Environment Monitoring and Management Solutions for Edge Computing

Environmental monitoring for data centers is in demand. The speed of business is increasing in a world where technology advances at a quick pace. Each year, finding new strategies to minimize latency becomes increasingly important.

Edge computing installations are no longer limited to the “bleeding edge” demographic. Edge computing is proving to be a viable solution for decreasing latency for businesses of all sizes. They are moving towards a decentralized system that disperses IT equipment across numerous locations. Network closets, industrial floors, and hospital emergency rooms are examples of places that weren’t meant to contain server racks, cooling, or other physical IT gear, but now find themselves being equipped with such technology.

Because these sites weren’t built for this purpose, they frequently lack the monitoring needed to maintain edge IT assets and safeguard them from environmental and physical hazards. Therefore a system that monitors the environmental, power and physical threats to edge computing systems are becoming necessary.

Simplifying Edge Computing Deployment

Warehouses, factory floors, and hospitals rely on physical IT infrastructure to power essential equipment. Unexpected interruptions can be not only expensive but also dangerous.

The key to driving cost reductions, uptime, and availability is the implementation of remote monitoring and management solutions. These can alert when environmental power or security conditions are breached, allowing you time to respond and avert disaster.

Remote monitoring software that is cloud-based and vendor-agnostic provides a centralized interface that allows real-time access into networked physical assets without clogging up the tech stack with several additional monitoring and maintenance tools. Users can control all devices from a single dashboard, setting alert thresholds and updating firmware while preventing over-provisioning.

The Problem: Protecting Edge Computing Devices from Environmental Hazards

Many organizations want the reduced latency edge computing provides, but they aren’t aware of the range of dangers that might damage their IT assets. Cyber-attacks and data loss are just as dangerous to their organization as environmental hazards.

High temperatures or excessive humidity can cause equipment to fail prematurely, perhaps shutting down an entire operation. Water leaks, pollution, and dust build-up increase maintenance costs and impair performance.

Even firms that are aware of the threats face significant hurdles in monitoring and preserving their equipment, particularly in unmanned and distant edge sites. These issues may be addressed with an environmental and physical security monitoring system that includes a variety of sensors and cameras to avoid equipment malfunctions. A full solution improves the resilience of edge infrastructure by providing on-demand, real-time environmental intelligence from anywhere, on any device.

The Solution: Monitoring The Environment In IT Infrastructure

To achieve business development, organizations aspire to improve operational efficiency in edge settings, but many confront the difficulty of having insufficient employees on IT teams to oversee asset physical security. Many IT teams are overburdened with the responsibilities of operating high-performance servers and apps, resolving technical difficulties, and managing the physical infrastructure at the edge.

Edge monitoring software, environmental monitoring, and dispatch services with spare parts can all be provided by a managed service provider. Most provide remote monitoring, but for really autonomous management, a comprehensive solution that includes a SaaS-based monitoring and administration interface as well as on-site troubleshooting and resolution by highly skilled specialists.

When selecting a vendor or provider of remote monitoring and management solutions, seek a partner with considerable experience in data center infrastructure management, as well as strong roots in industrial automation, data center management, and operations, and who can act as a trusted adviser. Look for a complete software solution that includes on-site assistance from experienced experts and best-in-class environmental monitoring tools. These technologies are as disruptive for edge computing as edge computing is for whole companies, maximizing uptime while achieving levels of operational efficiency that a software-only strategy just cannot match. Users should be able to grow the solution set to add devices and the infrastructure becomes more complicated without having to hire more technical support employees to handle it.

Whether to outsource or address in-house, there are a number of options available. Look for a company that offers a wide range of customizable options. Three features to look for in a remote monitoring and management system are as follows:

1. Total Visibility

With a single dashboard, look for a system that allows entire visibility and management over distant power and networked critical infrastructure assets. Users should be able to gain visibility into many edge locations in order to decrease downtime and support preventative maintenance without having to hire more people. Scale-and-pay-as-you-go options can help extend the central IT team’s reach to proactively solve equipment issues from anywhere, on any device, and gather data from the edge to assist them to make better data-driven choices about retiring aged equipment, inventory management, and more.

2. Top-Notch Technical Support

This solution provides on-site support to help improve IT service delivery. While data is essential for successful preventative maintenance, skilled professionals are on the team. To assist in increasing uptime at the edge, look for providers who have a large network of qualified technicians who can come to the location. IT administrators may use the application to schedule maintenance operations, allowing their employees to spend less time debugging broken technology.

Organizations without skilled IT remediation workers can considerably benefit from this service, with technical help and spare components available as soon as the next business day. This shorter mean time to repair improves IT robustness by lowering costs and decreasing negative consequences for the business and consumers. Spending on other high-priority issues with the money saved on OT talent development without sacrificing the peace of mind that comes with 24/7 professional monitoring.

3. Physical Infrastructure Monitoring

This solution aids in the security of the physical edge IT infrastructure. Fluid leaks, smoke, heat, humidity, or dust can cause mechanical faults, resulting in crucial shutdowns that risk corporate operations. An environmental monitoring and security solution can help mitigate these risks and maximize the value of the edge IT assets. The proper system will have built-in sensors, access controls, and cameras, as well as anything else needed to keep an eye on these dangers.

Edge Computing With AKCP Monitoring

Many businesses can benefit from moving to edge computing. Edge computing addresses the growing volume of data generated by the Internet of Things, the need for decreased processing latency, and the limited bandwidth available in traditional data centers. The edge computing checklist is comparable to the data center checklist, which includes anticipating heat output, ensuring reliability and scalability, and providing sufficient cooling. Cooling successfully creates an environment in which each component may perform at its best.

SensorProbeX+ (SPX+) is compatible with all AKCP Intelligent sensors, making it an extremely versatile and cost-effective monitoring solution.

 

 

Environmental Monitoring Sensors

Wherever monitoring of environmental conditions is important for daily operations and health of equipment, deploy sensors to monitor temperature, humidity, airflow, and water leaks.

Security Sensors

RFID Access Control swing handle cabinet locks, door contacts, and motion detectors will keep the users updated on the security situation right down to the cabinet-level. RFID access control, centrally managed and monitored by AKCPro Server, allows you to control who has access and when.

Power Sensors

The SPX+ can handle AC voltage detection, DC voltmeters, sensor-controlled relays, and power metering.

For Environmental Monitoring And Management At The Edge

With edge assets becoming increasingly key to the success of business operations, it’s critical to embed security into infrastructure from the bottom up – not just to safeguard the investment, but also to defend the organization from costly downtime and performance delays. It’s common for IT personnel to become overwhelmed as the complexity of total IT infrastructure rises. Many teams are unable to provide help 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Look for companies that can provide a single trusted adviser for remote management, maintenance, and updates to assist the operational excellence of IT staff. To get started, please contact us at [email protected]

Reference Links:

https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/what-edge-computing-means-for-infrastructure-and-operations-leaders

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/edge-computing-market

https://blog.rittal.us/edge-computing-101

https://www.cuelogic.com/blog/iot-edge-computing

https://blog.rittal.us/edge-data-center-monitoring-best-practices