AVTECH Software Monitor

APR 2006
MONITOR
AVTECH Software News, Tools, Info & Resources for Monitoring IT Data Centers
Keeping Your Data Center Environmentally Secure
Proactive Monitoring Of Your Company’s Computer Room Or Data Center
Will Save You Money, Reduce Downtime And Prevent Lost Business
Imagine walking into your data center one
morning, only to find that the room’s air
conditioning system has malfunctioned and
the temperature is far above pre-set levels.
If you’re lucky, the AC can be repaired
immediately and before expensive IT
equipment or critical information is damaged.
Unfortunately, this scenario rarely has a happy
ending. Most of the time, expensive equipment
and valuable data are destroyed, causing the
business process to be brought to a
virtual standstill.
For organizations that don’t believe such
calamities could ever strike them, consider
that 75% of all sites are down at least half a
day from one to three times a year because of
computer room temperature problems or other
environmental issues, according to various
statistics. The expense per incident ranges from
$10,000 to $50,000 and can mount quickly for
organizations that fail to respond appropriately.
Statistics like these serve to emphasize how
important it is to monitor the environment in
your data center, computer room or other area
where IT equipment is housed. It is also
important that your IT staff knows immediately
when there is a problem so they can respond
immediately. An inappropriate environment,
coupled with slow or no response, can lead to
the damage of hardware, threaten uptime, and
prevent network data access. Proactive
monitoring, on the other hand, allows your staff
to address situations quickly and before they
can cause damage or downtime.
Common Environment Issues
As stated, air conditioning failure is the most
common environmental problem a company is
likely to encounter in the computer room or
data center. Other significant threats include
power loss, humidity, flood and smoke damage.
To understand the role air conditioning plays
in cooling the environment, switch off the
AC in your computer room and observe what
happens to the temperature in just a short time.
If the room temperature rises to just 85 degrees
Fahrenheit, the temperature inside a server or
rack cabinet can be over 120 degrees! This
can be deadly for systems, servers and other
network or computer equipment. To avoid
problems, the data center environment should
be monitored around the clock, especially on
nights and weekends when staff are not on
site. In these situations, it is important to have
an environment monitoring system that can
notify staff of a problem and perform automatic
corrective actions to prevent any further
damage to expensive systems, servers
or other equipment.
See Environmentally Secure, pg 3
Recommended Data Center Temperature & Humidity
Preventing Costly Downtime Caused By Environment Conditions
Monitoring the environment conditions in a
computer room or data center is critical to
ensuring uptime and system reliability. A report
from the Gartner Group in late 2003 estimated
that the average hourly cost of downtime for
a computer network at that time was $42,000.
It has likely gone up dramatically. At these
high costs, even companies with 99.9% uptime
lose hundreds of thousands of dollars each
year in unplanned downtime. Maintaining
recommended temperature and humidity
levels in the data center can reduce unplanned
downtime caused by environment conditions
and save companies thousands or even millions
of dollars per year.
Recommended Computer Room
Temperature
Operating expensive IT computer equipment
for extended periods of time at high
temperatures greatly reduces reliability,
longevity of components and will likely
cause unplanned downtime. Maintaining an
AVTECH.com • EnvironmentMonitor.com
ambient temperature range of 68° to 75°F
(20° to 24°C) is optimal for system reliability.
This temperature range provides a safe buffer
for equipment to operate in the event of air
conditioning or HVAC equipment failure
while making it easier to maintain a safe
relative humidity level. It is a generally agreed
upon standard in the computer industry that
expensive IT equipment should not be operated
in a computer room or data center where the
ambient room temperature has exceeded
85°F (30°C).
In today’s high-density data centers and
computer rooms, measuring the ambient
room temperature is often not enough. The
temperature of the air where it enters the
server can be measurably higher than the
ambient room temperature, depending on
the layout of the data center and a higher
concentration of heat producing equipment
such as blade servers.
