Traditional methodologies for monitoring the data center environment are no longer sufficient. With technologies such as blade servers driving up cooling demands and regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley driving up data security requirements, the physical environment in the data center must be watched more closely. While well understood protocols exist for monitoring physical devices such as UPS systems, computer room air conditioners, and fire suppression systems, there is a class of distributed monitoring points that is often ignored. This paper describes this class of threats, suggests approaches to deploying monitoring devices, and provides best practices in leveraging the collected data to reduce downtime.
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Despite advances in computer technology, power outages continue to be a major cause of PC and server downtime. Protecting computer systems with Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) hardware is part of a total solution, but power management software is also necessary to prevent data corruption after extended power outages. Various software configurations are discussed, and best practices aimed at ensuring uptime are presented.
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There is much confusion in the marketplace about the different types of UPS systems and their characteristics. Each of these UPS types is defined, practical applications of each are discussed, and advantages and disadvantages are listed. With this information, an educated decision can be made as to the appropriate UPS topology for a given need.
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Voice Over IP (VoIP) deployments can cause unexpected or unplanned power and cooling requirements in wiring closets and wiring rooms. Most wiring closets do not have uninterruptible power available, and they do not provide the ventilation or cooling required to prevent equipment overheating. Understanding the unique cooling and powering needs of VoIP equipment allows planning for a successful and cost effective VoIP deployment. This paper explains how to plan for VoIP power and cooling needs, and describes simple, fast, reliable, and cost effective strategies for upgrading old facilities and building new facilities.
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As energy resources become scarcer and more expensive, electrical efficiency is becoming a more important performance factor in the specification and selection of large UPS systems. There are three subtle but significant factors that can materially affect a company’s cost of operating a UPS system and particularly the electrical bill. Unfortunately, the people who specify systems often fail to recognize these factors, which leads to increased costs to the owner because operational efficiencies are not correctly considered. This paper discusses the common errors and misunderstandings in evaluating UPS efficiency. UPS efficiency curves are explained, compared, and their cost implications quantified.
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