Server Technology’s (News - Alert) Sentry Power Manager (SPM) is the most affordable and accurate system available to measure, monitor and trend data center power. It provides companies with a central location to monitor and manage multiple Sentry Cabinet Power Distribution Units (CDUs) that provide power, environmental and other information to enterprise data centers and lab environments to prevent or resolve operational problems, and it helps manage today’s biggest data center challenges, including improving uptime, increased power costs, higher density cabinets, capacity planning and green initiatives.
The latest release of SPM, 5.2, offers new features and capabilities such as predictive analysis, trending capabilities, a capacity planning device management tool and a Plug & Play SNAP feature, which makes managing your entire PDU network easy.
SPM’s new Plug & Play SNAP feature is an SPM Administrator function that allows Sentry firmware configuration parameters to be assigned to CDUs directly from the SPM interface using a SNAP template. It lets customers take a PDU out of the box, plug it into the SPM network and the system will auto discover and configure the unit.
SPM’s SNAP technology enables all Sentry PDU devices deployed across your enterprise to behave and be managed as a single combined system. One structure, one view, one management console for all rack-level power devices, regardless of location or quantity.
Calvin Nicholson, senior director of Software and Firmware at Server Technology, commented on the SNAP, “Customers can now realize ‘Plug & Play’ functionality and the ability to configure hundreds or thousands of PDUs with a single mouse click. You simply take the PDU out of the box and plug it into the network. SPM with SNAP recognizes the PDU and configures it to the system parameters. It’s that easy.”
Data center customers will immediately start receiving power and environmental information through SPM’s world-class user interface and popular “single pane of glass” dashboard view. The SNAP feature provides fast network management by allowing you to use the SPM interface to globally download the latest CDU operational parameters from Sentry firmware to a single CDU or multiple CDUs in the SPM network.
The SNAP Template is a series of windows that are the mirror-image of Sentry CDU parameters. These are the same parameters you configure using the Sentry firmware’s Web interface or Command Line Interface, such as SNMP, Telnet, FTP/SNTP, LDAP, TACACs and more. All necessary CDU parameters are provided in SPM in the SNAP Template and the SNAP templates and CDU parameter fields are available in SPM for CDUs, cabinets, locations and zones.
If a location in your SPM network contains 100 CDUs, a single SNAP template action can automatically mass-update all of the CDUs in the location’s hierarchy, as long as the CDUs have Sentry firmware 6.1 or greater. Users have the option to lock or protect one or more CDUs, which prevents the mass-updates from the parent cabinet, location or zone to the CDU. They can also unlock or unprotect one or more CDUs, so that mass-updates from the parent are applied to the CDU.
With SPM 5.2, both failed and successful SNMP & SNAP commands will be logged. Commands will no longer reside in tables for extended periods of time -- SNMP & SNAP commands now have a timer and will expire if not executed.
Another enhanced feature with the latest SPM release is the predictive analysis trending feature in the latest version of SPM allows users to explore “What If” scenarios, giving a preview into future trends and seeing what will or will not work in a data center. It uses various cabinet traits to enable IT to view and analyze past and future power-related data, essentially presenting IT with a valuable diagnostic tool.
Server Technology provides the highest quality rackmount power distribution and monitoring solutions that help manage power capacity, reduce downtime and improve energy efficiency. To learn more about the company and its products and solutions, visit www.servertech.com.
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Edited by Allison Boccamazzo