Remote weather stations use Ravica SensorProbes
Filed under: environmental monitoring, humidity monitoring, temperature monitoring
I love finding new ways people are using our probes! I just finished a call with a university up here in the north land, who wanted to use our probes in their remote data station. The remote data station is part of a funded study to determine the changing weather conditions in the area.
The problem is that the grant they received would fund the weather monitoring equipment, but not the equipment that would run the unmanned station. The good news is that their technology budget would cover the BitSight8 and the required sensors.
They needed to be able to monitor temperature, humidity, airflow and security. The customer explained to me that since this was an unmanned station, knowing if anyone has opened the server room door was extremely important.
We spent some time talking about the various environmental conditions and how they can affect the servers. He was surprised how the environmental conditions would effect the station’s performance.
The environmental conditions of the area can change throughout the year. The winters can drop below zero, while the temperature during the summer months is in the 90’s with high humidity. Monitoring for humidity is vital; condensation on a circuit board can kill a machine. Having a monitor in place is absolutely vital.
We then went over the alerting and reporting ability of the probe and how this unmanned station’s IT center would be fully monitored. I also spent some time explaining the SecurityProbe and how it would alert them when someone opened the door. I am looking forward to the install date. I hope that it is in the summer. I hate snow!
- JimmyD
Ravica’s Sensor Controlled Relay – The Rosetta Stone?
Filed under: Data Center, airflow monitoring, environmental monitoring
A few weeks ago I talked about using the sensor controlled relay to turn on lights once an alarm had been triggered. In this blog I wanted to give another example of how versatile these units can be.
Solutions . . .
A great example is the solution that I found for a local amusement park. One of their outdoor venues was having an 
issue with their digital photography equipment overheating. It wasn’t economical to add air condition to the unit, so they needed to find a way to turn on multiple overhead fans automatically.
The management of this unit fell under the IT department, and the admin wanted to remotely monitor the data from his office (or any other portable device). The end solution was to monitor multiple environmental variables with the Ravica Sensor Probe and use the Sensor Controlled Relay to switch on the fan when the room temperature rises beyond the threshold level.
Since the sensor control unit has a user friendly web interface and an autosense feature, setting up the Sensor Controlled Relay is easy. The Sensor Controlled Relay can also be controlled via external computers, using the included SNMP command line utilities either interactively or programmatically.
From the unit itself, you can monitor the status of the Sensor Controlled Relay by four LEDs on the board. You can also monitor the unit remotely by using SNMP traps or the web interface, as well as e-mail and SMS alerts.
Implementation . . .
“The Sensor Controlled Relay provides 1 high-power SPDT 5V relay, with the maximum load up to 15A at 220 VAC. It includes Metal Oxide Varistors (MOVs) and Snubber circuits to protect the open contacts of the relays from high voltage spikes or noise transients. It monitors the power and load, and accepts a control signal, which is sent from the SensorProbe.”
We outsourced a local contractor to do the electrical work and the end result was better then we expected. Not only did we eliminate the equipment from overheating, but we are also able to trend the temp of the units over a given amount of time. This gave the admin a better picture of demand and heat generation.
Another thing to remember is the inlaid protection of this sensor. The Sensor Controlled Relay, it has a built in 16Amp circuit breaker and a 15Amp fuse (380 VAC, 125 VDC) giving it double protection for the external devices and possible damages by electrical fault. This assures protection for your sensor and your investment.
Conclusion . . .
As you can see, the Ravica Sensor Controlled Relay has many uses. It’s ability to control an array of analog devices makes it a versatile solution. It’s ability to monitor and protect itself make it a smart investment. That is why I recommend it every chance that I get.
- JimmyD
The future of data center design
Filed under: Data Center, environmental monitoring, humidity monitoring, temperature monitoring, water leak monitoring
I just read that the NSA is going to build a 20 acre data center in Utah. This one million square foot center will allow the NSA to decentralize its efforts and provide better security. Just imagine the amount of power it will take to operate a data center of this size? This Slashdot article points out that one of the biggest reasons why the 
government is building this compound is due to its power consumption and the current location’s inability to provide the needed electricity. The government estimates that it will use at least 65 megawatts of power or about the same amount that Salt Lake City consumes.