See Temperature & Humidity, pg 3
1
IN THIS ISSUE:
Keeping Your Data Center Environmentally
Secure..............................................................1
Recommended Data Center Temperature
& Humidity .......................................................1
AVTECH Software & Firelock Announce
Marketing Partnership......................................2
Lantronix and AVTECH Software Collaborate
To Provide Disaster Prevention Solutions For
IT Data Center Environments...........................4
TECH TIP: Using PageR Enterprise (PageR)
To Shutdown Windows Systems Locally…
Or Network-Wide..............................................5
TECH TIP: Insights & Strategies For Running
Sensor Cables..................................................6
Spotlight: Environment Monitoring...................7
Current Versions..............................................7
888.220.6700 • 401.847.6700
AVTECH Software, Inc.
APRIL 2006
AVTECH Software & Firelock Announce Marketing Partnership
Two Companies Combine More Than 40 Years Of Experience And Industry-Leading Technology To Offer The Ultimate
Solution In IT And Data Center Environment Protection
In a move that gives organizations the ultimate
products needed to protect IT data centers and
computer rooms from environmental disasters,
AVTECH Software, Inc. and Firelock, Inc.
announce a partnership that will make their
industry-leading products available in one
powerful solution.
AVTECH Software
(AVTECH) based in Newport, RI,
develops and manufactures the Room Alert
line of IT environment monitoring products.
This hardware and software solution allows
easy remote monitoring of conditions in
the computer room, via a web browser. The
primary environment conditions that Room
Alert will monitor include: temperature and
humidity changes, power interruptions and
failures, flooding and water leakage, smoke,
fire and CO2, unauthorized room entry and
more. Once Room Alert detects a problem
in a server rack or the computer room, it
immediately notifies managers and staff,
allowing for response and automatic corrective
action to avoid or minimize downtime and
costly hardware replacement.
Firelock, of Kutztown, PA, is the world leader
in vital records protection. Firelock custom
designs and manufactures modular fireproof
server vault systems that can be built around
the server room to create a safe haven for the
data center, protecting it from fire or other
environmental conditions.
With recent laws that severely punish CEO,
CFO and IT Managers for failing to protect
digital information assets, Room Alert
compliments the environment protection that
comes with Firelock’s modular vault. “Our
combined products present a natural fit for IT
managers seeking the ultimate in protection
for expensive equipment and valuable
AVTECH Software
Newport, RI • 888.220.6700
www.AVTECH.com
888.220.6700 • 401.847.6700
information,” said Michael Sigourney, senior
product specialist for AVTECH.
Compounding the need to merge
these technologies is
the heightened potential for fire and heat problems that IT environments face
today with new blade servers and high-density
media devices. By incorporating Room Alert
technology into the fireproof vault system,
managers have a powerful monitoring and
alerting solution that will let them know
immediately if environment conditions change,
allowing them important time to respond
before disaster develops. “It’s a way to make
sure the IT manager knows what is going on
in their facility so they are always in control
and can respond immediately to save valuable
IT equipment and data,” states Hugh Smith,
director of marketing for Firelock.
Potential customers can view both products in
a new modular vault showroom located
at Record Management Archives (RMA) in
Easton, PA. The showroom,
which
opened in
February, is
located
at the base
of the New
England
corridor,
close to
New York
and
Philadelphia,
and is
within easy
travel
distance
for visitors
from North
America
and abroad.
Firelock
Kutztown, PA • 610.756.4440
www.Firelock.com
According to Ed Rossner, director of IT
and operations for RMA, “Our goal is to
offer clients the ultimate
environment for data
media storage and
co-location. By
monitoring this environment
with AVTECH technology,
we assure strict compliance and provide
proof to our clients on a minute-by-minute
basis as they can view the vault conditions at
any moment in time via their web browser.”
Under the partnership, Firelock will
offer Room Alert as an upgrade option to
customers who purchase a vault, which
are custom designed to fit a customer’s
unique needs. AVTECH plans to promote
and educate its thousands of customers
about the benefits Firelock vault systems
provide when used in tandem with Room
Alert environment monitoring. Cooperative
plans include the possibility of joint trade
show and marketing event participation.
AVTECH is also considering the use of
the new showroom as a site for advanced
training or educational seminars regarding
IT environment monitoring. •
ABOVE: AVTECH Software Room Alert 11ER environment
monitoring unit for 1U 19’’ Rack. BELOW: Room Alert 11E
web browser interface.
