ServerTech Blog - Information for the Data Center Equipment Manager

A Product Manager on PIPS (Per Inlet Power Sensing)! Why PIPS is the Future.

Server Technology Power Expert and Product Manager, Andy Szeto, was recently interview by an online publication regarding our recently launched PIPS (Per Inlet Power Sensing) technology.  This new technology is quickly becoming a requisite for many data centers who require an extra level of power monitoring granularity.  However, we are receiving lots of questions from data center managers asking us exactly what PIPS is, how is it different, how does it work, and why is it a benefit for the overall data center operation.  In his recent interview, Szeto explains, in simple terms, the PIPS technology from a solutions level and how it can provide a lower cost power monitoring solution for data centers.  His feedback is very useful and should shed some light on this new feature. 

Read the full article here.

Here is what Andy Szeto had to say about PIPS technology. 

' "There are several different places where you can manage power in a data center - you can measure it at the UPS or the remote power panel (RPP).  Those measurements are farther away from the actual loads so to get more accurate information at the rack level, the benefit of using PIPS is that you are the next closest device to the server.  You have a more accurate measurement at the rack level than if you were to measure it further upstream in the power delivery system...We are able to accumulate and sum up power and give those power parameters specifically at the rack level.  And, if you use it with a data center infrastructure manager, such as SPM, you can now look from a holistic view at a rack level and take PDUs that run in to the cabinet and look at the power that the whole cabinet is consuming.  From a data center managers' perspective, they can now see the power that's actually available at the rack level and they can manage it a little bit better by using the SPM.  They are also able to see what is going on at each individual rack and they can indentify available capacity - what power is left in the rack that can be used by other devices.  At the rack level, you are typically purchasing an intelligent device anyway, so if you are managing and monitoring power at the rack level you also have to purchase a cabinet level power distribution unit.  With the PIPS technology, the incremental cost is very insignificant relative to refitting a RPP with the capability of measuring the same parameters. When you are purchasing a rack level PDU the incremental differences with the PIPS technology is that you are getting the same technology at the rack level without a huge upfront cost." '

Sentry PIPS combines all of the features of a Smart, Switched or POPS CDU with the ability to provide
power monitoring per inlet/infeed. Power information per infeed includes current, voltage, power, apparent power, crest factor, reactance, power factor and accumulated energy.

If you are interested in how the PIPS solution fits into the CDU products, visit the PIPS Solution page on the ServerTech.com page to learn more. 

Ask the Engineer – Do Server Technology 3-Phase CDUs provide a means for load balancing during IT device installation?

Yes, any Server Technology 3-phase Metered, or 3-Phase Intelligent (Smart, Switched, POPS) functional CDU products will provide Branch or Phase current displays for local hands-free viewing to immediately identify balanced loads.  This information is also available remotely through any Intelligent CDU communications interface.

Featured Video: Cloud Computing, Market Trends, and New Data Center Focus

  

In this video, Calvin Nicholson, Senior Director of Software Development and Strategic Alliances, discusses intelligent data center power monitoring and how it plays into the CLOUD, Green iniatives, Global Power Monitoring, Building Management Systems (BMS) and API integrations, comatose servers (zombie servers), and other topics.  This is a high level introduction of the capabilities available in Server Technology data center power monitoring solutions.  For more on data center power monitoring, from basic strips to the world's most sophisticated and high-quality power distribution units, please visit the Server Technology website. www.servertech.com

What to do with all the power data your CDUs are collecting

Data Center power monitoring is just one piece of what needs to be monitored in the data center, but it’s a critical piece.   So assuming that you are interested in intelligent power monitoring, the next thing you have to consider is what to do with all the power data you are gathering?  Gathering all the power data, specifically on a POPS (Per Outlet Power Sensing) CDU, means that you are monitoring all your devices' individual power consumption, but without a tool that allows you to save and report on the power information over time, you are really under-utilizing the full potential and benefits of the POPS CDU.