“The agency got a taste of the potential for trouble January 24, 2000, when an information overload, rather than a power shortage, caused the NSA’s first-ever network crash, taking the agency 3 1/2 days to resume operations. The new data center in Utah will require at least 65 megawatts of power” - Salt Lake Tribune
Another cool data center design is the one that Google is planning to build. The entire center will be built on a floating barge, and will use the waves of the ocean to help power the facility. It will also use ocean water to cool the equipment.
Last, but not least, is the underground data center in Sweden. This has to be the coolest data center ever! It is located underground, can withstand a hydrogen attack, has a waterfall and a greenhouse. It can generate its own power, and is equipped with triple redundancy Internet backbone access.
I wonder, what type of environmental monitoring sensors do they have? What type of redundancy and fail-safes? Designing a data center like these is a monumental task. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Data Center Design.
- Jimmy D
Running a computer in a sub-zero environment
Filed under: Data Center, Intelligent Sensors, SensorProbes, environmental monitoring, temperature monitoring
I just saw a post on Slashdot that was asking the question, “How to Run a Computer in a Sub-Zero Environment?” Since network design is a passion of mine, this exercise interested me. It was a simple question, definitely not common. Even here in Maine, we are always trying to cool down our servers. I never considered someone might need to do the opposite.
Anonymous Coward (7548) gave us a real world answer. “Putting heaters (computers) in an environment meant to be cold is just adding to the cooling workload. If the computer is at any decent operating temperature, it’s going to be heating up the immediate surrounding area, and you don’t want that.” He advised people to mount the computer outside of the cold environment and put the sensor probes inside.
Although this appeared to be a sensible idea, the discussion added a new variable – building size. People were quick to point out that the original question required that he needed monitoring for a warehouse. Most warehouses are large, some larger then a football field. Clearly the above approach would not be applicable.
Embedding the PC inside of the sub-zero environment presents another issue – condensation. How are we going to protect the electronics?
BobPaul (710574) points out:
“Since cold air has a lower capacity to hold water, warming the air should decrease the relative humidity of the air, bringing you farther from the dew point and make condensation less likely. Just let everything sit in the cooler to get nice and cold before you turn anything on and I think it should be just fine.”
This response produced quite a bit of traffic. Quite a few people disagreed with BobPauls theory. Although this could be an answer, its validity is still in question.
The best solution to humidity was pointed out by Detritus (11846). He points out that “Military equipment often uses conformal coating, which is a spray-on plastic coating that protects the components from the environment.” This method encases the electronics protecting it from moisture. To the best of my knowledge, it doesn’t provide any thermal benefit, nor is it a life long solution. I would make sure to have a humidity sensor in the enclosure to ensure longevity.
The last post that I read made the solution clear. munpfazy (694689) writes, “For what it’s worth, we’ve always built room-temperature enclosures to house electronics gear and PCs for the work we do in Antarctica.” You can’t get much colder than that.
My conclusion, build small micro enclosures for the computer that includes the required environmental conditioning and monitoring equipment.
Let me know what you think . . .
- Jimmy D
Solar power and your network
Filed under: Data Center, Intelligent Sensors, SensorProbes, environmental monitoring
I just finished an article written by Robin Lloyd, titled “Solar Power to Rule in 20 years.” Alternative energy sources have always been my passion, so I read on; maybe it would shed some light on the subject (lol – had to say it). Robin quotes Ray Kurzweil saying, “There is 10,000 times more sunlight than we need to meet 100 percent of our energy needs.” Can you imagine being able to generate all the electricity required to run your server room? Imagine being the person who brings this technology to your company?
I spent my lunch time researching my proof of concept design. I Googled Solar Panels and found everything from cool DIY YouTube videos to full service companies. Finding a package wouldn’t be that difficult. Monitoring the package and integrating its data into our current network would be a little more involved.
