Real-time Monitoring Solutions

You can group the Netbotz appliances together and offer a completely scalable solution. As the software is installed through a web browser it is easy to set up and use.

APC Netbotz monitoring appliances offer the most flexibility of all of the monitoring products, the alerting mechanism can be escalated in various ways. You can use it to monitor third party devices such as air conditioning units, UPS devices, tank flow levels, leak detention and many other third-party sensors.

The IT equipment in comms rooms work best if they are kept at a constant temperature and ideally you want to increase the set points for that temperature so that the air conditioning units are not working too hard to retain that level. In an inefficient system the air conditioning unit is likely to be switching on and off constantly as it works to maintain a temperature but if the system is working efficiently you save the energy as the air conditioning units can have a higher set point. By monitoring temperature, you will be able to manage your energy use and boost your energy efficiency, which will save you money over time.

The Netbotz 250 is the entry level appliance for businesses, which although it does not have a camera still offers a comprehensive and flexible solution and is ideal for organisations with a single comms room that has a good access control system so that people going in and out are still monitored.

The company Netbotz was founded in 1999, by a private group of individuals and investors in Austin, Texas. Netbotz Inc. was a privately-held company and was a provider of web-based monitoring solutions that closed the gap between traditional physical security and cyber-security.

Netbotz developed environmental monitoring appliances and its web-based physical infrastructure management platform, Netbotz Central to provide physical and environmental monitoring of data centes, comms and server rooms. The company also developed a range of sensors to detect environmental factors like temperature changes, water leaks, power fluctuations and humidity.

In 2005 APC, which had been founded in 1981 and had developed a range of power management appliances, bought Netbotz for $31 million. At the time of the sale Netbotz said over 2,700 organizations worldwide used its solutions for active monitoring, early detection and instant alerts to protect critical assets from damaging physical and environmental conditions. Just two years later, in 2007, APC itself was taken over by European multinational, Schneider Electric, which had global recognition for its expertise in energy management and automation.

Over the years the main developments have been the expansion of the number of types of Netbotz monitors, the introduction of wireless sensors and the expansion of Netbotz Central to become Schneider Electric’s Data Center Expert software.

Although Ecl-ips has installed Netbotz devices in data centres, the remote sites and smaller comms rooms are the places that really benefit and should not be ignored. We have been to various sites to install security devices and been able to offer Netbotz devices because we can demonstrate the value that server room monitoring will provide. For example, a server or a critical switch, may have been located in a cupboard that has become used for other purposes, creating a sub-optimal environment.

DCIM is the convergence of IT and building facilities functions within an organisation. The main goal of a DCIM implementation is to provide administrators with a holistic view of a data centre’s performance so that power, equipment, rack and floor space are used as efficiently and effectively as possible.

The growing complexity of IT environments, from wiring closets and server rooms to data centres of all sizes, has increased the need for reliable power distribution to the rack level while UPS systems provide protection for electronic equipment from utility power blackouts, brownouts, sags, and surges, small utility power fluctuations and large disturbances.