I also learned that the LUX rating is extremely important when choosing a night vision camera.  The lower to zero the better. In other words, .001 is extremely good night vision. Configuration of the security dashboard is also important.  I was able to setup a security map which listed where I had placed our temperature monitors, humidity monitors, security cameras, water sensors, air flow sensors, smoke, dry contact and DC voltage sensors.  I got it all setup before I finished my morning coffee.

Believe it or not, dry contact sensors are popular especially in data room temperature monitoring.  The techs love the Security web interface.

If you want to learn more about the process I went through to set up our security monitoring system, give us a call.

According to a study in 2007 by Professor Jonathan Koomey of Stanford University found that due to the virtualization of servers power consumption should still increase. In his report in 2010 all data center power was consuming 1.7 to 2.2 percent of total electricity used in America as opposed to 1.1 to 1.5 worldwide. These numbers were far less than his original predictions in 2007. With these numbers I can believe we are going in the right direction but how do we keep this up?

Monitoring your electricity consumption through a Power Monitor Sensor is a great way to stay on top of your carbon foot print. With the Power Monitor Sensor connected through a Security Probe you can be alerted of any spikes in power via MMS, SMS, SNMP traps and email.

It is also great to trend your power consumption to see how you can cut your power bill. You can do this with a performance trending software that has the ability to graph SNMP at your fingertips.

So there you have it. If we stay vigilant with our power consumption than we can save the world some major power and save you some coin in your pocket.

In an expensive and extensive data center you would want to know when a door is being opened or your windows being shut, right? The Security Sensor will help you keep track of this. It is a sensor that has either an on or off mode to it that is triggered by a current when the two points of the device meet. You set it above or below your door or window and when the two ends meet they connect to form a current and alerts your Security Probe 5E (and you) that the door is closed. In most cases Security Sensors are not enough to keep a data room completely safe.

Motion Detectors are another great way to stay secure in a growing data enriched world. Motion Detectors use an infrared motion detecting system to detect and movement within their sights. This can also be configured with the Security Probe 5E or BitSight probes.

The most important staple for security is The Smoke Detector. This is something that not only every house hold should have but also every data center. A smoke detector can sense any smoke in the room and alert you and others that there is smoke in the vicinity. What is great about this smoke detector is that it is connected to your network so you can be notified through your mobile temperature monitoring device if anything happens plus it does not require batteries.

Of course you will need all of the above security sensors to send an audio and visual alarm. This is where the Siren and Strobe Lights come into play. The sensors can be triggered manually or configured to turn on in congruence with any other security or environmental sensor.

Last week was the Summer Solstice which means the first day of summer. This is the official date of tourists, beaches, and hot weather. Temperature monitoring of a room doesn’t always give the best overall representation of the environmental conditions. With the temperature rising, you need airflow in your data centers to be at peak efficiency. Without good airflow your servers will gather dust and overheat.  An air flow sensor can save your data room from disaster. It can tell you if there is airflow through critical parts of the room that require cool air to function at optimal levels. So this coupled with Temperature, Humidity, and Water leak monitors you can create a power packed team of proactive environmental monitors. But you’re still not done yet!

If you have an industrial environment for your data center you are going to need some dry contact sensors. These will not only help with security detection but for your industrial air conditioning status as well. Dry contacts are a simple on/off switch that sends current to your sensor, which can easily detect if your air conditioning is simply running. This is a great way to be practically omnipotent in your data center.

I have only scratched the surface of what you can do to insure your data center from summer damage by proactively monitoring them. Stay tuned for Part 3 of this riveting series.

The first thing to monitor is, of course, the temperature. Our company sells accurate Temperature Sensors that connect to any of our sensor probes. This ensures your servers will not overheat from the hot summer days. According to Data Center Knowledge, Data Center temperature can run hotter than you expect. If you are trying immitate companies such as Google(TM) who has already implemented this energy saving strategy,  A good Temperature Sensor can save you even more money.

Humidity as explained in Angela’s post about data center environment can wreak havoc on your hardware investments. Too much humidity can cause condensation and short out the electronics. Not enough humidity could lead to electrostatic charges which could shut down electronics. Translation:  added financial expense. Try our dual sensor, it can save you big bucks.

