Server Room Thermal Monitoring

Information is the lifeblood of modern business. Data continuity and availability is critical to maintaining the integrity our communication networks, security systems, banking, and industrial sectors. When equipment failure strikes a mission-critical data center, costs mount quickly. At large, distributed IT facilities, unplanned failures can cost millions. In smaller, organizations dollar values may be less dramatic, but the loss of productivity and competitive advantage may be significant.

Regardless of the size of your IT installation, there will be a multitude of components that can potentially fail at any time. Electrical connections, cabling, component power supplies, rack units, uninterruptable power supplies (UPS), cooling systems, heat exchangers and other devices all contribute to keeping you data flowing smoothly. An unexpected failure on any node can bring down the entire system. Actively monitoring the integrity of your system components can give you advance warning of trouble, so you can take proactive action, before equipment failures can lead to a costly, unexpected system outage.

Infrared (IR) cameras can be an extremely effective tool for monitoring and predicting electrical equipment failure. When the thermal fingerprint of a component changes unexpectedly, this often indicates that a failure is underway. Deploying IR cameras to monitor your critical equipment can be a very effective first line of defense against unexpected and unplanned downtime.

In response to the need for 100% server uptime reliability, MoviTHERM has developed an integrated Server Room Monitoring solution. This integrated system solution has been designed to address the specific needs of data center monitoring. Using a combination of advanced thermal imaging and proven, off-the-shelf components, the MoviTHERM Server Room Monitoring system provides all the tools you need to detect problems early — before they turn into costly and potentially critical network failures.

The FLIR AX8 is a hybrid thermal sensor with advanced imaging capabilities. Combining thermal and visual cameras in a small, affordable package, the FLIR AX8 provides continuous temperature monitoring and alarming for of critical electrical and mechanical equipment.

The basic system comes with four (4) AX8 cameras, which can be mounted strategically to monitor large areas, or specific critical components. Cameras can be configured to monitor temperatures and watch for unexpected “hot spots”. The cameras’ built-in analysis and alarm functions work in tandem with the other system components to alert support personal when remedial action is required.

The MoviTHERM MIO-8 acts as the traffic cop, or the central processing hub of your system. The MIO processes data from the cameras, and sets the digital (relay) and/or analog (4-20mA) outputs to trigger audible alarms, turn on warning lamps, launch auto-dialer alerts, , or activate any other type of electrical warning device. The device is easily configured using a browser-based configuration tool. It’s quick to set-up, and a snap to modify the response profile.

The FLIR Network Video Recorder (NVR) displays the live video feeds from the FLIR thermal cameras on a video display screen. In addition, the NVR can be configured to display on-screen warnings and alarm indications. If you enable the Video Archiving function, you can save several months of video on-board, for historical review and issue analysis. Add an Internet connection to the NVR, and your monitoring system can be access from anywhere in the world using the FLIR Cloud technology. Log in to check the live view, or review alarms remotely, using a PC, Mac, Android, or Apple iOS device running the free FLIR Cloud app.

Connect to warning lights, audible alarms, auto-dialers, PLC controllers — any type of electrical or control device you can imagine. The MoviTHERM Server Room Thermal Monitoring System provides the intelligent sensor capabilities, Built-in Operator Interface/video wall, and data archiving capabilities in a clean, well-organized package.