Eaton Introduces New Powerware® Environmental Rack Monitor
Eaton Corp. announced the availability of the Powerware® Environmental Rack Monitor, a new solution to provide IT and facilities managers with around-the-clock monitoring of environmental conditions at the rack level.
Eaton claims that the Powerware Environmental Rack Monitor is well-suited for protecting critical data center assets from heat, humidity, smoke, water leaks, cabinet intrusion and other environmental conditions. The primary application for the Powerware Environmental Rack Monitor is high-density data centers, but the compact solution can monitor conditions in laboratories, hospitals, warehouses, libraries, museums and any other indoor location where environmental conditions must be maintained within acceptable levels. The device also features a built-in Web server and is accessible anywhere through a standard Web browser.
"In the past, a typical equipment rack consumed less than 5kW of power, but today’s power requirements are pushed four times higher – up to 20kW per rack – due to blade servers," said Ed Komoski, vice president and general manager of Eaton’s Power Quality Systems Division. "Even as IT environments get hotter, racks and equipment rooms are more tightly configured, leaving less space for open air circulation. The result is unbalanced airflow and undesirable hot spots in and around sensitive equipment, which can be disastrous."
The Powerware Environmental Rack Monitor measures temperature and humidity at two locations in a rack and the status of up to four additional input contact sensors. The product displays real-time status to a PC, Internet-ready device or network management system and automatically notifies designated recipients of out-of-range conditions, via e-mail, PDA or pager.
The Powerware Environmental Rack Monitor features a zero U form factor making the device easy to place horizontally or vertically in any unused space in a standard rack application. The monitor simplifies operation with an intuitive Web browser interface and provides robust data graphing capabilities, auto-discovery and auto-aggregation utilities. The device also automatically polls and discovers up to 100 other rack monitors on the network, and can display the status of these rack monitors on a single Web page with real-time updates.
