Eaton has launched a new data centre monitoring software to provide IT managers with a holistic view of their IT installation’s infrastructure. The new Intelligent Power ManagerTM (IPM) Infrastructure allows operators of IT rooms and data centres to understand and monitor data centre power, environmental and physical capacity metrics, quickly and easily within the context of their IT infrastructure. Using this information, IT managers can then plan changes, anticipate challenges and make intelligent management decisions to optimise efficiency and ensure business continuity.
“With our latest offer, organisations can optimise their system deployments and operation performance through monitoring and control. Instead of taking a siloed approach by managing and monitoring power, space and environmental metrics separately, they can move to a holistic, cross-layered, software-defined management and control model that communicates across all of these areas,” Dennis O’Sullivan, Data Centre Solutions Operations Specialist, Eaton, comments. “This allows operators to make better-informed decisions about long-term data centre design improvements, as well as take immediate tactical action when needed.”
One of the first adopters of IPM Infrastructure is the host and telecoms operator Webaxys, which has deployed the technology at its recently opened data centre in Saint-Romain de Colbosc near Le Havre, France. Emmanuel Assi?, CEO of Webaxys, commented: “IPM Infrastructure has given us increased visibility of our racks, in particular on their power consumption and available capacity. The user interface is definitely intuitive, meaning both our technical teams and customers can quickly and easily check the status of their IT room.”
The IPM Infrastructure software is based on the 42ITyTM open source project, which allows vendor neutral data acquisition and integration with other suppliers’ products. Quick and simple to use, the software is embedded within an Eaton Intelligent Power Controller. The compact, 1U high, half-width controller features an extensive set of Ethernet, serial communications and USB ports as well as process I/O channels.
This wide selection of ports and protocols means the controller can be used as a local, centralised repository of data from other equipment such as intelligent power distribution units (PDUs) and uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs). Sensors for temperature and humidity can also be connected. Additional sensors are planned for release in 2017 to monitor other environmental factors. Supported protocols include TCP/IP, HTTP/HTTPS, SNMPv1, SNMPv2c, Eaton XML/PDC, & SSH console access.
All of this data can be viewed on a connected device via an intuitive, responsive web interface, allowing quick responses to events and reduced Mean Time To Repair (MTTR). The data can also be delivered to other network locations and software environments, as well as be converted into easy-to-use application trend indicators and graphs, giving operators a better understanding of how their IT room or data centre capacity is evolving over time.
While IPM Infrastructure is available as a standalone product, Eaton also offers it as an integrated component of its comprehensive three-layer strategy for IT rooms and data centres. The first layer refers to the physical infrastructure as implemented by Eaton’s intelligent power chain (UPSs, power distribution units, IT racks). IPM Infrastructure is the second layer, focused on operational performance. The third layer, devoted to virtualisation and cloud platform actuation, is delivered by Eaton’s existing IPM software. It integrates with IT environment packages like VMware, offering the possibility to monitor and manage power devices from the virtualisation dashboard and trigger pre-defined event-driven policies; including live migration of virtual machines to a backup site or cloud.
