Expand Your Monitoring Capabilities With SecurityProbe

Security Monitoring and Environmental Monitoring  all in one device.  The securityProbe allows you to monitor temperature, monitor humidity, monitor airflow, monitor smoke, etc.  It can also provide a security solution with dry contacts and motion detection with alarms.

monitor security cameras

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SNMP Temperature Monitoring

Whenever we buy anything for the company, I always ask if it can be connected to the network and monitored with SNMP. For example, when a new HVAC system was installed in our building, I asked if it was going to be SNMP manageable. The contractor looked at me like I was speaking Greek. Out of curiosity, I decided to search on the idea and found this company called Chipkin that makes an SNMP gateway, as does the s4group.

Why do I care about SNMP?
I care about SNMP because I want to manage everything from a central location. We use MyView in Scrutinizer. From a central location, we can monitor the network, the call center and, if we wanted to, the coffee pot.

BTW: Fugoo is considering a marketing plan for their network connected coffee maker, however, it lacks support for SNMP and the Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol.

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Data room temperature sensors

I thought a blog on data room temperature monitoring would help answer some frequently asked questions we get.

Q: What is the ideal data room temperature?
A: Some believe the temperature range for a computer room is between 55 – 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The ideal temperature is probably somewhere in the middle. We try to keep ours between 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit.

Q: How can improper temperature adversely impact computer hardware?
A: This article in InformationWeek on why “none like it hot” is worth a read.

Q: If we keep the server temperature cooler, will it run faster?
A: The server manufacturer will tell you the ideal temperature. Generally, cooler is better to a point.

Q: How do you monitor temperature?
A: Obviously in our data room we use Ravica temperature sensors. The equipment at Ravica supports sensors to monitor almost anything.

Q: How do we control humidity if the air conditioning is always removing moisture?
A: During the summer here in Maine, enough humidity isn’t the problem. We put in a humidifier during the winter. Monitor your humidity first and trend it for 6-12 months before spending money on an expensive system.

Q: What about humidity, how do we monitor that?
A: Use a device that allows you to monitor and store via SNMP the humidity measurement over time. SNMP trending humidity is ideal.

I hope this helps.