Insights from VP Marketing Mark Harris Since 2005, the world of IT has been under pressure like never before. The traditional role of the IT organization has been to provide a suitable level of services with little if any scrutiny on the costs to do so. It has been quite easy for the annual IT expense line item to exist in corporate budgets year after year as a solitary figure. The world of IT has been considered so technical within the corporate executive management levels that only those who are part of the IT organization actually understand what is being... Continue reading

We hear time and again where a data center manager states that they have run out of power, but if they were asked “where are you using the power?” most of the time they do not have a good answer. Data center expansion is primarily caused by the fact that a company has run out of resources and need more. In reality, most of the time when the resources are said to be lacking, they are not. Stranded power, underutilized circuits, power usage reports and trends all need to be considered before you consider expansion. Stranded Power Let’s say you... Continue reading

 Provisioning for more rack power using 240/415V Power Distribution - The literature I’ve been reading on 240/415V power distribution appears heavily tailored for new builds; are there other instances where 240/415V is applicable and will provide benefit Yes. Bringing higher AC voltages to the rack based equipment switching power supply modules has been a hot topic for more than a few years now. Selecting a power distribution system based on the maximum available power to the supply rated voltages on each device will maximize efficiency. • Equipment will operate more efficiently using the highest supported voltage available. An article... Continue reading

The presence of fuses or circuit breakers, over-current protection devices, is not related to power being 3-Phase. It is simply a matter of safety that applies to all branch circuits in a PDU and is a mandated requirement. National Electrical Code and internationally-harmonized safety standards per UL/CSA/EN 60950-1 define that Branch Circuit Protection is required anytime the capacity of the electrical source is greater than 20 amperes and the outlets present on the PDU are not rated to support greater than 20A. When a source can support greater than 20A per line, such as with the CS-48VDY-L2130 which connects to... Continue reading

Are you interested in remote management solutions - the ability to reboot your equipment remotely if it goes down? Power monitoring in data centers and co-locations isn't a new concept, but there are a surprisingly large number of data center professionals that still aren't using network addressable cabinet power distribution units (CDUs) to monitor and manage their power information and status via an integrated web interface. Power monitoring leads to increased uptime. Plus, it can help you maximize rack space and increase efficiency. How? Monitoring can be synchronized with alarm notifications based on preset thresholds to provide you with instant... Continue reading

What is capacity planning? With so many buzz words in the industry it is easy to get confused or assume the meaning of the different terms. Capacity planning is an ambiguously defined term. For starters it can be defined by finding out how much power is being pulled through at the infeed level versus the capacity of the circuit, but that is just the first part. After the infeed, the outlet capacity has to be considered. Which opens up the next question, at what duration do you measure? How often? Why, because power consumption at the IT device changes from... Continue reading

Yes, any Server Technology 3-phase Metered, or 3-Phase Intelligent (Smart, Switched, POPS) functional CDU products will provide Branch or Phase current displays for local hands-free viewing to immediately identify balanced loads. This information is also available remotely through any Intelligent CDU communications interface. Continue reading

In most cases it is much more than ‘simply considering the power-strip hardware configuration’. How a Power distribution solution is implemented can lead to reduced downtime, improved power efficiencies, improved power monitoring, management and control. The best suited Power Distribution solution requires considerable planning. First, system solution level questions must be evaluated (1), key issues determined (2), and then the required CDU features can be realized (3). 1. System Solution Level Questions (What are you attempting to accomplish?): Will you be using PUE and DCIE rating systems to measure power efficiency? Are you looking to construct a database of power... Continue reading

Branch circuit protection on a 20A rated power strip is not an National Electrical Code1 (NEC) requirement. Server Technology has both 20A Inlet rated CDU products with and without branch circuit protection. The presence of Bussmann SC-20 fuses on 20A units, even though not required, allows for selective coordination with short-circuit faults. Fuses react fast enough to halt a short-circuit fault nearest the fault while also reducing let-through to upstream and parallel branch gear. 1 "National Electrical Code" and "NEC" are registered trademarks of the NFPA. While the NEC is not itself a U.S. law, NEC use is commonly mandated... Continue reading

One of the questions I often get is whether Server Tech has any CDU's that can convert down from 208V to 120V for those handful of legacy devices that "require" 120V. The quick answer is that no power distribution units include step-down transformation. The questions in return are: First, are you really sure that the devices need 120V? Most devices sold within the last 10 years have full-range (100V-240V) power supplies. Just because the cable has a straight-blade NEMA 5-15P plug, it is not necessarily the case that the device requires 120V. Double check the specs on the device. If... Continue reading