Record Management & Archiving
Easton, PA • 610.253.2753
www.RecordsMgmtPA.com
AVTECH.com • EnvironmentMonitor.com
AVTECH Software, Inc. Environmentally Secure... from pg 1
For ultimate reliability, the environment
monitoring system should be able to operate
completely independent with all status and
configuration information available through a
web browser. An additional software module
that can monitor unlimited environment
monitoring units dispersed across the network
will add another level of protection, expand
alerting
options,
allow
broader
monitoring,
and enable
automatic
corrective
actions.
PDAs. Dial out paging via TAP or UCP protocols
allow text pages to be sent to mobile phones
and pagers in situations where the network or
mail server has gone down. SNPP paging is
gaining popularity as the notification method
of choice because of its security and virtually
instant delivery to large numbers of recipients
over the network without requiring a mail server.
Additional
notification
methods such
as audio alerts,
SNMP, instant
messaging
and others
add additional
flexibility
and allow the
environment
monitoring system to easily integrate with
existing work routines.
“When You’re Trying To Work
Safer And Smarter,
It Helps To Have Technology
That Works For You.”
If the
temperature rises too high, the environment
monitoring system should be able to notify
staff and automatically start a fan or backup
air conditioner, then send a follow-up message
when the temperature returns to a normal level.
If the temperature continues to rise beyond
safe levels, the environment monitoring system
should initiate an action like starting a backup
on an orderly shutdown of servers to prevent
the high temperatures from causing expensive
damage or longer downtime.
Multiple types of notification and flexible
alerting options are also important. At a
minimum, the environment monitoring system
should be able to send email and text messages
to devices such as mobile phones, pagers and
Taking a proactive approach to protecting your
servers, data and other expensive IT equipment
will allow your company to avoid some of the
many problems that could interrupt or destroy a
business. Monitoring for environment conditions
like temperature, humidity, power, flood and
smoke is where you should begin, these are
the 5 biggest threats. Fortunately, these are
conditions that a smart, proactive organization
can easily and inexpensively monitor. It stands
to reason that any prudent and professional IT
facility should take advantage of this beneficial
technology at the earliest opportunity. •
Temperature & Humidity... from pg 1
Measuring the temperature of the aisles
at multiple height levels can give an early
indication of a potential temperature problem.
For consistent and reliable temperature
monitoring, place a temperature sensor at least
every 25 feet in each aisle with sensors placed
closer together if high temperature equipment
like blade servers are in use. We recommend
installing TemPageR, Room Alert 7E or Room
Alert 11E rack units at the top of each rack in
the data center. As the heat generated by the
components in the rack rises, TemPageR and
Room Alert units will provide an early warning
and notify staff of temperature issues before
critical systems, servers or network equipment
are damaged.
Recommended Computer Room
Humidity
Relative humidity (RH) is defined as the amount
of moisture in the air at a given temperature in
relation to the maximum amount of moisture
AVTECH.com • EnvironmentMonitor.com
the air could hold at that same temperature. In
a data center or computer room, maintaining
ambient relative humidity levels between
45% and 55% is recommended for optimal
performance and reliability.
