February 2008

Using Virtualization and Digital Control Technologies to Increase Data Center Operating Efficiency

Data center professionals continue to be squeezed on several fronts as they seek to optimize operational readiness, availability, and risk management for operations on a local, regional or global basis. These include battling legacy hardware/infrastructure transitions, increasing power and heat densities, escalating service-level availability agreements, risk management and expense control.

Read article at: http://www.equipmentprotectionmagazine.com/images/Emerson_VirtualizationWP.pdf

E9 Series 2U Rackmount Chassis from Chassis Plans

The E9 series chassis from Chassis Plans is a high performance 2U rackmount enclosure. Feature rich, the E9 Series is a solid, robust design that is well suited for high density I/O intensive applications requiring high drive availability. The enclosure is constructed of 18 gauge steel, clear zinc plated for corrosion protection and an attractive appearance. The front panel is attractively detailed and is of heavier gauge than the chassis.

The E9 provides four front panel hot swap drives, models for SATA, SCSI or EIDE, two externally accessible 5-1/4 inch and one internal 3-1/2 inch drive bays. The hot swap drives can easily be configured for a large RAID. Additionally, the chassis is cooled by four 80 mm 42 CFM ball bearing fans. Air flow is in through the front. The fans are mounted mid-chassis to help cool the drives. A door covers and protects the drives, and accessible behind the door is the power and reset switches as well as the power-on, drive activity and LAN LED's. The LAN and power LED's are visible through the door when it is closed. Two USB ports are also available behind the door.

Two models provide for either three full height I/O card slots using a riser card with the I/O cards mounted horizontally or seven vertical low profile I/O cards. Several riser card options are available. The E9 Chassis provides for mounting a standard EATX motherboard up to 12 by 13-inches.

CRU-DataPort has released the new SAS/SATA Data Express DE75, an updated version of the StorCase Data Express DE75, a low-profile removable hard drive enclosure used to hot-swap hard drives mounted in workstations and servers deployed worldwide by government, military, commercial and industrial customers.

"The DE75's low profile design makes it easier to fit more storage in space constrained areas from data centers to airplanes and ATMs," said Jon Johnson, executive director of marketing for CRU-DataPort. "Supporting SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) and SATA (Serial ATA) technology enables much faster data processing, scalability and higher performance."

The Data Express DE75 is a rugged steel-constructed drive carrier and receiving frame for internally mounting a 3.5 inch hard drive into any standard or undersized half-height, 5.25 inch peripheral bay, making it hot-swap ready. Designed to dissipate the heat produced by high-performance drives, the E75 is also equipped with drive activity and SCSI ID indicators and a key lock for security. Applications include RAID, data security and transporting, backup, testing and audio/video editing. 

Trek Introduces Model 900 ESD Event Detector

Trek, Inc. has introduced the Trek model 900 ESD event detector. This detector is a diagnostic tool for manufacturing environments that are sensitive to electrostatic discharge (ESD) including electronic, semiconductor and medical device manufacturing and assembly.

Trek’s ESD Event Detector is a diagnostic tool used to identify incidents of or verify suspected areas of ESD activity within a manufacturing site. A voltage-sensitive antenna on the unit can be positioned near potential problem areas, where electrostatic discharge is suspected, to monitor ESD events. Detection is conveyed via an audible buzzer and/or a visual color-coded light display that depicts intensity.

By detecting ESD events, Model 900 serves to alert manufacturing engineers to the presence of potentially harmful and invisible electrostatic charging. Such identification is often the first step in managing ESD. Once alerted to its presence, action can be taken to rectify the situation and thereby improve overall efficiency, yield and productivity.

Fujipoly America has introduced a stock series of 14 sleeve-shaped thermal interface extrusions for semiconductor packages and thermistors. The highly-efficient thermal transfer sleeves are available in three Sarcon formulations and will fit TO-220, TO-3PF and TO-3PL type transistors as well as similar shaped electronic components. In addition to its shape, users can also select from multiple sleeve lengths, inside diameters and material thickness options to best accommodate application requirements.

The flexible sleeves easily slide over and conform to most standard size transistors and electronic components. The snug fit and inherent performance characteristics of the specially-formulated silicone material, allows efficient transfer of unwanted heat from its source to nearby heat sinks. Depending on Sarcon material selection, thermal conductivity across the product line ranges from 1.2 to 2.6 W/m°K with a thermal resistance between .26 and 1.35 °Cin2/W.

Winsted now offers a number of UPS systems that deliver reliable protection from electrical problems for any application. The Winsted PRO-E series UPS are compact, allowing them to be used above the desktop or under a console, and are designed for the protection of digital video recorders, access control workstations and data communications systems. A built-in double-boost and single buck automatic voltage regulator (AVR) function compensates for broader range of low AC voltage situations as well as high AC voltage, saving internal batter power for blackouts and extending battery life. The PRO-E Series is available in 500, 700, 1,100 and 1,500 VA units.