Monitoring the output of a solar panel can be done with the Ravica Power Monitor. The power monitor can read both 120v and 22v. With this monitor you are able to determine up/down state and measure voltage on a constant basis. With this data you can be alerted on the sensor exceeding a pre-defined threshold with industry leading notification options like: SNMP traps, email, SMS, MMS and the recently released Skype support. You can also use the data to trend the panels output.
I was done, a quick proof of concept that could work. Imagine being able to show your company how much the IT department is saving! It might be a dream now, but someday it will be reality. Bigger ideas have been planned on the back of a cocktail napkin. Mine was in a Google note book, so I am a step a head!
Did you notice that the price of oil is up again?
- Jimmy D
Recommended Server Room Temperature and your Ravica SensorProbes
Filed under: Intelligent Sensors, environmental monitoring, temperature monitoring
Today’s network meetings subject was “Recommended Server Room Temperature”. It appears that our new goal is to make sure that the server farm keeps its temperature at a constant rate. They used the network operations policy for University of California, San Diego as an example. It’s funny, but nobody knew what that temperature should be.
After some research, I found out that the general recommendations suggest that you should not go below 10°C (50°F) or above 28°C (82°F). This is a wide range, remember these are the extremes. It is far more common for server rooms to maintain a temperature around 20-21°C (68-71°F). Keeping it at that temperature can be difficult, there are many variables to address.
I am going to set the thermostat at 55°F and monitor it’s status throughout the day with our Bitsight8 and multiple temperature and humidity probes. I have 20 days to gather this data and report on it. My guess is that we will have to adjust the set temperature a bit before we make the network policy.
~ Jimmy D
Should we Recycle Server Room Heat?
Over the weekend, I was watching System, which is one of my favorite shows on Revision3 .com. One of the questions was on how to use the excess heat generated by computers to heat a room. I am a big supporter of the “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle” philosophy, and thought that was a great idea.
After some hard and heavy Google’n, I was excited to find out other ways people have used this wasted server room energy. The story of a Mid-Western college saving their greenhouse caught my eye.
“The University of Notre Dame’s high-performance computing (HPC) department has taken things a step further. It now reuses the heat generated by its servers to warm up a historic greenhouse that the city of South Bend, Ind., has threatened to shut down.”
By using the heat from the server they are saving the university $100,000 on cooling costs and the owner of the botanical garden, the City of South Bend, Indiana, another $70,000 on heating costs. It’s win-win for everyone.
Now I am trying to figure out ways to implement this type of thinking here at work and at home. I think that my first step would be to add another temperature probe to the back of the server rack. This should give me the data that I need.
Maybe I can use the excess heat to warm up my cube. I’ll update you with what I find out.
Higher temperatures keep data centers cool for U.K.’s weather forecaster
The U.K. government’s Meterological Office (Met Office) wants to increase the temperature of some of its data centers, according to a report in eWeek Europe. While it’s traditional to keep data centers cool, the Met Office wants to move out some of its more temperature-sensitive machines, such as tape drives, presumably so that it would enable it to be more efficient at keeping the temperature for the rest of its equipment on an even keel.
The government agency is using its modeling know-how to model the airflow around servers in its data centers to help it locate hot- and cool-spots. The knowledge would enable it to better distribute equipment, according to the article.
As InsideHPC points out, the move is similar to efforts deployed by Argonne National Laboratory’s Leadership Computing Facility. The agency shaved $25,000 a month off its electricity bill by using Illinois’ cold temperatures to chill the water to cool its systems.
Jeff Sims, ALCF project manager told HPCwire: “The trick is to find the warmest chilled water temperature you can live with at a given machine load, thus reducing the electric load on the chillers and maximizing the free cooling period.”