When relative humidity levels are too high,
water condensation can occur which results
in hardware corrosion and early system and
component failure. If the relative humidity is
too low, computer equipment becomes
susceptible to electrostatic discharge (ESD)
which can cause damage to sensitive
components. When monitoring the relative
humidity in the data center, we recommend
early warning alerts at 40% and 60% relative
humidity, with critical alerts at 30% and 70%
relative humidity. It is important to remember
that the relative humidity is directly related to
the current temperature, so monitoring
temperature and humidity together is critical. As
the value of IT equipment increases, the risk and
associated costs can increase exponentially. •
APRIL 2006
THANK YOU
To Some New Customers
Accuride, Acumium,
Africa Inland Mission,
Agilis Networks,
Alberta Energy & Utilities Board,
Alion Science & Technology,
Artesyn Technologies, Astraeus,
Autoliv Electronics America,
Bell Security Solutions,
Bellagio Hotel & Casino,
Birch Medical Imaging,
Blue Cross, Borg Warner Morse,
Building Champions,
Bush Truck Leasing, C & K Markets,
Capitol Media Group, Caspur,
Cingular, Citgo Petroleum,
City Baltimore, City Spokane Valley,
Colsa, Colubris, Continental Teves,
DC Shoes, Digicon, Duquesne Capital,
Eastern Michigan University,
EasyRent, Erie Plastics, ESP Maryland,
Fatmak International,
First National Bank Rockies,
Fiserv, Florida Power & Light,
Gamma Construction,
Georgia State University, Glades County,
Gregory Poole Equipment,
Heatcon Composite Systems,
Heritage Broadcasting,
HyperGraphic Impressions,
InterContinental Hotels Group,
Iwatsu America, JAC Products,
Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL),
Kaiser Permanente, Knights Armament,
Kokusai Semiconductors, Labopharm,
Lattice Semiconductor,
Lithuanian Music Hall, Logex, Maritz,
Maryland General Assembly,
Medical Coach West,
Merchant & Gould,
Merchants Insurance Group,
Merrill Lynch Commodities,
Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America,
National Animal Disease Center,
National Gypsum, National Institute
Standards & Technology (NIST),
New York City, Newfoundland Power,
Nonin Medical, Northrop Grumman,
NT Solutions, Orange County Fairgrounds,
Perftech, Phillips & Jordan,
Price Waterhouse Coopers,
Qwest Government Services,
Radiology Associates, RamSys,
Readers Digest, RightNow Technologies,
Seagate Technologies,
Serck Aviation, Set Seg, SETI Institute,
Society Exploration Geophysic,
St Anselm College, State California,
Technology Insight, Teksouth,
Texas Memory Systems,
Time Plus, TRX, Tulane University,
Union Switch & Signal, United Moving,
University Maryland,
University British Columbia,
University Illinois, University San Francisco,
US Dept Agriculture, Vinesse,
Winmark, Yankee Auto Bath,
Zagat Survey
888.220.6700 • 401.847.6700
AVTECH Software, Inc.
UPCOMING EVENTS
– April –
Bio-IT World Conference & Expo
April 3 - 5 • Boston, MA USA
www.Bio-ITWorldExpo.com
Gartner Outsourcing Summit 2006
April 3 - 5 • Orlando, FL USA
www.Gartner.com/2_events
/conferences/std9.jsp
LinuxWorld Expo
April 3 - 6 • Boston, MA USA
www.LinuxWorldExpo.com
Microsoft Exchange
Connections 2006
April 9-12 • Orlando, FL USA
www.WinConnections.com
Windows Connection 2006
April 9-12 • Orlando, FL USA
www.WinConnections.com
Blade Server Summit
April 18 - 20 • Garden Grove, CA USA
www.BladeServerSummit.com
Interop
April 30 - May 5 • Las Vegas, NV USA
www.Interop.com/lasvegas
– May –
GTC West 2006
May 15 - 19 • Sacramento, CA USA
www.GovTech.net/gtc
Spring 2006 Von Europe
May 15 -19 • Stockholm, Sweden
www.VonEurope.com
USENIX 2006 Annual
Technical Conference
May 30 - June 3 • Boston, MA USA
www.USENIX.org/events/usenix06/
– June –
SID 2006
June 4 - 9 • San Francisco, CA USA
www.SID2006.org
IT Security Summit 2006
APRIL 2006
Lantronix and AVTECH Software
Collaborate To Provide Disaster Prevention
Solutions For IT Data Center Environments
Solutions Enable Monitoring And Control Of Critical Environmental
Elements In A Data Center Or Computer Room From Anywhere, Anytime
Using Lantronix XPORT
Lantronix, Inc. (Nasdaq: LTRX), a leader in device networking and data center management
technologies, today announced its collaboration with AVTECH Software, Inc. (AVTECH) to
provide solutions that allow companies to remotely monitor and manage critical environmental
conditions including temperature, humidity, power, flood and smoke in a computer room, data
center, rack cabinet or other facilities. By utilizing Lantronix award-winning XPort ® embedded
networking module, AVTECH’s Room Alert and TemPageR hardware and software monitors
are now able to connect to the end user’s network or internet enabling real-time,
remote environmental monitoring. In partnership with Lantronix, AVTECH’s solutions
provide the advanced monitoring, alerting and automatic corrective action capabilities that an
organization might need to minimize downtime and avoid costly hardware replacement.
