PRTG monitors the power supply and optimizes energy efficiency in the data center
Monitor uninterruptible and redundant power supplies
Record energy consumption and power usage levels
Optimize energy efficiency in the data center
Power monitoring is vital to the proper running of any data center. After all, data centers must not only operate efficiently in terms of energy, but also without the slightest risk of a malfunction or crash. Every server room needs a reliable and uninterruptible power supply to stay available and run efficiently around the clock. Otherwise, your company can suffer from:
- Operational disruptions
- Losses in sales
- Damage to critical IT and storage systems
What is data center power monitoring?
Power monitoring is part of data center monitoring, or the monitoring of all the critical systems in a data center. Data center monitoring can be broken down into three categories:
Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM):
Simply put, DCIM refers to the management of a data center’s infrastructure. It includes the planning, management, and monitoring of all the IT systems and components installed in the data center.
Data Center Temperature Monitoring:
Here, the temperature of the server room or individual server racks is monitored continuously. Special hardware and software measure the devices that cool the server room, including AC units, fans, and server cooling systems.
Data Center Humidity Monitoring:
In a data center, humidity levels and readings from humidifiers (or dehumidifiers) must be checked regularly.
Data Center Power Monitoring:
The first step in data center power monitoring involves the establishment and management of redundant and uninterruptible power supplies. A power monitoring system or tool then monitors these supplies in the data center.
Why is data center power monitoring important?
Even the slightest fluctuation in a power supply can cause damage to an IT system. Power failures may be caused by many different things – some of which are not always avoidable:
- Undervoltage and overvoltage
- Power overloads (e.g., caused by lightning)
- Weather conditions such as the sudden onset of winter (snowstorms, icy power lines, etc.)
- Construction work (damaged underground cables) or pets (gnawed cables)
- Vandalism, including damage to utility poles and distribution boxes
- Cyberattacks and damage to the IT of power stations
On the other hand, maintenance work on the power supply or overhead lines and the replacement of electrical meters are considered planned interruptions. Nevertheless, your data center still needs power during these times. After all, if your IT infrastructure has no power, then business processes come to a halt and losses start to rise. In order to cover all your bases, your data center needs:
- A redundant power supply
- An uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
- Comprehensive data center power monitoring
A sneak peek at data center monitoring with PRTG
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Power monitoring helps optimize the energy efficiency of your data center
Power monitoring is about more than just making sure your power supply is error-free and available. In the age of climate change and constantly rising electricity prices, the logging of energy requirements is becoming more and more important.
Those who use monitoring software to consistently measure and record their energy consumption are in a much better position to manage their use of power and detect energy hogs. By optimizing your data center with power monitoring, you can therefore save on energy and electricity costs.
UPS and PDU
Most data centers contain basic components such a UPS and a PDU.
UPS
(uninterruptible power supply)
(uninterruptible power supply)
A UPS supplies power to a data center in the event of a grid failure, and provides short-term relief from under- and overvoltage.
PDU
(Power Distribution Unit)
(Power Distribution Unit)
PDUs are used to control the supply of power in the data center. An example of a PDU is a simple power strip.
Data centers often contain smart PDUs with sensors and LEDs which can display the system status and load, and transmit data to a monitoring tool such as PRTG.
Why does a data center need a redundant power supply?
Here, “redundant" means that the infrastructure component, IT system, or network device is protected with two or even three power supplies.
If one power supply fails, the component will continue to be powered by the second or third supply. A redundant power supply works like a UPS. Regardless of whether or not the fluctuation or interruption is intentional, a redundant power supply protects against potential outages and damages.
Advantages
- No more interruptions: If one power supply fails, the other takes over.
- Hot swapping: The defective power supply can be replaced without having to shut down the IT system or server.
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“Fantastic network and infrastructure monitoring solution that is easy to deploy and easier still to use. Simply the best available.”
“Software is absolutely perfect, Support is superior. Meets all needs and requirements, this is a must have solution if you are needing any form of monitoring.”
“The tool excels at its primary focus of being a unified infrastructure management and network monitoring service.”
PRTG is a universal monitoring tool for your data center
With PRTG, your data center power monitoring is set up and running in no time. PRTG is an all-in-one solution that complements your data center monitoring.
It monitors your UPS systems, PDU solutions, and all the equipment that is used to operate your data center. This includes AC, cooling, ventilation, and fire protection systems. You can also monitor the overall performance of your data center.
PRTG is a user-friendly early warning system
PRTG comes with preconfigured sensors that quickly and conveniently integrate power supplies, PDUs, and UPS systems into your monitoring environment. The software continuously records data and immediately sounds the alarm if a threshold value is exceeded.
Especially handy: PRTG lets you define your own threshold values and notifications.
PRTG makes energy efficiency analyses easy
PRTG lets you create detailed reports containing insights on your energy consumption. Its power monitoring data helps make your data center more energy-efficient. As a result, you’ll reduce your electricity costs without affecting performance or availability.
PRTG monitors your entire infrastructure
PRTG keeps a constant eye on data traffic, bandwidth, the performance and availability of the local or remote network, hardware, the availability of databases, and much more.
Easy-to-read dashboards provide administrators with a clear overall picture of their IT infrastructure. A quick glance is all it takes to spot potential problems.
PRTG: The Swiss Army knife for sysadmins
Adapt PRTG individually and dynamically to your needs and rely on a strong API:- HTTP API: Access monitoring data and manipulate monitoring objects via HTTP requests
- Custom sensors: Create your own PRTG sensors for customized monitoring
- Custom notifications: Create your own notifications and send action triggers to external systems
- REST Custom sensor: Monitor almost everything that provides data in XML or JSON format
“We can all work with greater peace of mind knowing
that our systems are constantly being monitored.”
Markus Puke, Network Administrator, Schüchtermann Klinik, Germany
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PRTG |
Network Monitoring Software - Version 23.1.82.2175 (March 1st, 2023) |
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Hosting |
Download for Windows and cloud-based version PRTG Hosted Monitor available |
Languages |
English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese |
Pricing |
Up to 100 sensors for free (Price List) |
Unified Monitoring |
Network devices, bandwidth, servers, applications, virtual environments, remote systems, IoT, and more |
Supported Vendors & Applications |
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