As part of the Met Office’s overhaul of its high-performance computing systems in the next 18 months, the agency also plans to use direct current (DC) instead of alternating current (AC) in its servers to “avoid the large losses of power during conversion from AC to DC,” according to eWeek. It quotes Met Office IT chief Steve Foreman as saying:
“We take the power off the mains, put it through the UPS so it is goes to DC, convert it back to AC,step it up, step it down, move it around a bit, and then we take it down into the machines for the current required … We are asking suppliers if there is any way we can reduce all that power loss so that we can just take DC out of the UPS [Uninterruptible Power Supply] and straight into the machines. We reckon we could save about 5% of our power use just by doing that and taking out those losses.”
Simple Ways To Make Your Server Room Green
Did you know that there are simple ways to make your current server room green?
“There are hundreds of areas identified as server rooms or data centers – from small server closets to large enterprise data centers, each with unique needs. Despite differing specifications, one key important conservation practice is to keep servers out of undesignated spaces; they should be housed in a server closet, server room, or data center that adheres to the energy-saving best practices.” – UMICH.edu
The University of Michigan has pointed out simple ways to adjust how your current setup can be adjusted to help you save energy and your environment. They list options for data centers the size of a closet (1 to 2 servers) to Enterprise size (100’s of servers)
Corria Nucci from Informationweek’s Green Computing Webblog points out that one of the best ways to save energy is to consolidate your servers. This option has become popular in recent years due to the power of the recent processors and the ease of “Virtual” environments like VMWare.
Analysts, however, are skeptical about all the new marketing over greener IT. “Many of the answers are things that don’t generate publicity, such as rightsizing the facility and supporting green design principles,” says Steve Wallage, a managing consultant at BroadGroup.
The end result is that companies are not buying into the hype due to cost or lack of supporting data. They just can’t see it helping.
The best answer? IT analysts and vendors both agree it is in metrics: studying power consumption, reallocating server loads, refocusing airflows—and even in simple measures such as shutting off a server that’s not in use.
This can all be done with simple equipment that will help you monitor your server rooms environmental conditions, such as Ravica’s “Used Power Monitor Sensor” and the “Temperature” and “Air Flow” sensors. In the end, these small steps will not only help the world be a little greener and possibly cut down your energy and equipment costs.
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Jim Dougherty aka “Jimmy D”
Lead PreSales Support Engineer and
Netflow Evangelist for Plixer International!
Follow me on Twitter
http://twitter.com/jimmydnet
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My Ravica sensorProbe woke me up! Time for some coffee.
What a morning here at our Network operations center. My cell phone paged me at 2:00 am letting me know that server room 4 was overheating. After I grumbled a few choice words, I got out of bed to see what the issue might be. I also received another page from the air flow probe .
I logged into Denika and then clicked on the SvrRoom4 report group. I pat myself on the back for being super smart. When we set up this server room I made sure to setup reports for the various Ravica probes and complimented them with other related SNMP reports. I have quite a few, port utilization, memory, CPU utilization and most importantly System Temperature.
So I looked at the reports. I drilled down in the historical graph and could see that the air flow sensor saw a steady decline a little after 1:30 am. I then went over to the temp sensor and started to see the temp climb around 1:45 am. The temperature sensor reached the threshold at 1:55 am.
At this point I was a bit puzzled. We had placed the air flow sensor by the cooling unit but the AC voltage detector was reporting fine. That means the environmental fan was running.
I’m lucky, I was the designer of this server room and was adamant about having a security light that I could turn off or on remotely. So I sent the command to turn on the light and then logged into the webcam. The good news is that I could see what happened. We had stacked some cardboard boxes on that wall and one had fallen in front of the vent. That means that fan was running but air couldn’t get out.
The good news is that I was able to find and remedy the problem quickly. The bad news is that I had to get dressed and drive over to the office and move the boxes. I did make sure to stack all the boxes on top of the desk of the person who was supposed to get rid of them in the first place!
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Jim Dougherty aka “Jimmy D”
Lead PreSales Support Engineer and
Netflow Evangelist for Plixer International!
Follow me on Twitter
http://twitter.com/jimmydnet
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