“The need for proactive environmental management solutions has become a priority for many
data centers around the world, particularly as sensitivity to downtime has increased,” said
Michael Sigourney, senior product specialist for AVTECH. “Companies are beginning to realize
the benefits of dealing with such environmental issues before they actually occur. By partnering
with Lantronix, we are able to provide end users with the technologies they need in order to
effectively manage what is happening in the data center and ensure they are aware of any
changes in real time.”
Monitoring the environment in a data center is a crucial aspect of data center management.
Because computer and network equipment is designed to operate effectively within a specific
range of environmental conditions, potentially catastrophic results such as extreme system,
application or network problems may occur if the environment is unstable. As air conditioning
and power supply failure are the most common environmental problems, AVTECH’s solutions
are able to monitor any change in conditions and send out alert notifications by using XPort’s
built-in web server and AVTECH’s PageR Enterprise software.
“By utilizing Lantronix XPort embedded module, AVTECH was able to quickly and easily
offer network connectivity as a standard feature in its already innovative hardware and software
solutions,” said Chris Humphrey, senior vice president of marketing for Lantronix. “This
collaboration allows for enhanced end user experience and is another significant end product
made possible by incorporating a fully integrated network enabling technology.”
Room Alert from AVTECH is a hardware and software solution that allows easy remote
monitoring of physical environmental conditions within the computer room including
temperature, humidity, power, flood/water, smoke/fire, air flow and more. TemPageR is a
hardware and software solution that allows easy remote monitoring of temperature conditions in
a rack cabinet, computer room, data center, operating room, laboratory or other facilities. Both
products are also bundled with a small license for AVTECH’s PageR Enterprise for networkwide server, device and event monitoring, alerting and automatic corrective action.
Lantronix XPort is the most compact, integrated embedded device server and network
processing module that provides manufacturers the ability to easily design Ethernet or IP
networking capabilities to devices with a serial interface. In a compact, RJ45 package, XPort
incorporates all the essential hardware and software in a single solution that allows OEMs to
cost-effectively embed networking into a wide variety of products, instantly increasing product
value, enhancing the end-user experience and to facilitate new service delivery options. •
June 5 - 7 • Washington, DC USA
www.Gartner.com/2_events/conferences/
Cisco Networkers 2006
June 18 - 23 • Boston, MA USA
www.Cisco.com/web/learning/
888.220.6700 • 401.847.6700
AVTECH Software
Newport, RI • 888.220.6700
www.AVTECH.com
Lantronix
Irvine, CA • 800.526.8766
www.Lantronix.com
AVTECH.com • EnvironmentMonitor.com
AVTECH Software, Inc.
APRIL 2006
TECH TIP: Using PageR Enterprise (PageR) To
Shutdown Windows Systems Locally…
Or Network-Wide
Many customers express the desire to
automatically perform a network-wide system
shutdown in response to environment issues
such as high temperature and power failure,
especially at remote or unmanned sites. PageR
Enterprise (PageR) has the ability to execute
VBScripts, JScripts, batch files, commands and
programs in response to an alarm condition.
Sample scripts are provided with PageR to help
configure these automatic corrective actions.
The first step in configuring this automatic
corrective action is to ensure that the most
current version of PageR is installed. The
PageR version number is displayed on the
‘About’ screen which is accessible via the
‘Help’ menu. If the version listed there is older
than the version listed on the ‘Current Versions’
box of the AVTECH.com homepage, please
download and install the most current version
of PageR before getting started.
Start PageR and open the ‘Options’ screen.
Click the ‘Add Object’ button on the
‘Monitored Objects’ tab and double-click
the icon labeled ‘Task’ to create a new Task
monitored object. In the ‘Identifier’ field, type
a meaningful name for this Monitored Object.
Perhaps something like ‘Shutdown Windows
System’. Click the binoculars button in the
‘Task File’ section and open the ‘Samples’
folder. Two available shutdown scripts for
Windows systems are named ‘Shutdown.
txt’ and ‘Shutdown2.txt’. The ‘Shutdown.txt’
script file is capable of performing a shutdown
operation on a single Windows system. The
‘Shutdown2.txt’ file is capable of performing
a shutdown operation on multiple Windows
systems. Select the ‘Shutdown2.txt’ file and
click the ‘Open’ button. In the ‘Parameters’
field, enter the IP address of each system you
wish to perform a shutdown operation on,
separating each IP address with a semi-colon
(;). Be sure that both the ‘Execute On Scan’
and ‘Execute On Clock’ checkboxes are not
checked. Click ‘Ok’, click ‘Accept’ and then
save the configuration to the Registry using the
‘Save Configuration to Registry’ option from
the ‘Settings’ menu.
