Raritan Releases New Smart Data Center Rack Controller
Designed for environment, security, energy, and electronic asset management.
Note: ESJ’s editors carefully choose vendor-issued press releases about new or upgraded products and services. We have edited and/or condensed this release to highlight key features but make no claims as to the accuracy of the vendor's statements.
Raritan has released its Smart Rack Controller (EMX) that provides, in one place, key information on data center operations collected from many types of sensors -- including temperature, humidity, airflow, air pressure, smoke, water, and contact closure -- from cameras and from Raritan's just-introduced intelligent, electronic asset tracking solution.
At a glance, operators can see if their data center is working at optimal temperature, monitor humidity and airflow in racks, locate a server’s exact location, and see live views of the data center. They can detect when a cabinet door is opened, see who has entered the data center, and be alerted if there is a problem -- such as smoke or a security breach.
Raritan’s new Smart Rack Controller is an IP-based appliance that serves as a central connection point for all of Raritan’s environmental sensors and USB-based devices for data centers. Sensor readings can be viewed easily on the EMX LCD display, as well as with a remote Web browser. Sensor and asset information gathered by the EMX also can be passed on to Raritan’s Data Center Infrastructure Management software solutions -- dcTrack for Asset, Change, and Capacity management and Power IQ for energy management and data center monitoring -- or existing, third-party data center management tools.
"Raritan has been adding intelligence to the data center rack, starting several years ago with our intelligent PDUs for measuring energy usage at the individual IT device level; and more recently with our smart asset tracking solution," said Herman Chan, director of Raritan's energy management business.
"We believe that smart racks are the best way to get accurate, real-time information on infrastructure performance so that customers can develop more efficient ways to manage their data centers and reduce costs. With today's introduction of the EMX smart rack solution, we are providing the brain for pulling together the intelligence gathered by remote sensors for a more accurate and clearer picture on what is happening in and around IT equipment racks. Working in conjunction with our dcTrack and Power IQ software solutions, customers can analyze and track sensor data across all data center racks globally."
The EMX is available worldwide now in two models -- EMX2-111 and the EMX2-888 support up to 16 sensors and up to 128 sensors respectively. The manufacturer's suggested retail price starts at $375 (U.S.) for EMX2-111.
In addition to supporting Raritan sensors, the EMX supports Raritan's new Smart Asset Management Tag/Sensor solution that tells operators exactly where a server is located in the data center and every move and change -- using ID chips and scannable ID barcodes.
The EMX provides up to eight each of: RJ-12 1-Wire sensors, RJ-45 RS-485 serial and RJ-45 asset sensor ports in a 1U form factor. It has DB-9 modem/console, Ethernet, and USB-A and USB-B ports. The EMX USB port can be used to connect a number of USB devices, such as Wi-Fi networking or a Web cam to remotely view real-time images or video of inside the data center.
For more information, visit www.Raritan.com/rack-monitoring.