Track your power consumption, anytime

A traditional data centre consumes a tremendous amount of power. And because you can’t manage what you can’t measure, it is therefore critical to regularly track the power used by your IT infrastructure.

It doesn’t matter if your infrastructure is sitting idle or in use 24/7, being able to easily monitor energy usage is a vital requirement for the management of any data centre.

It’s therefore not surprising that when we spoke to our customers about features they wanted to be incorporated in the Zella Pro, power management was a key requirement. This article explains how a Zella Pro lets you track your power consumption anytime. 

A partnership with Raritan® 

Zella-DC-phone-app---PDView-cropped-1The solution we found that addressed our requirements was the Raritan® power distribution unit (PDU). They are leaders in supplying reliable power-related products for IT infrastructure. Their intelligent PDU is capable of:

  • Monitoring power usage
  • Environmental monitoring
  • Power capacity planning
  • Advanced security
  • Remote management
  • Built-in failover 

 

By incorporating the intelligent PDUs into each of our micro data centres, we’ve made it easy for companies to know the power consumption of their IT infrastructure and have visibility of that data from any location through the Power IQ® software. Energy consumption data is reported to within +/- 1% accuracy. Knowing your power consumption in real-time helps you plan for the future, so you don’t need to worry about running out of power.

Compared to traditional data centres, the power efficiency of the Zella DC is a product of consuming significantly less energy by using a very high PUE rating by industry standards. 

Power IQ user interface

Through the Power IQ user interface, you can view, manage and report on power consumption, running costs and related trends. You also have the ability to measure the PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) so you can plan future optimisation and expansion.

Metering levels

The PDUs in each Zella DC is monitored at three metering levels so you can determine where optimisation needs to be considered:

  • Inlet 
  • Branch circuit breaker
  • Outlet 

Inlet metering tracks the power in the overall rack – how much is being consumed and how much is available. It’s used when you want to add more infrastructure (e.g. servers), and you need to know if there is enough power available in the rack without overloading capacity.

Branch circuit breaker monitoring is set up with thresholds to alert you when there is a risk of overload, well before it can interrupt your business.

Outlet metering is used to monitor the power consumption of individual devices, so you can look for optimisation opportunities.

Remote power on/off

Devices can be remotely rebooted, shut down or restarted without the need for someone to be onsite. The PDUs are designed in such a way that you can selectively reboot/shutdown a device, rather than the whole.  This feature is especially useful, and cost-effective when you don’t have people on site, or you don’t have IT personnel available for a site visit. It’s not always feasible or possible for IT personnel to be onsite to address hardware issues, and the remote access to single or multiple Zella Pros gives you peace of mind with total (remote) control.

Environmental monitoring

The Zella DC is a fully enclosed micro data centre, which means the internal environment needs to be at a consistent temperature and humidity level for optimum system performance. To make it easy to monitor for any changes in the environment, we’ve installed sensors that will trigger alerts based on pre-configured thresholds. Why is this important? With an internal cooling system, you don’t want to risk your systems overheating or overcooling and shutting down systems. You’ll get the information in real-time as the sensors are monitoring 24/7. It’s another efficiency to assist in reducing system downtime. 

Event management

Setting thresholds will give you more accurate data. You’ll be alerted before an issue impacts your business. Power IQ monitors energy usage and costs in real-time, and you can access the data from your computer. Analyse the data, download reports and review the trends for the power consumption of each device and rack and the environmental stability. Use the data to review where systems and power usage can be optimised, whether adding devices in the rack is within the limits of the PDU, and whether there are options for further cost savings. Read more about The Real Cost of Data Storage.

With a user-friendly user interface and easy-to-follow user guide, you’ll have all the data on hand, at the click of a button.

Energy savings for your company – it’s your choice

If you want to see how Zella DC can help you manage and optimise your energy consumption, explore our products or get in touch to find out more. Or have a look at this video that explains the different monitoring systems available with a Zella Pro.

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