Cross-Connect Blog

Part Three: How Has the Cloud Disruption Impacted the Broader Data Center Industry?

June 06, 2017

Orlando Health Data CenterChatsworth Products (CPI) recently participated in an executive roundtable discussion sponsored by Data Center Frontier, featuring insights from industry executives with vast experience and knowledge in the data center industry.

Last week CPI Product Marketing Manager, David Knapp, answered the questions about merger and acquisition (M&A) activity.

This week, Knapp takes on ecosystem trends. 

Data Center Frontier: The market for tools to monitor, manage and automate data centers continues to evolve. What are the significant trends in this ecosystem and how effectively are customers using these tools?

Knapp: “Site monitoring has three basic elements: the sensor, network and software. Deploying more sensors closer to equipment is the first trend. This gives data center managers a more granular view of the site. For example, power monitoring at each device outlet and environmental monitoring at every rack. When the software models this additional data, it is possible to see specific rack- and device-level detail on power consumption and environmental conditions. This helps data center managers make better decisions about how to use site capacity.”

David goes on to discuss three network trends:

Consolidation of power, environmental and security monitoring into a single hardware solution

The use of IP consolidation to reduce the number of network connections required to support monitoring

Improved and less expensive wired and wireless sensors

He states that “traditionally, power, environmental and security were separate sub-systems.” By addressing consolidation at the hardware level, David notes that it can reduce the amount of network infrastructure dedicated to monitoring and may simplify software setup. Now, the idea of a smart cabinet with a single network connection for all monitoring is a reality. 

For software, he touches on the many trends, including:

Integration of access control with power and environmental monitoring

More detailed asset management tools 

Better capacity monitoring

A focus on making systems easier to integrate 

Looking to the future, David states that “software-based monitoring directly from the devices may replace external sensors…and software integration may provide a system that overlays facility data with compute and network utilization data to help identify the most efficient combinations of software and compute.”

Download the Data Center Frontier article “Cloud Computing and Its Impact on the Data Center Industry” to read his full response.

Additionally, check out CPI’s innovative ecosystem solutions.

Brittany Mangan, Digital Content Specialist

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