Power Infrastructure

Optimised End-to-End Power Infrastructure for Datacentres

Essentials for physical Power-Distribution, Power-Management, Monitoring and Metering for IT environments of any size.

Physical Power-Distribution in the Datacentre

Any interruption or failure of the power supply in a Mission Critical Data Centre can have a dramatic impact on the security of sensitive data or business transactions as well as on the running of the whole business. It is therefore vital to focus on security during the planning of any DataCentre power distribution. Other considerations such as flexibility, space restrictions and rack density are becoming more and more important when planning for the future. Mission Critical Data Centres, test and demo labs often need to be reconfigured to simulate real world scenarios or to update hardware. The Starline track busbar allows for power changes to be made with the power plug-ins even in a live environment eliminating the need for downtime. Power plug-ins can be configured to customer requirements with 16A, 32A or 63A single and/or three phase connectors available. Traditional cable whips and cable panels require costly and time consuming pulling of cables, connection and often downtime which must all be planned weeks if not months in advance. Starline offers a flexible, scalable secure alternative to the traditional power whip.

Track Busbar - advantages of a busbar with none of the disadvantages!

Starline Track Busbar is different to all other busbar systems. The continuous access design of the Starline busbar allows for power the plug-ins to be placed where they are required along the entire length of the busbar, not at predefined locations. Available rated to 100, 160, 225 and 400 Amps and up to 415 volts, Starline can support any size of Data Centre. The flexible design allows for installation either overhead or under the raised floor. The connections between the track elements consist of a patent protected spring pressure connection which is nut and bolt free preventing any loose connections. The same spring pressure connections are used to connect the power plug-ins to the busway ensuring a secure and solid connection at all times. The entire busbar system is easy to assemble and dismantle meaning that tracks can be inexpensively installed, moved, reused and recycled.

The plug-ins are designed to allow for individual customer requirements. Current monitoring, which can be accessed via RS232, IP or Modbus, can be included per rack or per busbar run. The number of and type of connections is determined by your own requirements. For example, a 16A single phase tap off can be put next to a 32A three phase tap off on the same Busbar. Even drop cords and hard wire options are available. Regardless of the type of connection, breaker or current monitoring, Starline has a power plug-in for your needs.

Sustainability and cost-effectiveness

The flexible bus design, redundancy and modular expandability are some of the main reasons, why Mission Critical Data Centres rely on Starline. Naturally financial aspects also play a big role as to why companies are choosing to use a Starline solution:

Because of the ease of circuit adds and deletes without the need for an electrician the total ownership costs of the Starline System are much less than cable based solutions. With a total ownership cost savings of between 20and 40 percent and between 30 and 50 percent for installation and maintenance Starline is one of the most cost-effective power solutions in the market.

Highlights:

Modular Track Busbar
Power Plug-In via Twist & Lock
Tool-Free Installation of Plug-In-Units
No interruption of the power supply from racks
Up to 400 Amps - 415 Volts
Plug-Ins available with 16, 32 or 63 Amps
Easy Reconfigurations
No cabling
Lower total ownership costs compared with traditional power distribution panels

1. Power Management for server cabinets

With solutions from Avocent (Cyclades), Dataprobe, Raritan, Server Technology and Dataprobe Daxten offers a wide range of in rack power distribution units (PDU) to provide DataCentre professionals with the tools they need to monitor, reduce, and manage their growing power consumption costs. Thresholds can be created to allow Datacentre teams to know before problems occur and minimise downtime caused by overloaded circuits. Our products for data centre power management include intelligent Cabinet Power Distribution Units (PDUs) that provide power management via IP including remote reboot, branch circuit protection, input current power monitoring, environmental monitoring, serial console port access as well as basic power units as well as 3 Phase Power units.

Highlights:

Measure and monitor power consumption per outlet
Remote switching capability to power on/off individual outlets
Create thresholds to generate alerts/notifications
Flexible installation- IP and Serial interface options
PDUs can be managed directly or integrated with a management software applications like Avocent DSView 3 or Raritan Command Centre Secure

2. Power Metering & Monitoring

The DSView 3 Energy Manager software and the Raritan Command Centre Secure applications provide access and control to nearly all equipment found in today's Data Centres. The applications give companies the ability to monitor and measure IT energy consumption, costs, and trends across all levels within their Data Centres and remote locations. The applications gather information from the power distribution units and other supported power devices to generate historical graphs and reports. IT administrators and managers can analyse overall costs and capacity across individual PDUs, racks, rows of racks, or entire data centres.

Highlights:

Monitor the overall IT energy consumption for:

Individual PDUs
Individual Racks
Rows of racks
Data Centre
Whole Company

Understand available power capacity

Set thresholds and alerts to prevent overloading of circuits
See the direct impact of any changes or additions

Monitor IT energy costs