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Data Center Power Consumption and the Importance of Sentry Power Manager
By Erin Monda TMCnet Contributor
Recently the industry has become aware of the importance of data center power consumption.
As groups like The Green Grid (News - Alert) and the Green Data Center Alliance advocate continuous power monitoring at the device level, such information cannot be gathered without the introduction of infrastructure management tools.
This is where Intelligent Cabinet Power Distribution Units (CDUs) come into play. When CDUs are incorporated, they provide integral feedback about what kind of power a data center is consuming.
Aside from the servers themselves, CDUs are the most intelligent device present in the data center cabinet – they are the closest to the IT load, which places them in an ideal position to monitor power consumption.
Via this sort of monitoring, IT managers and other data center personnel can develop a firmer grasp on exactly how much power their data center is consuming – empowering them to implement greater controls.
Understanding data center power usage and consumption is a great step towards managing power usage and leads directly to greater efficiencies. But there are software tools out there on the market that can also be of use – such as the Sentry Power Manager solution (SPM).
SPM allows each CDU to be managed through a single interface, rather than individual IP address, saving time and money with configuration and management of a number of CDUs within the facility.
CDUs can be used in various applications, such as load balancing, capacity planning, device power monitoring, branch circuit monitoring and environmental monitoring. And new advancements in CDU technology (such as Per Outlet Power Sensing (POPS) and Per Inlet Power Sensing (PIPS) allow data center managers to receive higher accuracy measurements at both the outlet and inlet levels.
This allows for a number of power parameters, such as electrical current, voltage and other power consumption data to be measured quantitatively. Trouble spots, like outdated equipment or under-utilized areas can be identified quickly and modified for improved performance.
Improved performance is a necessity rather than a luxury these days, with data center operation costs constantly under scrutiny. In many cases, data center power management solutions may be the key to a greener, more cost-effective data center.
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