Instantaneous  power data gathered from multiple cabinet CDUs is a useful tool that allows you to make critical decisions regarding your data center and devices, but most data centers have CDUs throughout different areas of the facility or even multiple facilities across the globe.   In the case of power monitoring, a product like Server Technology’s Sentry Power Manager (SPM) can be used to globally monitor the entire network of cabinet CDUs from a single pane of glass interface. 

By storing all the data, it also provides trending and graphing of power measurements over time so you can see the day to day, or even second to second, changes in the data center power and compare it against other spans of time.  It also provides a way to monitor and track alarms down to the individual outlet so quick action can be taken to rectify the situation.  When dealing with mulitple CDUs, SPM is a solution that easily allows for upgrades to all your CDUs at once without having to upgrade each one individually--saving time and man power.  When used in conjunction with a Building Management System (BMS), Sentry Power Manager can act as middleware to push all your power monitoring information out so that all your data center monitoring information can be seen from your BMS. 

Sentry Power Manager is the tool that ties your data center rack level power together.  It is the most efficient and effective way to do power monitoring in the data center, and that is why the top search, social networking, and financial companies in the world are currently running it in their data centers.

For more on Sentry Power Manager, please watch this quick introductory video: CLICK HERE

Or visit the full product page here.

Key Issues to Consider: Data Center Power Monitoring

Power monitoring in the data center environment isn’t a new concept, but there are a surprisingly large amount data centers that still aren’t using networkable cabinet PDUs to monitor, manage, and collect power data via an integral web interface.  The benefits of power monitoring over basic power strips are tenfold.  Power monitoring leads to increased uptime, maximizes rack space, lowers cost, increases efficiency, and provides a means to capture the information to calculate green metrics.  Along with monitoring the power on a Server Technology cabinet PDU, environmental information can also be monitored using the same IP address that both master and expansion cabinet PDU use.  Monitoring can be synchronized with alarms and SNMP notifications based on user defined thresholds, thus providing instant notification of problems within the cabinet.  Power monitoring, along with the ability to remotely switch outlet states on a Switched PDU, minimizes the need for additional staff by saving time on many routine day-to-day tasks. 

Regarding the power monitoring of the servers and devices within the data center, it’s best to start by considering where you want to monitor and at what frequency?  The various measurement points result in varying levels of accuracy and efficiency. This affects your ability to make critical data center decisions.  The typical places power measurements are taken are at the facility level, UPS, upstream PDU, RPP, the infeed to the cabinet power distribution unit (PDU), and now at the individual outlet on the cabinet PDU for device level measurements.  The Data Center Infrastructure Efficiency, DCiE, presented by the Green Grid shows that the power loss between the power being delivered to the facility and the power delivered to the device level is somewhere between 6 and 9 percent.  That being said, the closer to the device that you measure your power, the more accurate it will be.  Outlet level monitoring is the most accurate point to measure at within the entire data center.  The frequency at which you measure is also critical for monitoring and alarm purposes.  Most data center managers want to constantly monitor their power, but some still monitor daily and some only monitor weekly.  Only by monitoring at the cabinet PDU outlet level will you be able to know if an individual device is experiencing critical issues, utilizing the full power available on the circuit, or see the immediate power draw.  So you really need to consider at what level of efficiency do you want to monitor, and analyze the cost benefit of being able to use all the available power and detect the power wasting comatose devices.  The realization here is that instantaneous device level measurements, such as those taken on a Server Technology Per Outlet Power Sensing PDU, will result in the most precise information and will reliably monitor the power running through the devices in data center.    

NEW VIDEO: How to Globally Monitor Your DC Power

 

In this video, we give you an introductory level tour of the basic features and functions of the product.

What is Sentry Power Manager (SPM)?

SPM is a 1U appliance and software package capable of monitoring and managing multiple Sentry CDU devices in IP-based enterprise networks. SPM brings your entire network of Smart and Switched CDUs to a central interface.

What solutions does SPM offer?

> Do you have multiple CDUs in one or more locations that you would like to access from a single point?

> Would you like the ability to see a centralized overview of power throughout your global network?

