The "Tech 10" lists are tough to build. Its not because of a lack of top-notch technology to highlight. The problem is the huge size of the markets covered by the "Tech 10" lists, making it hard to narrow down the field to 10 products.

The "Tech 10: Data Center" list is especially tough because of the wide range of technologies which together make up a data center, including storage, power equipment, DCIM software, portable data centers, cooling solutions, and more.

For the "Tech 10: Data Center" list, CRN decided this time to concentrate on the five technologies listed above, and look at two completely different solutions for each of them.

This isnt a "Best Of" or a "Best Seller" kind of list. Its more of a "Heres A Couple Examples Of" kind of list. And, with two vendors in five categories, that leaves dozens of others who would have been on it.

Trane's new Trane Stealth air-cooled chiller, available in 150-ton to 300-ton capacities, offers part-load and full-load efficiencies combined with the lowest published sound levels for air-cooled chillers, the company said. The Stealth chiller's performance comes from Trane's AdaptiSpeed technology, which integrates a directdrive, specific-speed screw compressor, permanent-magnet motors and the third-generation Trane Adaptive Frequency Drive (AFD3). n

The Stulz CyberCon outdoor cooling system from Frederick, Md.-based Stulz Air Technology Systems is an energy-efficient, self-contained, external cooling solution targeting rapid deployment with container-based data centers. The modular Stulz CyberCon features a one-side air intake and service access area, permitting end-to-end and back-to-back installation on site.

SunGard Availability Services, Wayne, Pa., can dispatch a data center directly to a customer's location if their original data center is damaged or destroyed. The company maintains a fleet of mobile data centers, which it says can be dispatched to any location in the continental U.S. or Canada within 24 hours.

Distributor Avnet Technology Solutions recently introduced a completely configured EMC VSPEX solution-in-a-box for use in harsh environments or disaster-recovery scenarios. The Avnet Mobile Data Center Solution for EMC VSPEX combines technology from Brocade, Cisco, Elliptical Mobile Solutions, EMC, Metalogix, Microsoft and VMware in a self-contained chassis.

Somerset, N.J.-based DCIM and power-monitoring solutions developer Raritan recently introduced dcTrack 3.0 DCIM software, aimed at making it easier to obtain information on data center infrastructures. Raritan said its dcTrack DCIM software provides realtime, accurate information to give insights on data center assets, infrastructure capacity and energy use from any web browser.

Tempe, Ariz.-based iTracs this spring released Converged Physical Infrastructure Management 2.8, the next generation of its DCIM (data center information management) software suite. CPIM version 2.8, which leverages the DCIM Open Exchange Framework, now lets users manage and optimize their physical data center infrastructures via the CPIM browser interface, an iPad app and a local Windows screen.

Schneider Electric's latest Symmetra PX 250kW and 500kW three-phase UPSes this year received a new firmware update, giving the units a new ECO (economical operation) mode that can deliver up to 99 percent power efficiency. ECO mode also supports synchronization to an external AC source, the ability to maintain full protection during maintenance procedures, as well as remote display applications. The PX family now also features Energy Star qualification.

Industrial equipment manufacturer Eaton in May expanded its 5P UPS line with new space-saving tower, 1U and 2U rack-mount form factors featuring electrical efficiency up to 99 percent and Energy Star qualification with certain models. They range from 550 VA (420 W) to 3,000 VA (2,700 W). Eaton's 5P family has a front-mounted graphical display to give users detailed energy usage information and the ability to customize UPS settings. They also integrate seamlessly with Eaton's Intelligent Power Software Suite.

San Jose, Calif.-based Supermicro's X10 servers are known for performance in general server workloads under both the Supermicro brand and for a wide range of white-box server solutions. Supermicro in May said the latest version of its uniprocessor X10 motherboard and server building blocks will support Intel's future Xeon processor E3-1200 V3 and 4th Generation Intel Core processor families. The X10 hardware is the base of an entire line of solutions, including high-performance and midrange servers and appliances, SMB applications, cloud computing and storage servers.

Hewlett-Packard's upcoming HP Moonshot modular server line is being touted as an alternative to traditional servers, including other HP servers, for use in Internet data centers and other areas where high performance, low power consumption and flexible configurations are important. The Moonshot servers feature a common chassis with server cartridges that can be configured with different processors and even preconfigured with specific applications. HP's initial Moonshot server features the Intel Atom processor, which allows up to 450 servers per rack.