DCIM
on a dashboard and incorporated with the rack power,
temperature and humidity dashboard. A master dashboard
should also be able to show all racks, to provide a quick
visual indicating the status at a glance. Room temperature
and humidity can be added by using multiple edge devices
set as zones reporting back to a master unit, from the
information compiled there can be real-time and historical
graphs. With thresholds set and alerts sent by email and
SMS and with a dashboard for instant visual information, all
relevant information is within easy reach.
Add to the main room dashboard UPS module status,
CRAC status, generator status and fire alarm status, there’s
a complete high-level reporting and alerting system with an
easy one screen visual. These reporting levels can be easily
achieved with a correctly designed system that utilises IoT
edge devices and software. This new wave DCIM should use
an open software platform that wouldn’t need licensing or
to be linked to a particular manufacturer. Going down this
route, I believe, a better and more flexible cost-effective
DCIM product can be made available. It’s safe to say a less
complicated system would be welcomed by all.
Edge computing
More manufacturers are championing the new edge
computing arena by installing servers in multiple remote
racks, where managing multiple environments needs to be
considered. A single rack would be uneconomical to monitor
with conventional BMS, even though it could be critical to the
local server/network it serves. What happens to a shop with
EPOS updates every evening at a specific time slot when the
power goes or the servers overheat?
A mini DCIM for edge racks will prove invaluable for
business continuity, providing information on power
utilisation, the stability of the rack environment temperature
and humidity. Alerting remote NOC’s and individuals
by email and SMS regarding temp/humidity threshold
breaches, power outages etc. even the network switch and
router could be monitored for network issues. n
10
Rack 1 Rack 1
Temperature Temperature
21
60
10
Humidity
Humidity
10
53
20
100
Network Latency 2.39
10
64
Latency to Slave 3.79
www.networkseuropemagazine.com
Rack 1
Temperature
18
Humidity
62
Power
5
43