Roundup: Power Assure, Packet Power, ServerTech

Here's a roundup of some of this week's headlines about hardware and equipment for the data center:

New switch for cloud networking. Arista Networks, Inc., announced the Arista 7500 4-slot modular data center switch, which has the capacity of 5 terabits per second of switching and up to 192 wirespeed L2/L3 10GbE ports in only seven rack-units. The Arista 7500 4-slot chassis is purpose-built to alleviate capacity demand in the spine layer of cloud networks.

Consolidation of storage and virtualization of servers has created demand for a new class of modular device for space and power constrained environments. Measuring seven rack units in height (12.25 inches, 31.15 cm), the Arista 7500 4-slot chassis provides new levels of port density and performance to space-challenged provider and data center applications, supporting over 1,100 10GbE interfaces in a standard seven-foot (2.13m) rack with a full suite of L2 switching and L3 routing features.

Power Assure and Packet Power Partnering. Power Assure, Inc., a data center infrastructure management solutions provider, and Packet Power, a producer of wireless power monitoring systems, announced an integrated wireless power and temperature monitoring and optimization solution. The new combined product provides joint customers with a simpler and less expensive alternative for power monitoring and data center optimization and allows for insight into energy use across facilities and IT.

The U.S. Department of Energy predicts that within a few years the cost to power a server over its useful life will exceed the original capital expenditure. Also, Gartner has estimated that, on average, up to 30 percent of available power is being stranded, causing organizations to outgrow their data centers prematurely. What Power Assure and Packet Power have accomplished is an integrated power management solution that helps customers to view and manage power use within the data center.

Power Assure’s Dynamic Power Management software collects power usage and temperature data from the wireless Packet Power monitoring devices for use within data center applications. Packet Power software gathers power, temperature and relative humidity information from its wireless monitoring devices and then transmits that information to Power Assure in SNMP format.

Server Tech Introduces New PDUs/CDUs. Server Technology, Inc., a maker of power distribution units and power measurement and monitoring solutions, announced the availability of 18 new innovative cabinet power distribution units (CDUs) for the data center industry. The 18-design launch actually adds 120 products to the Server Technology product line with the various options available associated with the new products.

The new product introduction includes: high amperage (208V, 3-phase, 50A or 60A) Smart Power monitors for storage arrays, network switches and to refit unmonitored installations; new basic and metered 3-Phase CDUs with circuit breakers for branch circuit protection; the first 208V 50/60A basic and metered CDUs for high density applications; and new horizontal and vertical CDUs with NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) single phase and 3-Phase twist-lock receptacles, among others.

New memory products for networking gear with low-latency, high speed and low power usage. Renesas Electronics, a supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, announced the availability of a family of 576-megabit (Mb) low-latency DRAM products for network equipment. The new products offer doubled memory capacity, 25 percent improved random cycle performance for high-speed reading and writing of data, 33 percent faster operating frequency, and over 10 percent reduction in power consumption compared to the company’s existing 288 Mb low-latency DRAM products.

These products provide a reduction in power consumption per unit of memory capacity compared with earlier products, contributing to better energy efficiency overall and helping to alleviate problems related to heat dispersion when designing network equipment. Renesas Electronics’ 576 Mb low-latency DRAM products were developed to meet the demand for larger capacity, higher speed and reduced power consumption in memory for use in network equipment.