Improving Energy Efficiency in Data Centers

Pete Sacco, Founder & President of PTS Data Center Solutions, wrote a recent article Data Center Knowledge.

The Real Cost of Manual Asset Management

No Limits Software, a leading provider of data center solutions, including asset management, capacity planning, and power and environmental monitoring, recently released an interesting white paper on the real or true cost of manual asset management.

There are a number of methods used to manage IT assets inhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif the data center including Excel spreadsheets, custom developed asset management databases, and expensive asset management software solutions. As a data center grows, the viability of using low end solutions such as an Excel spreadsheet drops significantly while the cost for high end asset management tools rises significantly. In the white paper, the author presents concrete financial costs associated with manual data entry to maintain accurate IT asset records.

Ultimately, the ability to perform auto-discovery of assets and then track those assets through their life cycles in terms of management and maintenance is a critical component of a well conceived data center management approach.

To read the full white paper visit the PTS Media Library.

To learn more about No Limits Software solutions click here.

Best Practices in Building a New Data Center

Peter Sacco, founder and CEO of PTS Data Center Solutions and partner with nlyte Software, was recently interviewed by Barbara Morris, Editor, of The DCIM Advisory, nlyte's monthly online trade journal.

The article focuses on how to avoid the pitfalls many experience in mission critical facilities and centers around Pete's experiences visiting 50 to 60 data centers every year and having designed many more. His experience in and knowledge of data centers is vast and complex, but he breaks it down into four main points to consider:

• Defining data center management depends on your point of view.
• Data center challenges continue to be the lack of space, power and cooling.
• Mission-critical facilities have a finite life span.
• A data center infrastructure management (DCIM) solution simplifies data center management.

To read the entire article click here.

To learn more about nlyte's DCIM solutions click here.

Emerson Network Power's Smart Solutions Tour Review.

Hope you didn't miss Emerson Network Power's Smart Solutions Tour, but in case you did here are a few of the highlights: In addition to having a live SmartMod to tour, Emerson Network Power delivered compelling presentations on SmartRow & SmartAisle versus conventional builds for their new integrated infrastructure that covers integrated power, cooling, fire suppression, management and control. Case studies were presented where SmartAisle solutions save 9% in CAPEX, 60% in real estate & 27% in energy versus a conventional build for a medium size data center. Equally a SmartRow saves 9% in CAPEX and 27% in energy versus a conventional build for a small data center.

Emerson Network Power also showed new additions to their XD line offering more breakthroughs in Data Center efficiency. The XDR is a pumped refrigerant rear door passive cooling fanless heat exchanger module. The XDR installs as the rear door of an equipment rack, providing up to 20kW of room neutral cooling. XDS is a pumped refrigerant cold plate technology to remove heat directly from servers through conduction for high density server racks at 20KW or 40KW.

Emerson Network Power also presented their future on data center management & control tools where existing tools, such as; SiteScan, Nform, Aperture, Data Center Planner and DSView will roll-up to the new Trellis platform to be released in December of 2011. Trellis through data rolled up from these point solutions and analytics will empower stakeholders with recommendations for managing, planning & optimizing their data center facility and IT infrastructure.

2011 Smart Solutions Tour - April 5th

PTS will be participating with Emerson Network Power at an upcoming event called the 2011 Smart Solutions Tour. The event is on April 5th in Edison, NJ.

Don’t miss this opportunity to see how intelligent, integrated infrastructure can help you attain crucial data center objectives such as efficiency, capacity, availability and control – without sacrifice.

Plus take a tour of the unique, rapidly deployable SmartMod™ enclosure.

Visit http://www.ptsdcs.com/event-20110405-Emerson-Network-Power.asp to learn more and register.

Is It Time To Toss The Tape?

The ExaGrid disk-based backup appliance with deduplication replaces tape in the nightly backup process. Customers are moving to disk-based backup solutions to remedy a number of problems. These include long backup windows as data volumes increase, the slow (and often unreliable) process of finding and restoring files from tape, the need for a Disaster Recovery Strategy or remote site replication, and the desire to employ zone-level deduplication in the process to eliminate redundant data and maximize storage capacity. In a recent independent survey, 88% of respondents reported faster backup times using the ExaGrid solution.

The migration from tape to disk-based backups is also being driven by the low cost of disk, the speed advantages of disk over tape, and the long-term reliability of a disk-based solution for compliance and regulatory purposes in certain industries.

ExaGrid solutions are ideal for users with 1TB to 100TB of data and can be integrated and installed by the customer in less than one hour.

Our customers are no longer asking if they will replace tape with disk, but when? If you are considering the move from tape, you might find the “7 Key Steps to Overcoming the Limitations of Tape Backup White Paper” helpful. Click here to download and if you qualify, ExaGrid will send you a $100 American Express Gift Card if you request an individual web presentation with PTS and ExaGrid.

Possible Future Acquisitions by Hewlett-Packard

I recently came across the following Software Advice article on possible future acquisitions by Hewlett-Packard, http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/enterprise/hp-mergers-acquisitions-who-is-next-1031401/.

In the article, the author discusses the likelihood of each potential acquisition and present an infographic that summarizes HP's recent M&A activity up until now. They have also included a survey to find out what readers think about each possibility.

I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

About PTS Data Center Solutions
Experts for Your Always Available Data Center

PTS Data Center Solutions specializes in the business strategy, planning, designing, engineering, constructing, commissioning, implementing, maintaining, and managing of data center and computer room environments from both the facility and IT perspectives.

Founded in 1998, PTS is a consulting, design/engineering, and construction firm providing turnkey solutions, and offering a broad range of data center, computer room, and technical space project experience. PTS employs industry best practices in integrating proven, ‘best-of-breed’, critical infrastructure technologies that result in always available, scalable, redundant, fault-tolerant, manageable, and maintainable mission critical environments.

Integrated Data Center Facility and IT Expertise

With a proven process for understanding and addressing client needs as well as integrated facilities and IT experience and expertise, PTS has a unique vantage point for executing data center, computer room, and network operations center projects.

In every engagement, PTS applies a disciplined, consultative approach to systematically survey and assess the situation and then develop effective plans for seizing opportunities and overcoming obstacles. And, PTS offers a full complement of services—from business strategy and planning to facilities engineering to IT design and implementation—to help transform those plans into reality.

From our corporate headquarters in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, and our office in Orange County, California, PTS works to fulfill our mission of creating satisfied customers by emphasizing planning and pre-construction services to provide the optimal people, process, and technology solution to meet our clients’ needs and results in an early and accurate alignment between scope, schedule, and budget.

For more information, contact PTS at 1-866-PTS-DCS1 / 1-866-787-3271 or visit PTS online at www.PTSdcs.com.