Once the Task monitored object has been
configured, an Alarm Object must be
configured that will call the shutdown Task.
Open the ‘Options’ screen and click the ‘Add
Alarm’ button on the ‘Alarm Objects’ tab.
In the ‘Description’ field, enter a meaningful
name for this Alarm Object. Perhaps something
like ‘Windows Systems - Shutdown Alarm’.
If you wish to be notified when this Alarm
AVTECH.com • EnvironmentMonitor.com
Object is called, add the desired contacts to
the ‘Alarm Escalation Schedule’. Select the
Task monitored object created in the preceding
paragraph from the ‘Task Object’ drop down
list in the ‘Execute Windows Command or
Task’ section. This will cause the selected
Task to be executed in response to this alarm.
Click ‘Ok’, click ‘Accept’ and then save the
configuration to the Registry using the ‘Save
Configuration to Registry’ option from the
‘Settings’ file menu.
To complete the Shutdown configuration,
either select a previously created Monitored
Object from the ‘Monitored Objects’ tab or
create a new Monitored Object and select the
name of the Alarm Object you just created
in the preceding paragraph from the ‘Alarm
Object’ drop down in the ‘Alarm Notification’
section of the Monitored Object Add/Change
screen. Be sure to save the configuration to the
Registry after doing so. As always, the last step
in every configuration change is to test your
setup. Be sure that this configuration is tested
during a time that will not adversely affect
other users in your organization.
This configuration can also be used with other
scripts to perform shutdown operations on
various OS system types such as UNIX, Linux,
AS/400, OpenVMS, RS6000 and more. If you
have sample scripts that you would like to
share with other PageR users or any questions
regarding this type of operation, please feel
free to email our Technical Support team at
Support@AVTECH.com. •
ABOVE: The PageR Enterprise Alarm Object Add/Change screen specifies who should receive alert notification and at which stage
of the alert hierarchy. Settings can be specified for advanced functions like playing customized sound files, alerting on alarm cancellations, automatic corrective actions and more. Each Alarm Object can be linked directly to one or more Monitored Objects. In
situations where specific automatic responses are called, typically the Alarm Object would be linked to one specific Monitored Object
where the response is appropriate. Commands, scripts and task objects can be as complex as desired or may be appropriate.
888.220.6700 • 401.847.6700
AVTECH Software, Inc.
APRIL 2006
If the power and cooling
infrastructure in your data center
fails in responding to change, how will you know?
Will it effect the operation of your business?
How much will it cost?
You can prepare for the unexpected with
AVTECH Software’s Room Alert ™
and TemPageR™ products.
Visit Our Online Store At: www.EnvironmentMonitor.com
TECH TIP: Insights & Strategies For Running Sensor Cables
The benefit of IT data center environment
monitoring is clear to most managers.
However, the biggest challenge can sometimes
be just finding the available time to run sensor
cables once you have Room Alert or TemPageR
in hand. Here are few tips and guidelines to
keep in mind:
• Switch based sensors are monitored by
sending a low level electronic signal through a
2-wire cable to monitor the status of a simple
switch. The switch is connected to a sensor.
The status of that sensor is based upon whether
the switch is recognized as open or closed (i.e.
make/break, on/off, etc.)
• Switch sensors typically come with a cable of
between 25-50´ in length. This will meet most
IT requirements. Cables can be extended up
to approximately 900´ from the ID box. After
that length, the signal strength dissipates and
monitoring becomes ineffective.
• Switch sensors can be connected to Room
Alert using a simple speaker cable, twisted pair
or 2-wire cable. Quality is recommended over
cost because thinner cables can get damaged
easily if people are unsure of the cable purpose
and accidentally disturb them. Someone who
does not know what the cable is for and pulls
on it when they see it above a drop ceiling or
under a raised floor can invalidate your efforts.
