Microsoft TechNet: Monitor The EnvironmentRoom Alert 11E
Greg Steen - Microsoft TechNet
A good host-monitoring solution is critical to your infrastructure, but that’s not the only type of monitoring you need. The physical environment surrounding that infrastructure is also essential. You should be monitoring for airflow, temperatures, humidity, flooding, smoke, and power issues. If you host your infrastructure at a co-location facility, this is taken care of by the facility. But if you have your own data centers, cages, and server closets, take a look at AVTECH’s Room Alert 11E.
Out of the box, the product includes one digital temperature/humidity sensor, one digital temperature sensor, and one external power sensor along with the actual hardware device. The unit can accommodate up to eight switch-type sensors and three digital temperature/humidity sensors or expansion boxes. The three digital sensors can be placed up to about 100 feet from the device, while the switch sensors can be hundreds of feet from the device depending on the monitor used.
The device is a self-contained unit with a built-in web-accessible administration interface. It has no external system requirements other than a Windows machine to install the device discovery software on. Simply plug in the sensors, connect the device to your network, run the device discovery tool, and configure your alerts through the web-based interface. It’s a good idea to also update to the latest firmware before getting started.
The most important aspect of the installation is planning which elements of your environment you need to monitor and deciding the best placement for the sensors and Room Alert device. Remember that if you are monitoring a power circuit, your Room Alert 11E should be on an alternate circuit or UPS. Otherwise, you will be defeating the purpose of the monitor.
AVTECH also has a wireless version, the Room Alert 26W, which offers more freedom as to where you place your central monitoring station in relation to your sensors. It also relieves you of running cables between your cabinets and sensors.
You might want to watch additional environmental factors besides the ones you can monitor with the included sensors, and the AVTECH product website (EnvironmentMonitor.com) offers a number of other sensors you can plug into the 11E. You can purchase sensors to track temperature, humidity, and power as well as to check for area and spot flooding, smoke, motion, airflow, and room entry.
Price: Room Alert 11E starts at $495. Sensors run from $25 to $400.
Out of the box, the product includes one digital temperature/humidity sensor, one digital temperature sensor, and one external power sensor along with the actual hardware device. The unit can accommodate up to eight switch-type sensors and three digital temperature/humidity sensors or expansion boxes. The three digital sensors can be placed up to about 100 feet from the device, while the switch sensors can be hundreds of feet from the device depending on the monitor used.
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