the Duluth data center, Involta focused on monitoring power usage. At the Akron facility, Packet Power was initially brought in for power monitoring, but Involta is now also exploring how Packet Power can help track temperature and humidity in that data center. Packet Power’s products are also widely used in the Tucson, AZ and Boise, ID data centers.

Involta’s Challenge

In eight facilities located across five states, Involta runs co-tenant data centers and IT solutions for clients with com-plex and diverse needs. At its initial facility in Marion, Iowa, Involta used a branch circuit monitoring system deployed at the power sub-panels. When designing two newer data centers—located in Duluth, Minnesota, and Akron, Ohio—the company used a different power-distribution design. They implemented STARLINE Track Busways, which use overhead busways to deliver power to drop circuits above the rack level. Involta needed a power monitoring option that was more robust than they had used at the Marion facility, a system that would integrate well with the busway design and easily monitor and report back on power consumption.

Involta Duluth
Customer:

Involta

Location:

USA (multiple sites)

Facility Type:

Co-location

About Involta:

Involta is an award-winning provider of enterprise-class, multi-tenant data center and managed IT services for clients nationwide. The company is expanding steadily. With eight facilities located across five states, Involta serves a growing list of diverse clients from industries that include oil and gas, manufacturing, Web development, city municipalities, medical organizations, financial institutions, green energy and retail. These businesses, with revenue in the millions to upwards of five billion, depend on Involta to efficiently, effectively and securely deliver solutions for their data and IT needs.

Customer Objectives:
  • Cost allocation

  • Energy efficiency

  • Data center retrofit

  • Cooling

The Deciding Factors

Involta saw in Packet Power a system that:

  • Could be installed easily and deployed quickly. Mistelske notes that implementation was straightforward. They configured the cabinets and attached Packet Power’s small, wireless power sensors. The sensors immediately began generating data that Involta could access easily via Packet Power’s EMX® Energy Portal, and the install was complete.
  • Was a value-add for customers. Packet Power gave Involta the capacity to create custom dashboards for individual customers. Each dashboard can present varying degrees of information on the basis of what the customer wishes to see. Customers get all the information they need from Involta, so there is no need for them to purchase their own smart PDUs. They save money and time by choosing Involta and using Packet Power’s systems. In addition to full-time monitoring within the facility, there is an alert structure that goes out to cell phones and 24/7 staff for emergencies. This is critical for Involta because its customers depend on the company for the success of their businesses. Even a small outage could have a significant business impact.
  • Facilitated monthly billing for individual customers. As a co-tenant data center, Involta needed the capacity to bill customers on a monthly basis. Packet Power’s systems allow Involta to generate an aggregated monthly report. Involta’s finance department then uses the report to conveniently and accurately bill customers based on their individual usages.
  • Was supported by excellent customer service. Data Center Managers Tom Lang and Lucas Mistelske both mentioned their satisfaction with Packet Power’s customer service operation. The customer service has been responsive. Lang explains that, “Any issue has been quickly acknowledged, responded to and resolved in short turn—none of which have been service impacting by any means. We’ve never lost power-consumption data to date.” Mistelske adds that he is particularly pleased with the “can-do” attitude of Packet Power’s customer service operation. He notes that it takes feedback very openly and very well, takes feature requests and product requests, and it is a very dynamic environment from a customer perspective. “I place a lot of value in that,” he said.

FREE DOWNLOAD

Don’t have time to read the whole case study?

How about a copy to-go? Just fill out this quick form and read it when it's convenient for you.

“It’s simple.
It’s a proven product, and it’s been integrated well.”

Tom Lang, Data Center Manager, Involta, Akron, Ohio

What Does the Future Hold for Involta and Packet Power?

Involta’s Duluth, Minnesota, facility relies on Packet Power for power usage and temperature monitoring, while the Akron, Ohio, facility currently only partners with Packet Power for power usage monitoring. Going forward, the Akron facility will be pursuing environmental monitoring as well.

Environmental monitoring is critical to Involta and is one of the company’s SLA metrics for delivering service to their customers. Involta guarantees certain server inlet temperatures that are in alignment with ASHRAE standards.

Currently, the Duluth facility’s temperature monitors are positioned in the hot aisles, working as top-of-rack hot-aisle sensors. The facility is planning to add additional temperature and humidity sensors to the cold aisles to be certain that data also is being captured. The new temperature and humidity sensors will communicate on Packet Power’s network, through the same set of gateways that are already in place.

At the Akron facility, Data Center Manager Tom Lang is getting ready to implement environmental monitoring. His facility currently does monitoring through pre-set inlet and return sensors that are in the facility’s mechanical systems. As the company has gained customers and use of the data center has increased, so has the need for accuracy in humidity and temperature reporting. 

He will be turning to Packet Power for help.  Lang explains that, “it makes sense to continue working with Packet Power. We invested with them regarding the power side, and it’s worked well, so why not explore the temperature and humidity side as well?” 

Packet Power is proud that its partnership with Involta has grown to include their Tucson and Boise facilities, and both companies look forward to continued growth in the future.

SYSTEM COMPONENTS USED

packet-power-smart-cable

Packet Power wireless Smart Cables provide power information for each circuit of Involta's busway.

EMX main

EMX Energy Portal delivers energy and environmental information in an easy to read, intuitive format.

About Packet Power

Packet Power develops and manufactures wireless power and environmental monitors and associated cloud-based data services to make buildings smarter.

By focusing on products that are easy to install and manage, Packet Power makes it easier and less expensive for critical facilities managers to get the information needed to lower costs, avoid outages and improve operational effectiveness.

 

Contact Us
www.packetpower.comhubfsPacket Power Blog Facility Downtime_header
Stranded Smart Device
COLO
monitoring