Power Protection FEATURED ARTICLE

The data center market is changing drastically as big data multiplies and cloud computing, mobility and a huge number of applications create networking and storage challenges. As a result, power distribution and protection solutions are also evolving to keep up with transforming architectures.

The uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is a mainstay in any network but systems have had to become more robust to protect a broader range of data center topologies against power issues and failure. A recent article in The Data Center Journal determines that reliability is increasingly being calculated by time as well as event, with the number of failure events equally important to the actual duration of each event.

The result of these changing needs in the data center is that UPS systems rely on several layers of equipment and power distribution redundancy to meet the demands of a broad range of topologies. The layered approach offers increased reliability, load sharing and efficiency but can also come with a hefty price tag (News - Alert) in terms of both CAPEX and OPEX expenses. Enterprises and data center operators alike are left wondering what their needs are and how they can meet them in the most cost-effective manner.

Minuteman Power Technologies specializes in UPS solutions and the company makes it easy for customers to determine their specific needs based on industry, usage case and their particular network topologies. Minuteman offers systems tailored specifically to the telecom industry as well as security, education, gaming and casinos, IT and networking, and more. The company also offers unique tools that enable customers to build their own system through a guided GUI that measures a number of parameters to determine UPS needs. The SizeMyUPS.com and SizeMyPDU.com tools help customers enter parameters like their input and output voltages, runtimes and projected growth to determine the right products and solutions to meet their needs.

Data center operators can also comparison shop through a tool that provides specifications between Minuteman offerings and comparable models from competing manufacturers like APC (News - Alert), Belkin, Liebert and TrippLite.

Data centers will continue to change and evolve as new applications emerge and ever-increasing amounts of data need to be managed, networked and stored. Having the proper UPS protection in place to handle the needs of a transforming data center is critical, and operators and administrators need to ensure they retain the proper levels of redundancy and reliability to meet current and future needs.