Monitoring Systems
Overview - Facility Monitoring, Battery Health, Water Detection,Webcam, SNMP, Self Hosted Systems, Modbus Systems
Facility monitoring encompasses a wide variety of definitions depending upon a specific sites needs. The presentation of monitoring information generally comes down to one or more of three methods.
- Digital Information: Digital data in this case refers to traditional point monitoring where in the status is either on or off, in alarm or out of alarm. This data is presented by a physical connection which is either a set of contacts that open or close a circuit to differentiate state or a set of terminals which either have a voltage across them or not to differentiate status. Digital monitoring is a simple, secure method. It can be used as the sole source of information or as a backup to high tech methods that may or may not be as reliable. Digital methods are an excellent redundant set for critical item monitoring. An everyday example of a digital alarm point would be the oil pressure idiot light on a car. The light (alarm) only comes on when oil pressure is low. You don't know the specific pressure but you know it is out of range.
- Analog Information: Analog data is the second traditional method of reading data. Analog data is data that has a value associated with it. Using car engine oil pressure again as an analogy an oil pressure gauge would be an anolog monitoring point. You know the specific presure value. IT examples are temperature, humidity, voltage, amps, kW, kVA etc.
- Data Bus Information: Many pieces of IT infrastructure have intelligent display and data ports. These can be open or proprietary ports. Multiple pieces of information, both digital and analog origination are grouped into a data stream and are available at the data port. With data bus information the whole group of collected data may potentially be monitored via as few as two physical wires. There are many formats to present and read data bus information. These include:
- SNMP
- Ethernet NIC cards
- Self hosted web page interfaces
- Modbus TCP/IP
- Modbus RTU
- Proprietary RS485
- Proprietary RS232
The primary benefits of the first two methods is reliability and simplicity. On lesser scale systems cost will be lower. A good economical system will use digital and analog collection to a small network appliance which thens presents the final information either by self hosted web pages or modbus.
As systems become larger data bus information presented by one of the listed methods or combination thereof are common. These are typically custom engineered solutions, often with some simplified parallel redundant method on the most critical points.
Within the IT world we provide monitoring for:
- Generators
- Automatic Transfer Switches (ATS)
- UPS Systems
- Battery Systems
- Power Distribution Units (PDU)
- Cabinet Power Distribution Units (CPDU)
- Computer Room Air Conditioning (CRAC) Units
- Water Detection Systems
- Fire Suppression Systems
- Server Cabinet Security
- Facility Doors
- Camera Systems
- Miscellaneous Analog and Digital Points