8 Tools You Must Have In Your Data Center

Some data center technologies can't be ignored. Keeping the racks cool and supplied with power may be data center management 101, but relying on old technology because it's tried and true means you may be falling behind the curve. A battery-powered UPS (uninterrupted power supply) may be doing the job, but switching to flywheel will help shrink the footprint and is more environmentally conscious. Here we've compiled eight recent must have data center technologies that will keep things running like a milkshake -- smooth and cool.

Double The Computing Power, Half The Space
HP ProLiant BL2x220c G5 by HP

The HP ProLiant BL2x220c G5 blade server is being billed as the world's first two-in-one server. Offering two independent servers in a single blade, the BL2x220c is aimed at companies making their living on Web 2.0, cloud computing, high performance-computing and data centers that are clogged with way too many servers. The two in one allows customers to double computing power and reduce their data center footprint. The BL2x220c will also help the data center become more dense, by offering three times the density of 1U rack-mount servers.

Keep A Data Center Running On The Fly
Liebert FS by Emerson Power

Flywheel technology may be classic, but that doesn't mean using it in a UPS won't guarantee uptime and cost savings. Offering 250,000 hours of Mean Time Between Failures (MBTF) as opposed to 5,000 hours with a battery-based UPS, the Liebert FS can be installed and forgotten about -- and flywheel technology means there is no concern about whether or not the battery is charged when the lights go out.



Couple reliability with a footprint about half the size of a lead battery-powered UPS and you can tighten the belt on your data center floor. Space not an issue? What about energy consumption and cost? This flywheel UPS draws a skimpy 275 watts, helping ensure that the data center runs as efficiently and cheaply as possible.

Server Sprawl No More
Dell PowerEdge M1000e modular blade enclosure

It's easy to lose control of blade servers if they just keep getting plugged into a cabinet without thought for cooling, power and space. The Dell PowerEdge M1000e modular blade enclosure aims to slow server sprawl. The 10U modular enclosure holds up to 16 half-height blade servers, keeping your computing power tightly bundled. The M1000e offers a pair of power supply options. Your choice of three (non-redundant) or six (redundant) 2360 watt hot plug power supplies can be customized to max out efficiency.



The chassis comes standard with nine hot pluggable, redundant fan modules to keep the blades cool and energy costs low. Combine power and cooling with a front control panel that can accommodate two USB keyboard/mouse connection and a video connection (Avocent iKVM switch not included) and you have a pretty well self-contained blade server chassis that provides efficiency on the floor and in the energy bill.

Cool Server Rows
InRow RP by APC

It's summer and your data center is heating up quicker than Richard Simmons when he's sweatin' to the oldies. InRow RP by APC can keep that temperature down by offering a water- or air-based in row cooling for high capacity situations and large data centers. In a row-based data center, cooling and controlling exhaust and recirculated air is important to keep equipment running properly. Both models of InRow control humidity with canister humidifiers and electric reheat, ensuring that the entire data center is kept cool and functioning, instead of just a single rack or row.

Keep James Bond Out Of The Data Center
BM-ET200 Iris Reader by Panasonic

Finger print recognition for access control is so 20th century. Update the security on the data center by upgrading to the Panasonic BM-ET200 Iris Reader. Eye detection is automatic and takes approximately 0.3 seconds, and since just the data center is being secured there's no concern about long lines forming at the door. The BM-ET200 can register 50 users in standalone mode or 5,025 users in network mode making it a good fit to lockdown the data center regardless of how many people have access. The system's voice guidance supports 14 languages making sure no one gets too close and pokes out an eye.

A Blackbox For The Data Center
Sun Modular Datacenter S20 by Sun

Dubbed "Project Blackbox," the Sun Modular Datacenter S20 is far less ominous than it sounds, providing quick rollout, high density and flexibility. While it may look like a semi-trailer, the S20 is actually a tightly packed, mobile data center that takes a fraction of the time to construct and get online. Boasting 40 percent lower cooling costs and one eighth the space of a traditional data center, the S20 may be a viable option for customers who need to get up to speed quickly and don't have the space or inclination to build their own data center -- assuming they don't mind the trailer parked out back.

Intelligent Switching
Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Switch by Cisco

The Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Switch is designed for 10 Gigabit Ethernet networks and is built to be robust enough to handle the needs of a data center on a day- to-day basis. The Switch, which falls in line with Cisco's Data Center 3.0 vision, is made to be scalable and meet the needs of continuous systems operation. The Nexus runs Cisco's latest data center operating system, the Cisco Nexus Operating System, or NX-OS.



Currently the Nexus 7000 Series scales beyond 15 terabits per second with capabilities to handle 40Gb and 100Gb Ethernet and unified fabric I/O modules. Cisco has said the Nexus 7000 can perform fast enough to download 90,000 Netflix movies in less than 39 seconds or send a high-resolution two megapixel photo to everyone on earth in 28 minutes. Cisco also says the Nexus 7000 can cut power consumption in the data center by around 8 percent.

Data, Dead On Demand
Digital Shredder by Ensconce Data Technology

Data destruction may not fall specifically in the realm of the data center, but you can be sure that if information is leaked when a drive reaches its end of life it soon will be. Ensconce Data Technology's Digital Shredder (DS) uses Secure Erase technology to ensure that old hard drives are sanitized beyond forensic recoverability. Good for ATA and SATA drives, the DS can accommodate multiple drives at once with swappable hot bays that speed up the destruction process.

At the end of the drive sanitation, a certificate is printed that can be attached directly to the defunct drive, letting everyone know it's clean and can safely be thrown out. Weighing only ten pounds, the DS can comfortably fit in a corner of the data center and be brought out when drives absolutely have to be wiped clean.