Networked Enterprise Featured Article

Data centers are facing efficiency pressure like never before. There’s increased load, dynamic service environments—and more competition.

Expanding and adjusting data centers efficiently has meant several adjustments. One adjustment has been the move to aisle-based physical infrastructure modules, also known as PODS that tightly integrate data center infrastructure and can be added in a modular fashion as demand dictates. Another adjustment is employing more dynamic power and cooling systems that responsively adjust as hardware and use changes.

One of the more innovative power and cooling innovations for the data center is Panduit’s SynapSense Cooling Optimization solution, which currently is being rolled out in the South East Asian and Australian regions.

SynapSense integrates highly-reliable secure wireless mesh sensors and gateways, airflow optimization services and manual or automated cooling control with physical infrastructure hardware, services and data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software, creating a far more efficient data center cooling system.

The three major considerations in optimizing cooling is proper thermal management, balancing air flow, and managing the dynamic IT load in the data center, according to a recent article in NetworksAsia.

“You add equipment. The IT load in the cabinet changes over time. How do you make sure there’s proper cooling in each of the cabinets,” asked Robert Dennelly rhetorically in the NetworksAsia article, director of Data Center Business Development at Panduit. “And typically, we also see data center operators over-provisioning the cooling. Just turn the fans up and make sure nothing goes down.”

The SynapSense system solves this inefficiency by wirelessly monitoring and controlling cooling through sensors and intelligent software that helps optimize cooling and energy use. The sensors self-configure and self-connect to a wireless mesh gateway when they’re activated, and the gateway collects and processes data captured from the sensors about temperature, humidity and pressure within the data center.

The Panduit solution also facilitates the convergence between the facility and IT teams with its DCIM solution that provides real-time information and visualization on power consumption, heat load and other environmental conditions within the data center.

This is automatic adjustment of power and cooling on par with other dynamic allocations in the data center, making SynapSense a model tool for data center management.