Everyone is going green. A new Data Center at Syracuse University has been claimed by IBM as the "greenest" yet. The new 12,000 square foot facility that recently opened offers a comprehensive approach to energy efficiency utilizing DC power distribution to power the IBM z10 mainframe and high efficiency 415 V 3-Phase power distribution units to power the devices within the cabinets. Furthermore, the Green Data Center will operate off the grid while still serving as the primary computing facility at Syracuse University. Estimated cost for the Green Data Center is $12.4 million with funds being contributed from the New... Continue reading

WEBINAR - Power Efficiency Gains by Deploying 415 VAC Power Distribution in North American Data Centers Date: Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 Time: 10:00 am Pacific Standard Time (GMT-8:00, San Francisco) Register to Attend Greater cabinet densities, increased power costs and in some markets reduced power availability are all driving efficiency within the Data Center. Within enterprise data centers, power used for operating the facility, lighting, running IT loads and cooling is the largest operational expense. Greater efficiencies and the advantages that result such as lower TCO, postponing capital expenditures, and public recognition for showing environmental leadership are now at the... Continue reading

Interop New York will be taking place from November 16-20 in New York at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. Why attend Interop? There are more than 200 companies exhibiting at the event and 3 full days of more than 63 conference sessions covering the following topics: • Cloud Computing • Enterprise 2.0 and Unified Communications • Mobile & Wireless • Security, Governance Risk and Compliance • IT Management • Virtualization • Networking • Data Center • Video Conferencing • Green IT • Application Delivery • Storage Green IT, will continue to be a topic of interest at Interop. With Green... Continue reading

Server Technology has released a customer success story regarding product implementation of High Density PDUs and maximizing rack space. Our most recent customer success story on High Density PDU maximizing Rack Space shows how a PDU can be installed to maximize power capacity in each cabinet. The Switched CW-24VDX454A1 provided a 60Amp PDU in a 3-Phase Delta, 208V power configuration with (18) IEC C13 and (6) IEC C19 outlets. In combination with Sentry Power Manager Software they now have a central interface to access multiple networked sentry power distribution units. In essence a total solution for power management, monitoring and... Continue reading

A new series of application notes have been created in conjunction with Cisco in order to help design engineers, application engineers and data center managers power Cisco’s Unified Computing System (UCS).Server Tech model numbers for the configurations include: CS-18VY, CS-24V2, CS-12HD2, and CS-24V5. These application notes Illustrate power and redundancy for Cisco® UCS 5108 Blade Server Chassis and 6120XP 20-Port Fabric Interconnects in configuration with the Server Tech CS-18VY, CS-24V2, CS-12HD2, and CS-24V5 models. Key Benefits For This Configuration Include: • Sentry Smart 3-Phase PDU’s reduce the number of PDU’s needed to deliver the power required by this cabinet configuration.... Continue reading

The OC Tech Forum is taking place today in Santa Ana, California. Free educational sessions, a keynote speaker and networking opportunities for the Southern California Tech community. The event is taking place at: OCiX Data Center 2001 E Dyer Road, Santa Ana CA 92705 Continue reading

Several Server Technology Employees were present at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group Summit last week. The event last Thursday demonstrated the momentum that Silicon Valley data center leaders are creating to encourage the industry towards adopting cost-effective energy savings initiatives, and data center best practices. Key data center personalities such as Dean Nelson (eBay), KC Mares (Megawatt Consulting), Andy Broer (Cisco), and literally more than 40 others shared the stage and breakout sessions to discuss the latest developments and ideas. Our favorite part of the event, was the open networking that occurred during the breaks and lunch time. There were... Continue reading

Server Technology will be exhibiting at the Data Center Dynamics Trade Show in Chicago. DCD Chicago is commited to providing information on efficiency and how current and future regulations are formulating the design and function of the Data Center. Case studies, cutting edge technology such as cloud computing and impacts of government regulations will all be addressed in regards to Data Center design and functionality. Visit our website for a full list of upcoming trade shows. Continue reading

BICSI will be taking place on September 20th - 24th at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. In addition to fulfilling the RCDD (Registered Communications Distribution Designer) conference attendance requirements, the show provides attendees with the opportunity to make connections with an international audience, attend educational events regarding various topics of interest within the information transport systems (ITS) industry. Topics of interest scheduled for the Fall Show include: Electronic Safety and Security Green Building and LEED Optical Fiber Exhibition hall layout and vendor information is available online. See more on Server Tech Trade Show Dates. Continue reading

Interface F2F Salt Lake City is a one day show taking place at the Salt Palace Convention Center from 9:30 until 4:00pm. The one day show hosts 11 conference seminars ranging from “WAN Optimization: Doing More with Less” to “Simplify BC/DR thru Enterprise Virtualization & SAN Replication”. Find the seminar schedule, vendor list, registration and parking information for the event. Continue reading