It is hard to stay cool during the summer months without air conditioning, data centers are no exception. But having air conditioning units can run the risk of leaking and drippy units can cause water damage to your electronics. Pick up a rope sensor as it can detect any form of water throughout its length.

We are only scratching the surface of the disasters we can help you prevent in your Data Centers. Don’t forget to catch Part 2 for this ongoing series.

While on the road, providing support services to remote offices, a network administrator can receive alerts on events occurring back in the in the core data center. Did someone enter a secure location? Is the temperature skyrocketing because the AC unit failed? There’s no need to wait until to get back to the office to take action. Users can now constantly be in the know

The iPhone app is bundled with their security server software. This is a mobile client that allows you to view live video. This is perfect for remote employees who still need to keep track of sensors in the office. You can also view your environmental monitors and manage access to secure rooms.

The Android app is limited to the ability to read only 8 probe ports. This still allows you to keep tabs on the temperature, humidity or water detections.

Of course these monitoring options are all possible with the devices that Ravica sells. If you have any questions on the above, please give us a call.

That’s not to say you can’t still use the existing method of powering the device as the BS2 will retain the internal 7.5 VDC power supply and is a “Powered Device” so the power to the unit can be supplied from either the PoE or from the 7.5 VDC power adapter, acting as backup power in case of a PoE power supply failure.

Surely such a notable addition to the product must increase the price substantially. Not true. While the powered BitSight2 (without any included sensors) currently runs $250, the new PoE model sees a modest cost increase of $45, bringing the cost to $295.

In addition to the new PoE option, the Ethernet interface is now a standard full duplex 100mHz port that replaces the old half duplex Ethernet port. This new functionality comes with the same reliability Ravica users expect from their environmental monitoring equipment at no additional cost.

As always, we continue to improve our existing product line by adding features and technologies that our customers need most. We hope many of you find these new sensorProbe options to be as exciting as we do.

Oh, and a little birdie recently told me that we can expect to see a PoE BitSight8 sometime in the near future as well. Stay tuned here for more developments in our line of data center monitoring hardware.

Jon Mills
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Once you’ve completed the video, make sure to visit our friends at Plixer to learn more about configuring the Windows nProbe to send NetFlow.

Jon Mills
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Although I think there are a few engineering flaws in the post, the design and concept are stable.

Using natural resources to cool your server room is clearly the next logical step in making server rooms green.

Now, I am not suggesting that you go and implement this type of hack in your company’s server room.  At the very least, this action would get you demoted and sent to the basement where you could display your very own red stapler.  At the worst, you could find your self celebrating the beginning of 2011 looking for new career opportunities.

What you should take from this in the near future is that the design and implementation of server rooms heating and cooling system will be using natural resources like the cold air from outside.  What will make this achievable and- more importantly- practical is the ability to monitor and react to environmental changes.  That is where the technology used in today’s temperature probes will shine.

So, until the future comes, I suggest using your very own Ravica environmental sensor probes to monitor the temperature and humidity in your server room, and to follow these five steps to protect hardware in your data center.

- Jimmy D

Check out our online demo to see some features of the BitSight2 environmental monitoring system.  See the parameters we have selected for use in our own data room.  These parameters are easily customizable to accommodate your specific environmental needs.

This sensor probe works with every intelligent sensor in the Ravica family.  You can connect any of our sensors in any combination to monitor temperature, humidity, water leakage, and airflow including long term graphing, security, detect AC Power Line Voltage, Measure Digital Voltmeter, control relays, and many more.  Our sensors include an integrated data collection and graphing package to spot trends in the airflow, temperature, and humidity.

Dry contacts and drivers are available for monitoring UPS status, security systems, and air conditioning status.

Every sensor comes with our unique autosense feature. Whenever a new type of sensor is plugged in, the autosense will recognize it and reconfigure the BS2 to begin monitoring it. In the event of an alarm or temperature / humidity threshold being exceeded, it has the ability to send alert notifications using Email, SMS (via an email-to-SMS gateway) and SNMP Traps.

From anywhere in the world, you can view your data center’s status via the web interface.  Also, view your data center with the integrated security cameras.

You can map the location of the probes in your data center or facility.  You can integrate this map into your own management applications.

The Ravica line of environmental sensors and products is versatile and reliable.  Feel free to play with the online demo to see some of the available features.  If you have further questions, give us a call any time.

~Angela
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