Temperature and humidity monitoring for agribusiness
Filed under: environmental monitoring, humidity monitoring, temperature monitoring
When you hear words like farm, agriculture, and greenhouse; you are much more likely to visualize pastoral scenes of rolling hills and grazing livestock than images of computers and network cables. In fact, we often think of farms and greenhouses as the antithesis of the high-tech environment. In reality, the modern commercial farm utilizes many different technologies to assist in farm management. One of the ways that technology and networking can make a farmer’s life much easier is in environmental monitoring. Read more
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Security solutions for car dealership lots
Continuing on my recent security kick—it is an unfortunate side effect of being both a news junkie and obsessed with TV detective shows—today, I dive headlong into the problem of securing dealership lots. This problem came to my attention as I was researching motion detectors for last week’s post on data center security.
Most car dealerships have the unique problem of needing to store very expensive inventory in outdoor lots, therefore theft and vandalism are major security concerns. Some larger dealerships can contract outside security firms to remotely monitor their lots, but what about small, local dealerships? With new car dealerships all over the country being hit hard by the financial problems of the major car makers, an affordable security option that can be monitored successfully by existing dealership staff is in order. Read more
~JessicaFollow Me on Twitter
Event monitoring systems make understaffed data centers run smoother
According to Symantec’s latest “State of the Data Center” report, which was released early last week, half of all IT executives say their data centers are extremely understaffed. With the economy still struggling to get moving again, it is no wonder that network engineers and facility managers are having to find new ways to get the most out of their stagnant or shrinking staff and resources.
Less staff means more remote monitoring for many organizations. Having a remote monitoring system, like the SecurityProbe, can help lighten the load of working with less. With a price point that usually falls below $2,000 for a complete system, it can mean a considerable savings over staffing each location, or even worse, not monitoring it all. In this scenario, one person can monitor the well-being of several locations.
Physical Security for Data Centers
Data centers house some of the most valuable and irreplaceable assets for any organization. For this reason, physical security is of the utmost importance when designing a data center. Depending on the size and budget of the organization, physical security measures can include everything from solid floor-to-deck concrete partitions to biometrics screening.
There should also be a number of sensors in place that can detect when anyone, authorized or unauthorized, accesses the data center. The following 5 tips show how Ravica can offer effective solutions for that final line of defense. Read more
~JessicaFollow Me on Twitter
Temperature Monitoring in the Office
I recently ran across an article about a union clause for workers in the New York Public Libraries that requires compensation to its workers if the temperature in the library drops below 68°. As I sit at my desk wrapped in my scarf and gripping my warm coffee cup to fend off growing icicles on my fingertips, I think: Where do I sign up?
I would be surprised if any office I have ever worked in has been kept at a regular temperature over 68°. It seems that most facility managers feel that cold office temperatures are good for building character or maybe they just don’t want to spend the money to heat the building adequately in the cold of winter. Read more
~JessicaFollow Me on Twitter
Setting up e-mail notifications for the SecurityProbe camera
Security cameras made the news in a big way last weekend, when a security breach at the Newark Liberty International Airport led to the discovery that one of the TSA surveillance cameras had been broken for six days leading up to the incident. Six days! Now that gives a real sense of security in these uncertain times, doesn’t it? The breach, which authorities were notified of by an alert passerby, caused a 6-hour lock-down and possibly cost the airport over $100,000, according to a report in The Star Ledger. Thankfully, this breach apparently was caused by a man walking his girlfriend to her flight and not a potential terrorist, however, it certainly exposed the gaping holes in the security protocol at one of the busiest airports in the US.
I have no idea what sort of back-up notification system for camera failure the TSA has set-up, but after reading about the Newark incident, I wanted to find out what kind of notifications are available for cameras connected to the Ravica SecurityProbe. Read more
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Temperature and humidity monitoring in storage facilities
Filed under: General, humidity monitoring, temperature monitoring
In college, I was enrolled in a program that rotated academic quarters with work quarters. I took advantage of my work quarters to do a little traveling around the country and as a result I ended up moving all my stuff in and out of storage units quite a bit. Of course as a college student, I didn’t really have many valuable items that needed to be protected from temperature fluctuations. However, a lot of people do use storage facilities during transitional periods to store valuable items like furniture, electronics, and musical instruments that are highly sensitive to temperature and humidity fluctuations. Even papers and books can be damaged in a high humidity environment. This problem came to my attention today when a customer called seeking a solution for monitoring the temperature and humidity in some of the units at the mini-storage he owned. Read more
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Happy Holidays from Ravica!
Happy Holidays everyone! As I was trying to come up with some way to tie-in Christmas Eve with environmental monitoring, I discovered that it was a completely futile activity. I mean, it’s Christmas Eve for goodness sakes. I’m sure you all ha
ve more important things to think about, like picking out those last minute gifts, partaking of a little eggnog, and gathering with co-workers, friends, and family.
So, instead of touting the virtues of our SensorProbes, I would just like to thank all of our wonderful customers for your business over the past year. We look forward to providing you with quality products and service in the upcoming year! And remember, the entire Ravica line of products come with unlimited lifetime support. That is our holiday (and everyday) gift to you!
So Happy Holidays from all of us here at Ravica! We wish you a very joyous and prosperous New Year!
~JessicaFollow Me on Twitter
Top 3 advantages of web-based temperature monitoring systems
Filed under: environmental monitoring, humidity monitoring, temperature monitoring
It regularly occurs to me that web-based environmental monitoring systems, whether they be for the home, office, data center, storage closet, you name it, can oftentimes be overkill. Some people just need a thermometer. Others just need a barometer. Sometimes, simple problems call for simple solutions.
However, a web-based system that can monitor for changes in temperature, humidity, airflow, as well as the presence of water, smoke and motion, can be extremely valuable. To demonstrate just how valuable, I thought I would put together a list of the top three reason why a web-based system is more convenient and cost effect for many home and business applications.
Are you optimizing your environmental monitoring system?
Filed under: Intelligent Sensors, environmental monitoring
Here on the Ravica Blog, we talk a lot about temperature and humidity monitoring in data centers, but did you know 
that you can use the same Sensor Probes to create a centralized monitoring system that can provide information on almost any environmental condition? The following is a run-down of some of the other Ravica intelligent sensors that are available. All the sensors are plug & play, SNMP-enabled and easily integrated into the environmental monitoring system of your dreams. Read more
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