> Would you like quick access to an alarming devices?

> Do you need a tool to monitor, report, and trend your aggregate power and environmental information across your entire network?

> Are you looking to collect information that can be used to calculate your PUE for data center efficiency metrics?

> Do you need the ability to export database information to your Building Managment System (BMS)?

> Do you have a large deployment of CDUs that require management of different access rights?

> Do you need a fast and easy way to push firmware updates out to your indivual CDUs?

Data Center Pulse: Chill Off - CDU Overview Video

  

This is a very cool video that Data Center Pulse posted on their YouTube Channel.  It features our very own VP of Sales and Marketing, Graham Leonard, as he walks us through a 3-Phase POPS CDU.  This video is a great introductory level presentation of a Server Technology Sentry CDU.  Take a look.

New VIDEO: Smart Power Monitors--Add Intelligence to Any Existing Server Rack

Calvin Nicholson walks us through Server Technology's new Smart Power Monitors in this video: Smart Power Monitors Video on Youtube

The dual input, dual output Smart Power Monitor PDU allows the ability to easily add input current load and power monitoring to any existing cabinet via an integral web based interface or through a serial connection.
This allows you to determine:
1) if there is available power to add additional devices to the cabinet.
2) if you are close to exceeding the circuit's capacity potentially leading to an over current protection device tripping and bringing down the input feed.
3) if each CDU is properly loaded to ensure redundancy when one of the two input feeds is lost.

This product is perfect for large storage solutions like SAN's where the CS-2HD can be added to existing installations to determine the power draw of these systems.
Note: In an A and B power input-feed configuration, each Cabinet Power Distribution Unit (CDU) should not be loaded to over 40% of the rated capacity to ensure that if one of the two power feeds is lost that the whole load can be supported by the remaining CDU

Visit the servertech website for more on Smart Power Monitors here

New VIDEO: Success Story - City of Provo, UT Data Center

Recently, we were fortunate enough to sit down with John Herzog, an IT Engineer for the City of Provo, Utah, and ask him a few questions in regards to his recent power distribution solution provided by Server Technology. 

Click here for his Testimonial on C-12H2-C20 Metered CDU.

We asked John about how his data center was, what power distribution solution he developed alongside his Server Tech Sales Rep, and the outcome.  If you're interested in more success stories from other Server Tech clients, please visit our main website at: http://www.servertech.com/solutions_pdus_POPS_SPM/PDU_Success_Stories/ 

Have you updated your Sentry Smart and Switched PDU firmware recently?

If you have not updated your Switched or Smart PDU firmware to version 6.0g, here are some features you may be missing.

• RADIUS Support
  RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) is a centralized authentication, authorization, and accounting service.  The Smart and Switched PDU firmware supports the authentication and authorization features of RADIUS. See release notes for details.

• User-defined session timeout periods
  Allows users with administrative access rights to adjust the session timeouts for both the web and command-line interfaces. This is particularly useful when the PDU needs to be accessed frequently throughout the day. The default timeout period is five minutes. Now admins can adjust the timeout period between one and 1440 minutes.

• Input Current Measurement Resolution Update
  For products that previously reported current (amp) in 0.25 A increments, this update increases the resolution to 0.125 A increments. For products that reported in 0.50 A increments, now report in 0.25 A increments. This update provides support for Server Technology's new Digital TRMS input current measurement hardware that provides 0.01 A resolution with better than 2% accuracy.

• Updates SSH Authentication Methods
  Allows admin to individually enable and disable the support SSH authentication methods (password and keyboard-interactive).

• New Smart Web GUI and other features
  Upgrading the firmware from v5.3x to v6.0x provides the user with a refreshed web GUI. Those that are familiar with the Server Technology Switched PDU interface will find many similarities. Additionally, the Smart v6.0x firmware will provide the ability to poll a supported networked UPS for voltage for a more accurate power (watt) calculation and a watts per area calculation.

To download the latest firmware visit the Server Technology website at www.servertech.com or our FTP site (http://tinyurl.com/ms3zzs).