The Devils in the Details - Enhanced SAN & Switching Solutions for Next Gen Data Centers

PTS is pleased to announce a new educational event, The Devils in the Details - Enhanced SAN & Switching Solutions for Next Generation Data Centers, in which we will introduce several new technology-based solutions, which will enhance data center optimization, consolidation, virtualization, and disaster recovery.

Prior to an upcoming New Jersey Devils versus Philadelphia Flyers hockey game we will leverage our understanding of the synergies between Facility and IT Infrastructure and introduce two highly efficient and cost effective solutions. These solutions can dramatically reduce the costs and complexity of your IT environment while increasing your ability to adapt, manage, and grow your storage and computing infrastructure. Learn about flexible, scalable solutions that will meet your business and security challenges and better understand how IT requirements drive new needs for your data center support infrastructure.

February 10, 2010
NJ Devils vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Prudential Center, Newark
Presentation with dinner/drinks starting at 5:00 PM
Game time 7:00 PM

Join us for an informative discussion and learn about:

• PTS Data Center Solutions' strategic data center design approach combining both IT and support infrastructure expertise to design, manage and operate a superior data center.
• Dell EqualLogic PS Series SANs designed to cost-effectively integrate advanced data and disaster protection features directly with VMware virtual infrastructure to help provide seamless data protection and disaster recovery management.
• Enterasys S-Series® enterprise switching and routing solutions specifically designed for high speed core and SAN deployments.

Click here to learn more

Please RSVP by 1/5/2010. Tickets are limited and available on a first-come basis.

Data Center World, Spring 2010

PTS Data Center Solutions will be presenting and exhibiting at this spring’s Data Center World Event, held in Nashville from March 7-11. Data Center World is the largest global event of its kind and has been named one of the 50 fastest growing tradeshows in the U.S. It is the leading educational conference for data center professionals.

Our team will host roundtable discussion on Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) & ITSM Metrics Programs for the data center. This presentation will take a nuts and bolts approach to setting up an ITSM metrics program and will discuss how this process will allow IT to present data to senior management.

We’re also hosting a product information session, titled “Data Center Maintenance Management Software - Computerized Maintenance Management for the Data Center”, during which we’ll demonstrate how you can use best-in-class solutions to more effectively manage support infrastructure. The presentation will discuss Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) and present our new Data Center Maintenance Management Software (DCMMS) Solution. This innovative software application from PTS Data Center Solutions allows the user to manage assets and parts, estimate and manage maintenance costs, track recurring problems to pinpoint those that may lead to more critical issues, and generate work orders with the details needed to properly perform preventative maintenance.

In addition, I’d like to invite you to visit us at booth #739 where you can get a first-hand look at our specially designed DCMMS solution. To learn more, please contact Amy Yencer at AYencer@PTSdcs.com (201-337-3833 x128).

To register for the event, please visit http://www.datacenterworld.com/. See you in Nashville!

PTS Announces a Strategic Distribution Relationship with Dell Corporation

I’m excited to announce that PTS has launched a strategic distribution relationship with Dell Corporation which includes the full breadth of Dell products targeted for the small to mid-size business segment.

As a leading data center design and turnkey solutions provider, we’ve been approached by many clients asking us to help them reduce overall data center operational costs through power efficiency analysis and improvements. The relationship with Dell allows us to provide consultative support by focusing upon key technology energy drains in the data center, namely routing, server processing, storage and security-based infrastructure products.

By partnering with Dell, we see ourselves as partnering with a best-of-breed solutions provider for our mid-market clients. Depending upon client applications, a host of solutions such as the Dell EqualLogic iSCSI storage family and PowerEdge blade and rack servers can improve power efficiencies, support growth within the data center and provide superior price / performance returns.

To learn more, please contact us today.

‘Lights Out’ Data Center Management

In a recent post at The Data Center Journal, titled “Save some money – work with outsiders,” Rakesh Dogra discusses the new trend to minimize power bills using Lights-Out data center and remote management. [As a side note, way back in 2006 we blogged about how “dim” data center designs are a realistic goal for most companies. You can read that post here.]

Dogra explains that the use of these tactics can lead to major cost savings. He suggests that, looking at your IT, security and facilities staff, it is unwise to cut back on security personnel but it may be prudent to use remote management to replace portions of the IT staff. Additional benefits may include:

• A lesser possibility of accidents and security breaches since fewer people will have physical access to a computer room.
• Response time is boosted with remote bios level access to a data center’s servers.
• Geographical independence can also be achieved through this system.

A potential downside of this system is that a “data center will need people within its premises too to fire fight something going wrong like outages. Also, a data center manager may not find someone with the required amount of experience and expertise to fend off crisis when it happens.”

It is surely a best practice to consider operating as ‘lights out’ a data center as possible, as the author suggests.

For PTS, the real secret to realizing operational costs savings from reduced energy consumption has less to do with facility based solutions than it does with IT. Our position is that there is far more operational cost savings potential coming from virtualizing servers and storage.

To prove the point, in 2010, PTS will perform a network re-design effort of our own operations and provide detailed documentation and analysis of the before and after conditions of our data center energy usage. So, stay tuned...