Today, let’s take a look at an alternative way to use an environmental monitoring device. Monitoring temperatures in a data center or your corporate office is not the only way to use a temperature and humidity sensor. There are plenty of other commercial uses for these products as well. Let’s look at how to use it for a more… chill environment.

Let’s say you were a grocery chain (let’s call them Grocery Mart) and your corporate offices needed to know when a refrigerated or freezer room went too warm for comfort. We had a similar story earlier in 2009 when Larry’s Lobster Shack had its cooler go warmer. If we bring this scenario to a grand scale we can see what an environmental monitor can do to help a grocery chain.

If Grocery Mart installs a Temperature and humidity sensor in their entire walk in coolers and freezers they will have the ability to globally monitor their entire perishable infrastructure and act immediately if anything goes awry. You can even have each store be digitally alerted when their cooler or freezer drops below a predetermined temperature, even after hours. So the manager can be alerted during the night when temperatures change.

Humidity is also an important factor to keep in mind. You need to make sure the freezer has a relatively low humidity. If the humidity is very high than many items will start to get freezer burn and be ruined. Grocery Mart can even put sirens and strobe lights in each store’s inventory room. The sirens and strobe lights can also be activated through the network to alarm when temperatures drop.

This is just one way an environmental sensor can save Grocery Mart from losing their perishable inventory. All of this saves them time, money and peace of mind.

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.

The Airflow Sensor is placed in the air stream path, allowing users to monitor the status of the flowing air.  This device measures the presence or absence of air flow, then the sensorProbe environmental monitor displays the measurement using a graphical display via its web interface.

In addition to an on/off indicator, it also graphs the analog values over a period of time.

An SNMP interface is also provided for alarm/normal status and to get the current analog value.  When an alarm condition is activated, the description and location of the fault can be sent via email.

Check out some features of the Airflow Sensor:

• On/off alarm signal of airflow
• Airflow data graphically displayed of over time
• Accurate, cost effective flow sensing
• Operates from a single +5 V DC Power Supply which powered by the sensorProbe
• 2 LEDs indicate the status of Airflow and that the sensor is securely plugged into the sensorProbe
• Electronics mounted in a small plastic case
• Sensor type – open/closed contact switch
• sensorProbe auto detects the presence of the airflow sensor
• Up to 2 airflow sensors per sensorProbe2, 8 per sensorProbe8 and securityProbe
• Full autosense including disconnect alarm
• Data graphically displayed via a web page

For more information about Ravica equipment to monitor your data center, home, or business, call Ravica at 207-324-8173.

~Angela
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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
207-324-8173
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Assign those tasks to Ravica’s SensorProbe so you can focus on other facets of your job, like playing with your new email reporting software, Mailinizer Email Log Analyzer from Plixer International. 

While you’re running Mailinizer reports to determine your top email users, Ravica’s environmental monitoring solutions can monitor your data center for humidity, temperature, voltage surges, water leaks, smoke, and security so you don’t have to.  The sensors aren’t just fancy smoke detectors.  They are versatile and reliable devices that can prevent total damage by sending instant alerts about potential threats.  They are designed to keep you in control.  They can be placed virtually any location that you want to protect from environmental hazards.

So while you’re busy saving the IT world by putting out figurative fires, our sensors will notify you of any potential real fires or other hazards. 

Set your notification parameters, then elect to receive notifications in a variety of ways including an audible alarm, Skype, email, a strobe light, text messages, Twitter, and on the web-based interface.  Be instantly notified of potential problems. 

Need more hours in the day?  Then set your data center monitoring thresholds, and let our sensors do the work for you.

~Angela
207-324-8173 
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At present, we are testing the alarming features and the threshold parameters for our device’s temperature monitoring function.  We want to ensure the device will alarm and send notifications when our office temperature drops below the set parameters. 

However, we didn’t set the parameters for customary office temperatures.  That would be too easy. 

Instead, today’s tests are designed for more extreme environments, like those our customers may have when monitoring remote locations, such as observatories and storage facilities.

Today, our device is set to alarm when temperatures drop much lower than standard office temperatures.  And by “much lower,” I mean it feels like it’s near 0 Kelvin in here. 

It is insanely, ridiculously cold in the office.

Soon enough, we will be readjusting the sensors to alarm at more office-friendly temperatures.  But until then, I’ll wear two sweaters and a scarf and drink hot chocolate.