Be sure to route cables appropriately and
inform others of their purpose. Low quality
cable can also weaken the signal and reduce
the overall distance that can be achieved in
your environment.
888.220.6700 • 401.847.6700
• Digital sensors (i.e. temperature or
temperature/humidity) have a shorter range,
approximately 100´ from the Room Alert or
TemPageR ID box. The standard cable used is
a 25´ RJ-11cable where three of the four wires
are needed to transfer the digital temperature or
humidity data sent by the sensor chip.
RJ-11 cable is inexpensive and readily available
which allows users to extend the distance by
simply adding more RJ-11 cable and a coupler.
You can get this at most electronic, hardware
or general stores. If you make your own cables,
be sure to make them
“straight through”.
A “crossover” cable
will not work.
Verify this first if
an extended cable is
not working for you.
• The functioning real-world distances for
sensor cable use can vary due to interference
to and the quality of your sensor cable and
connections. Whenever possible, always lean
towards a higher quality sensor cable over a
low price. One missed alert or even a small
amount of your time is worth much more than
a few dollars saved on sensor cable. Reliability
is everything!
• Large, unshielded power sources can disrupt
the sensor signal. Therefore, avoid running
sensor cables near large electro magnetic
devices. Avoid florescent lights as well. Be sure
to route your cables so that they have the least
amount of interference and are in safe, out of
the way paths.
• Lay out your sensor cables on the floor,
preferably outside of normal work hours when
foot traffic is significantly reduced, to confirm
the path you plan to run the cables. Be sure to
test the sensor at that time to be sure the
desired sensor location is within working
distance, then route your cables. This will help
to eliminate wasted installation time. Nobody
enjoys re-routing cables through a drop ceiling
or under a raised floor.
• Test the sensors regularly to be sure that they
are set up properly. The number one problem
with sensor reliability is poor installation or
people accidentally damaging the sensor cable
connection. Testing regularly helps you assure
everything is working properly. Waiting for a
disaster to validate your system can be very
costly and sometimes lead to a new career. This
is basic advice, however, we hear horror stories
on a monthly basis.
In summary, placing sensors and running
the associated cables is pretty easy. Like any
activity, however, it can be labor intensive if
planning is not taken seriously. You’ll want to
get the best return on your investment and
create the most reliable system possible.
The value of doing this correctly, as well
as installing sooner versus later, can make
a significant difference if an environmental
threat should arise. To better prepare your
organization for disaster prevention, call one
of our product specialists for advice. •
ABOVE: The Digital Temperature Sensor can be used for
real-time temperature monitoring with all current Room Alert
and TemPageR products.
AVTECH.com • EnvironmentMonitor.com
AVTECH Software, Inc.
Spotlight: Environment Monitoring
APRIL 2006
Current Versions
Software & Firmware
Room Alert 11E
PageR Enterprise
September 1, 2005.......v4.3.7
Advanced Computer Room Environment Monitoring, Alerting & Automatic Corrective Action
INCLUDES: Room Alert 11E ID box, Ethernet connection, 1 external digital temperature/humidity sensor,
Room Alert 11E
March 9, 2006.......v2.0.1
1 external digital temperature sensor, 1 open digital sensor port, 1 external main power sensor, 7 open switch
sensor channels, 10´ Ethernet cable, built-in web server, PageR 10 Object Enterprise license, CD installation
& resource media, printed Room Alert 11E Web Server User’s Guide & Reference Manual, printed Getting
Started With PageR Enterprise manual, 12 months of Maintenance Support & Update Service, our 30-Day
Satisfaction Guarantee and special offers on other products. Rack mount model, additional sensors and
PageR Enterprise license upgrades are optional.
Room Alert 7E
March 22, 2006.......v2.0.2
TemPageR 4E
March 2, 2006.......v2.0.1
Device Discovery
October 19, 2005.......v2.0.0
$495
Standard: # RA11E-TH1-BAS
$545
Rack Model: # RA11E-TH1-RAS
Contact Us
AVTECH Software, Inc.
