How To Protect Datacenters

By , CRN
September 08, 1999 2:54 PM ET

When you have completed this seminar, you will know:
* How to assess the vulnerability of data centers.
* The seven points in a power management solution for data centers.
* How to incorporate performance as part of your assessment.

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Power Workshop is presented by American Power Conversion, winner of VARBusiness' 1999 Annual Peripherals Excellence Award for Best UPS Product And Pricing. -- Editor

The datacenter, whether driven by PC LANs, minicomputers or mainframes, demands the most reliable, uncompromising power protection available. When a blackout hits, you don't want to be worrying about the UPS. Even if you're spared the trial of a total blackout, the most deadly problems are those you don't even see: power surges carried directly into systems on network, serial and telephone lines.

Studies have shown that leaving a datacenter without effective and comprehensive protection can be economic suicide. Many businesses that experience a datacenter outage never recover, and those that do, lose business, market share and their reputations.

For effective protection, look for performance above and beyond the basic "battery in a box." Modern datacenters demand active power management.

Today's solution should not only protect against the inevitable, it should also anticipate problems. Users should operate without interruption while you remedy the root cause of the trouble. The only one who ever knows the network stared down a disaster should be you or the on-site IT manager. In order to accomplish this full complement of network user benefits, datacenter power protection and power management solution should incorporate several key benefits:

Multiple server shutdown via a serial/software interface streamlines server management and allows users to respond quickly to network threatening events to preserve vital data before a total outage crashes the system.

Ensuring a smooth recovery often involves a methodical and piece by piece restart of network servers. A successful power management solution must incorporate individual server reboot via a power distribution control device to meet that need.

Whenever time equals money -- and with network availability that's just about always -- easy serviceability/hot-swappability can mean the difference between a successful business and bankruptcy court.

Scalability of runtime and even, in some cases, power can be critical. The solution must not only meet today's needs, but be flexible enough to meet those of tomorrow. Considering the rate at which some datacenters grow, that could very literally be tomorrow.

Also, N 1 redundancy offers the highest level of protection.

In addition, use the UPS as a tool to enhance security. Whether through environmental monitoring, or through security alerts, a total solution can provide added value.

Finally, the best datacenter solutions include comprehensive management tools to decrease your support costs, increase reliability and ensure uptime. Their high efficiency keeps life cycles long and life cycle costs low.

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Founded in 1981, American Power Conversion is a leading provider of global, end-to-end power protection products and services, which include surge suppressors, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), power conditioning equipment, related software, and professional and consulting services for Nonstop Networking. APC is headquartered at 132 Fairgrounds Road, West Kingston, RI 02892, 1-800-877-4080.

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