The SmartSine UPS series offers True Sinewave UPS and line-interactive topology with rich features in a compact design. With Winsted's independent battery bypass technology, the SmartSine UPS will continue to correct and condition incoming AC power without shutting down output power to equipment even if the UPS batteries become discharged or disconnected. The SamrtSine UPS is available in 700, 1000, 1400 and 2000 VA units.

W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. has added Gore Cooling Filters to its line of enclosure filter products. These filters use ambient air to cool electronic components in outdoor enclosures and Gore’s membrane technology to protect sensitive electronics from extreme environments where they may encounter corrosive particles, sand or salty environments.

Unlike heat exchangers and air-conditioning systems, Direct Air Cooling (DAC) systems with Gore Cooling Filters have fewer mechanical parts. They are also easier to incorporate into cabinet designs and require less maintenance. These cooling filters reduce ongoing operating costs because they use less energy than mechanical systems, reduce overall cabinet size saving site rental costs and improve mean time between failures.

Ferraz Shawmut Acquires GE Power Fuse Business

Ferraz Shawmut LLC has acquired General Electric's Power Fuse operations from GE Consumer & Industrial business. The GE component, based in Vieques, Puerto Rico will be combined with the existing Ferraz Shawmut medium voltage fuse business.

"Acquiring GE's medium voltage fuse business represents a significant expansion for Ferraz Shawmut in terms of product offering and fuse technology. We will significantly enhance our position in this growing segment of the power fuse industry. We look forward to servicing both existing and new customers with this leading line of medium voltage fuse products," said Daniel Beaudron, CEO, Ferraz Shawmut North America.

Tripp Lite has been selected as a 2007 Partner of the Year by Insight, a leading provider of computer products, software and advanced IT services. The Partner of the Year Award recognizes Insight partners who have done the most to enhance Insight's sales, services and support efforts throughout the year.

"We're pleased to announce that Tripp Lite has been selected as one of our three Partners of the Year for 2007,” said David Casillo, Insight's senior vice president, Product Management. "The Partner of the Year award is based on several criteria including top growth and profitability, alignment with Insight's direction, and the performance of partner sales representatives who have exhibited the top Insight values throughout the year. This award recognizes Tripp Lite's important contributions to Insight in the strategic category of power.”

"Tripp Lite is extremely proud to have been named a 2007 Partner of the Year by Insight,” said Bob Nahorski, Tripp Lite vice president of US Channel Sales. "Power protection and power management are key pieces of the total solution for Insight's clients. Our partnership strategy is to help Insight maximize these power-related sales opportunities by providing innovative products, responsive sales support and superior service. Our objective is simple, to support Insight's success.”

“We are pleased to announce Mouser Electronics as a distributor of our products,” said Keith Merrill, director of sales and operations, Ericsson Power Modules. “Mouser's demonstrated wealth of experience, knowledge and capability will be a valuable asset to our company and facilitate our objective of increasing market exposure for our existing and future products. We look forward to a mutually-beneficial collaboration.”

“Mouser is proud to add Ericsson Power Modules to our linecard and enhance our power product offering to our engineering customers,” said Barry McConnell, Mouser vice president of product marketing. “Our reputation for rapid new product introduction and extensive marketing programs allows us to honor our commitments to both the design engineering community and our suppliers.”

Capitalizing on the resident strengths of its longtime machine tool enclosure and protection device manufacturing skills, Hennig, Inc. has opened its new location in Rockford, Ill. for the design, engineering and fabrication of enclosures and fuel tanks for power generators and other heavy-duty OEM markets. This new Hennig Enclosure Systems facility occupies more than 16,000 sq. ft. of plant area and is located near the intemodal shipping facility in Rochelle, Ill.

This new building is a supplementary site to the company’s main facility in Machesney Park, Ill., where Hennig will continue to utilize its laser cutting, water jet cutting, powder coating/ paint line, metal bending machinery and other primary manufacturing equipment to produce the enclosure sections. These enclosure and fuel tank components will then undergo final assembly with the OEM generators at the new facility.

The workshop will start with an overview of the various types of intellectual property, including patents, trademark, copyrights, trade secrets, non-competes and publishing. It will feature a detailed discussion of patents, including type of patents, what is patentable, patent laws and rules, the patenting process and patent strategy. Also covered will be the integration of the patenting process with the new product development process and discussion of critical patent strategy issues. It will conclude with a practical training session for writing technical disclosures for patenting purposes.

For more details about what attendees can expect to learn from this workshop visit http://www.magneticsmagazine.com/mag_conf08_workshops.htm#akc.

• Register before March 14, 2008 - $395 • Register after March 14, 2008 - $495

Register Now!

Visit http://www.magneticsmagazine.com/mag_conf08_workshop_reg.php/.

Zero Downtime / Remote Monitoring and Networking / Onsite Power 2007 Conference Cd’s now Available!

Readers that were unable to attend the 2007 Zero Downtime, Remote and Onsite Power Conferences can now purchase the official conference proceedings CD. The CD contains the show presentations in PDF format, as well as some of the Remote conference sessions in audio format!  

Head to: www.infowebcom.com/conferences_binders.htm to purchase yours today!