By Dudu Shaba
With the recent power outages and surges that have plagued SA, there has never been a better reason for companies to invest in UPSes and power management tools. At the moment, most communications and transactions are being executed primarily through electronic means, so having a power-management solution or UPS has become an enterprise necessity.

Power-management technology was developed for PCs and monitors to reduce energy consumption when they are not in active use, it can also improve equipment reliability by reducing waste heat. Power management interacts with every part of the computer’s operating system, software, CPU, monitor, network cards, video cards, peripherals, etc. Computer manufacturers have addressed this problem by making power management more flexible and more compatible with current PC networks. As the technology has matured, power management has emerged as an effective energy-saving tool.

Power shortage

The critical power situation in SA is forcing many companies to re-evaluate how they do business and, more importantly, how they can keep doing business without electricity. While a generator is probably the only viable option, Christelle Larkins, area manager, SA, East Africa and Indian Ocean, MGE Office Protection Systems, says the latest UPSes and data centre power-management tools could not have come at a more opportune time.

“The power shortage has caused two main areas of concern for local businesses, namely power outages and surges. Businesses need to protect their equipment and data from both of these damaging events. They need to become self-sufficient when it comes to power,” says Larkins.

“Power management is thus no longer an option for companies in Internet-enabled and
data centre environments, it’s a necessity. This makes it vital that companies understand what their UPSes and surge suppressors do and how they work. They also need to look beyond winter and choose products that will serve them well into the future,” she continues.

John Middlewick, MGE UPS Systems product manager at Comztek believes that while there is much hype about Eskom’s power grid not keeping up with infrastructure growth, the reality is that supply interruptions are increasing.

“Consequently, the onus is on individual companies to ensure that they have adequate strategies in place as power protection becomes a necessity. Power outages can cause disruptions to all facets of business, the depth of which depends on the type of company and the industry in which it operates. For some companies, the impact of downtime can be purely revenue based, for others it affects service delivery. By conducting a physical audit or exercise, a company can determine the effects that power outages will have on its particular business and thereby understand the steps required for power protection,”
he comments.

Robert Brandt, APC Product Specialist, Drive Control Corporation (DCC) believes that power outages are not only resulting in loss of productivity but also damaging costly information communication technology (ICT) equipment or reducing their lifespan. “When a power outage occurs, PCs and servers need to complete a proper shutdown. An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) will provide a short-term supply of power to complete this. However, if a PC or server simply switches off during a power outage, the integrity of the data cannot be guaranteed. This is especially relevant in a data centre environment. If we consider that data is the lifeblood of a business, the consequences
are serious,” he says.

In addition, Brandt says that each time a power outage occurs without ample time to complete a proper shutdown, damage is incurred on the hardware due to the sudden voltage shutdown, which significantly reduces the lifespan of the product. He adds that when the power returns, a spike might occur that then settles down to the normal voltage. A UPS acts as a surge protector for this.

According to Neill Schreiber, sales manager, APC-MGE, SA, based on US trends, which SA companies are also following, the cost and availability of electricity is emerging as a key concern for IT managers. He says many companies are finding it more expensive to provide the correct power and cooling for their data centres than to actually buy the hardware.

According to him, a recent Gartner study conducted among CIOs in the US showed that 70 per cent of respondents indicated that power or cooling issues are now the single largest problem facing their data centres, with projections of around 48 per cent of IT budget spent on energy, up from eight per cent a few years ago. In addition, he states that the Data Center Institute predicts that over the next five years, power failures and limits on power availability will halt data centre operations at
more than 90 per cent of companies. “The current IT power crisis is the result of a combination of subtle trends, with Moore’s Law at the centre. Moore's Law states that as processor performance doubles, so too does power consumption and its side effect, heat,” he says. “Not only do today's processors use anywhere from 90 to 110 watts, double that of processors from a couple of years ago, but they also run hotter, driving up the cost of data centre cooling.

This situation is exacerbated by the growing use of blade servers, where more equipment is packed into a smaller space, intensifying heat issues,” he adds. However, he says that one of the biggest problems with many cooling systems is that data centres typically have more capacity than they need. “Many data centres use equipment that is rated for three times the required amount.

Although oversizing might have made sense in the past because of cumbersome gear and difficult installations, today’s equipment is far more modular, allowing companies to grow their data centre as capacity is needed,” he explains. Power protection technologies in use According to Brandt, many businesses do not fully understand the function of a UPS. He states that they often regard it as a device that will keep their server and PC running during an outage. However, he says that a UPS will often only give users enough time to shutdown properly. “Power management is a step beyond the UPS. It features a convergence of IP and power, allowing you to manage your UPSes over the LAN, as well as to manage the load your data centre is taking. This can also be done across a WAN, which enables
businesses to manage a number of UPSes across a country-wide operation. This is essential, considering UPS batteries have a very defined lifespan and must be monitored and managed. Reports on the status of the battery’s life can be obtained, allowing businesses to manage their power issues effectively,” he explains.