Even with all the shivers, we know that our experience is not in vain because it confirms again that our products work the way they are supposed to work.  We stand behind our products and know that we offer quality. 

If you’d like more information about any of our products and services, feel free to give us a call.

~Angela
207-324-8173
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According to the Healthcare IT News article, the technical problems stemmed from a storage area network (SAN) failure, the hardware which stored agency records.  This hardware failure has been remidied, but they are still in the process of recovering electronic data. 

The article further stated that no data was compromised or lost, and KDHE is fortunately on the road to recovery, but with a $700,000 price tag for a full system fix

Hearing reports like these inevitably leads me to wonder about the root cause of the failure.  Was it related to temperature fluctuations in the data center?  Was there a voltage surge?  A water leak?  Did humidity levels affect the equipment?  Did someone spill coffee on it?

Although sympathetic to KDHE’s data retrieval struggles and incident expense, I can’t help but feel comforted knowing our own data center is protected with Ravica equipment which will alert us at the first sign of an environmental hazard.  Should the temperature fluctuate beyond our customized minimum and maximum parameters, notifications are sent immediately.  Ravica’s environmental monitoring devices are customizable for various business and residential needs.  Give us a call today to find out how we can help protect your infrastructure, before catastrophic system failures occur.

~Angela
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Fortunately, we can have that sense of trust with a Ravica environmental sensor.  Ravica security monitors placed in your property can alert you to the presence of property hazards like smoke and water.  While you are away, you can still feel secure knowing you will be alerted to hazards as soon as they happen.

A Ravica team member just received an alert at work this past week from his home’s system.  He was notified of unauthorized access to the house.  Fortunately, the culprit was his extremely mischievous Dachshund.  But what if it hadn’t been?  Wouldn’t you want to know immediately if someone is in your home?

First alerts are extremely important to prevent serious damage.  An early alert from a smoke detector can make the difference between very minor damage and total destruction.  If caught early enough, proper authorities can be notified and damages can be minimized.

But what good is a smoke detector if you can’t hear its alarm?  What happens when your home is in Boca Raton, but you are on vacation in Venice?  Ravica’s devises are extremely versatile and can use various mediums to send alert notifications.  Just imagine having the freedom to travel knowing you will receive an instant alert about any power outages, smoke, or water leaks.  These alerts can be sent through email, mobile phone text, or Skype.

During the work day and during extended absences and vacations, you can feel confident that your property is protected, even without the Mayberry police force.

~Angela
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Sadly, this type of water damage is fairly common.  Not as common as the Old Spice Guy videos on YouTube, but common nonetheless.  

This type of accident can severely cripple a business and shouldn’t be expected or taken lightly.  My associate’s story serves as a glowing example of the importance of environmental sensors.  A Ravica SensorProbe would have notified him immediately of the situation.  He could have received notifications through email, Skype, Twitter, or texts on his cell phone, and the damage could have been dramatically reduced or potentially totally eliminated.

The SensorProbe is a versatile device to alert on the presence of water, temperature fluctuations, and smoke before the damage is crippling to a business.  The sensors can be placed virtually anywhere and aren’t limited to just data centers or offices. 

Environmental monitoring sensors are more than just fancy smoke detectors.  Devices from Ravica can prevent the need to repair damaged facilties and recreate lost data, saving you tremendous amounts of money.  They are versatile devices designed to keep you in control. 

Contact us today for more information.  At the very least, contact the Old Spice Guy.  He seems to have all the answers.

~Angela
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1) No more annoying low-battery beeping. When the smoke detector is connected to the SecurityProbe or BitSight via one of the (8) RJ-45 port, the main power source is the probe and not the 9v battery. Like a typical smoke detector, the Ravica smoke detector still takes a 9v, but it is a back-up and is only used in the case of a major power outage that takes the probe offline.

2) Ravica smoke detectors can be programmed to automatically make the emergency call for you. The smoke detector can be connected to dry contact inputs and be programmed to call 911 automatically when an alarm goes off. This cuts down on response time and can potentially save thousands of dollars in property damage.

3) View the situation from an easy-to-use web interface. With a Ravica SecurityProbe, you can view and control up to 4 cameras from the web. If a smoke detector alarm goes off, you can instantly see exactly what is causing the alarm and be better equipped to resolve the situation quickly.

If a web-based smoke detector sounds like a good addition to the fire/safety plan for your facility, check out the Ravica website or give us a call at 207.324.8173.