221 Third Street, Admiral’s Gate
Newport, RI 02840-1087 USA
Room Alert 7E
Advanced Computer Room Environment Monitoring, Alerting & Automatic Corrective Action
Sales: 888.220.6700
Phone: 401.847.6700
Fax: 401.847.6701
INCLUDES: Room Alert 7E ID box, Ethernet connection, 1 built-in digital temperature sensor, 1 external
digital temperature sensor, 2 open digital sensor ports, 1 external main power sensor, 2 open switch sensor
channels, 10´ Ethernet cable, built-in web server, PageR 10 Object Enterprise license, CD installation &
resource media, printed Room Alert 7E Web Server User’s Guide & Reference Manual, printed Getting
Started With PageR Enterprise manual, 12 months of Maintenance Support & Update Service, our 30-Day
Satisfaction Guarantee and special offers on other products. Rack mount model, additional sensors and
PageR Enterprise license upgrades are optional.
$395
Standard: # RA7E-ES1-BAS
Visit Us
AVTECH.com
EnvironmentMonitor.com
PagerEnterprise.com
RoomAlert.com
TemPageR.com
$445
Trademarks
Rack Model: # RA7E-ES1-RAS
TemPageR 4E
Real-Time Temperature Monitor with Data Logging, SNMP & Unlimited Alerting
INCLUDES: TemPageR 4E ID box, Ethernet connection, 1 built-in digital temperature sensor, 1 external
digital temperature sensor, 2 open digital sensor ports, 10´ Ethernet cable, built-in web server, PageR 5
Object Enterprise license, CD installation & resource media, printed TemPageR Web Server User’s Guide
& Reference Manual, printed Getting Started With PageR Enterprise manual, 12 months of Maintenance
Support & Update Service, our 30-Day Satisfaction Guarantee and special offers on other products. Rack
mount model, additional sensors and PageR Enterprise license upgrades are optional.
© Copyright 1988-2006 AVTECH Software, Inc.
All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
AVTECH, AVTECH Software,
AVTECH.com, AVTECHSoftware.com,
Environment Alarm,
EnvironmentMonitor.com,
‘Environment Monitoring Made Easy!’,
‘Network-Wide Monitoring Made Easy!’,
PageR, PageR Enterprise,
PagerEnterprise.com, Room Alert, Room
Alert Plus, RoomAlert.com, TemPageR,
TemPageR.com.
Privacy Promise
$295
Standard: # TMPE-ES1-BAS
AVTECH Software does not under any
circumstances sell or share your email
address or other information with any
other individual or organization.
$345
Rack Model: # TMPE-ES1-RAS
* Visit Our Web Store At www.EnvironmentMonitor.com For New Products And Special Offers That Change Monthly.
AVTECH.com • EnvironmentMonitor.com
888.220.6700 • 401.847.6700
Room Alert ™... Computer Room Environment Monitor
N
o one knows when or how disaster will
strike. We just know the potential is always
there. So preparation is critical to minimizing its
impact on computers, networks, users & business.
Room Alert monitors critical computer room
conditions, alerts staff by any method and can
take automatic action. There is a model that is
right for your organization and budget.
When disasters occur, there are significant costs in
areas that go far beyond the simple replacement of
damaged hardware. This is because what happens
in the data center effects the entire organization.
Call To Order or Obtain A Quote
1.888.220.6700
If disaster strikes your data center, how will it
impact business? Who will get the blame? Could
it have been prevented? What will it cost?
Room Alert ™ can monitor:
•
•
•
•
Temperature
Main Power
UPS Power
Flood / Water
• Humidity
•
•
•
•
•
Smoke / Fire
Room Entry
Air Flow
IP Camera
Panic Button
AVTECH Software has several powerful, scalable
Room Alert solutions for ‘dynamic’ environment
monitoring in a computer room or data center. All
arrive assembled with easy to install hardware,
cables, sensors, easy-to-use monitoring software,
printed documentation, toll free technical support
and a ‘30-Day Satisfaction Guarantee’. Users can
install in under 10 minutes, without an electrician!
401.847.6700 • Newport, RI • USA
www.AVTECH.com
Order Online For Immediate Shipment At www.EnvironmentMonitor.com Or Through Your Favorite Reseller. Reseller & OEM Inquiries Welcome.
AVTECH Software, Inc.
221 Third Street, Admiral’s Gate
Newport, RI 02840-1087 USA
Network-Wide Monitoring Made Easy!
888.220.6700 • 401.847.6700
www.AVTECH.com