He goes on to say that intelligent power distribution units (PDUs) are increasingly becoming regarded as a must-have in a data centre environment.“This device does not have an unlimited power supply so, again, it must be monitored and managed. If too many servers are linked to the device, it overloads the rack and the entire rack fails. The APC-MGE range of PDUs displays the voltage used, allowing businesses to establish the use of power and whether it is at its peak, saving uptime, the application and lifespan of the equipment,” he says.

He adds that businesses are also taking this technology one step further with remote
management of the APC-MGE switched PDUs which can be remotely managed.“This is particularly useful to remotely power down or reboot the server, taking us to a new level of power management,” he comments. Schreiber says that one strategy to reduce cooling costs is to look beyond the traditional row-orientated approach, where cold air passes through ducts on a data centre floor to cool the areas surrounding a bank of servers.

“The APC-MGE encourages the adoption of rack-orientated cooling instead, where cold
air is blown directly into server racks, creating less opportunity for it to mix with the
ambient air and significantly reducing the load on the cooling system. Rack-orientated
cooling also delivers air that has more moisture in it, helping to eradicate the need for
humidifiers,” he says.

Middlewick, states that the key power protection technologies in use include the
following:

• Uninterrupted power supply (UPS) with extra runtime from batteries, used in power outages ranging from 10 minutes to one hour. These solutions allow for the orderly shutdown of mission-critical systems and sufficient uptime during short power failures.
• UPS combined with a generator – used where maximum uptime is required during longer power failures. The initial costs of installing a generator may seem daunting; but companies realise a return on investment over time. Common UPS technologies comprise:
• Line interactive UPS technologies – depending on the location of the site and type of equipment being connected to the UPS, line interactive may be a more cost-effective solution which includes high voltage regulation.
• Centralised technologies – centralised solution protection is wired into a building’s electrical system. These solutions most often offer superior technology and efficient use of batteries
• Online technologies – the online UPS only uses its batteries in the event of a power cut. The current is fully equalised by transforming the AC to DC, then back to AC. This continuous double conversion process reduces the effect of any electrical disturbances, guaranteeing a constant quality of supply whatever the fluctuations on the mains thus providing fail-safe protection.

Bundling
According to Brandt, bundling power management solutions with additional functionality is an emerging trend. “APC-MGE’s InfraStruXure architecture incorporates not only the power and PDUs but
19-inch racks delivering physical security, data centre cooling and management,” he says.
Larkins explains that while there are a number of products available on the local market, both vendors and clients need to pay attention to the solution offered by the manufacturer.
“Issues of cost, scalability, space and professional support all need to be taken into
consideration as well as the features of the specific product,” she comments.
Leading UPS vendors According to Brandt, the leading UPS vendors in the market were APC and MGE.

“These companies have since merged to create APC-MGE, a $3 billion (€2.4 billion)
leading global provider of critical power and cooling services and a company of
Schneider Electric. APC-MGE solutions include UPSes, precision-cooling units, racks, and design and
management software, including the industry’s only integrated power, cooling and
management solution. Backed by one of the industry’s broadest service organisations and industry-leading R&D investment, APC-MGE’s 12 000 employees help customers to confront unprecedented
power, cooling and management challenges. Schneider Electric, with 105 000
employees and operations in 190 countries, had annual sales of $18 billion (€13.7)
billion in 2006,” he says.

Available business opportunities
Neil Watson, MD, Digital Planet says that its reseller company has seen a huge increase
in sales of UPSes over the past few months.“The main reason is the bad press that Eskom has been getting plus the doomsday predictions of our electricity going down. We’ve also had quite a number of power outages. As soon as someone loses their documents due to a power failure, they realise
the value of a UPS,” he says.

He mentions that the company’s main challenge is the logistics surrounding the product.“As an online retailer, to deliver UPSes around the country is a costly exercise,” he remarks.

“Resellers and end users need to look towards a reputable brand, and according to. the
current trend of a UPS no longer being considered a piece of industrial equipment but
rather a critical component within ICT, there is more ongoing training taking place.

For example, APC-MGE’s Data Center University offers online courses for the education of IT
professionals, engineers and others involved in the network-critical physical
infrastructure of a data centre,” Brandt comments.

He says that DCC has a technical resource centre that complements APC-MGE’s centre in
Dubai where remote support is available.“Our technical support team can assist with design, implementation and after-sales support. In addition to assisting resellers with configuration, APC-MGE also provides a number of online tools to assist partners and customers, including a UPS sizing tool, rack configurator and even a tool to build out an entire data centre,” he says
Future trends As more people start working remotely, Watson says that the UPS will become an
integral part of home offices.

“We see UPS sales only increasing for the foreseeable future,” he predicts. “Despite the power outlook in our country seeming rather bleak, with a UPS in the office it’s possible for companies, no matter their sector, to become completely self-sufficient, ensuring SA’s future remains bright,” Larkins concludes.