Avocent has introduced new power management software that enables users to monitor and measure the power consumption and energy usage of IT equipment in data centers in real time. DSView 3 Power Manager is an add-on “plug-in” to Avocent’s DSView 3 management software that provides centralized management for physical and virtual IT assets. DSView 3 Power Manager adds the ability to gather and aggregate power information, whether that be a power distribution unit, rack, or row of racks, to “help data center managers improve operating efficiencies, reduce outages, and reduce overall energy consumption costs”.
The news release cites a recent IDC study, which found that the expense to power and cool the worldwide installed base of servers will grow to $44.5 billion, equivalent to 70 % of new server spending, by 2010.
Avocent’s claims its new DSView 3 Power Manager is able to provide energy consumption level data for a consolidated view of energy use within the data center. It aggregates electrical usage by kilowatt (kW) and converts it into kilowatt hours (kWh) – how companies are charged for electricity. Through the software’s cost calculator, users can enter their utility charges to calculate power costs making it possible for IT departments to monitor and chargeback power usage costs.
The Avocent DSView 3 Power Manager offers a number of reporting and alarm features to further help IT managers track power consumption, including:
- Consumption Reports: track power and energy consumption for user-defined time periods for data centers, power source busses, racks
- Trend Reports: tracks power consumption over time and aggregates data for customized usage reports
- Thresholds: set warning and critical level thresholds with customizable actions for when thresholds are exceeded
- Alarms: customizable alarms provide preemptive notification when thresholds are approached
The DSView 3 Power Manager is compatible with the latest revision of Avocent DSView 3 software and both will be available in July. The new revision of DSView 3 software, version 3.6, will feature improved functionality and ease of use with simpler deployment and maintenance, more thorough device support, and enhanced VMware support for combined access and control of both virtual and physical servers.