Schneider Electric has announced a partnership with Vigilent to deliver Data Centre Operation: Cooling Optimise, an add-on module for Schneider Electric’s Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) offer, StruxureWare for data centres.

The enhancement uses closed loop control along with sophisticated monitoring and analysis capabilities to enable data centres to automatically self-correct issues with temperature and air flow, providing managers with improved control over operations.

“Data centre managers are increasingly looking for opportunities to take action on the information they gather from their data centre,” says Soeren Jensen, Vice President, Enterprise Management and Software, Schneider Electric.

“By leveraging Vigilent’s industry-leading technology to deliver advanced insight into and enhanced control of data centre cooling, we are providing both facilities and IT with actionable intelligence for an ideal balance of high availability and peak efficiency throughout the entire data centre lifecycle.”

“Many data centre managers are challenged by the overprovisioning and temperature control issues associated with cooling, which can lead to mission critical failures and high energy costs,” Vigilent chief executive Dave Hudson says.

“The Cooling Optimise module, which combines Vigilent technology with Schneider Electric’s market-leading DCIM suite, solves these challenges automatically and in real-time.”

Aimed at bridging the gap between facilities and IT by matching cooling with critical thermal locations on the floor, the self-learning Cooling Optimise module represents the most sophisticated level of maturity for DCIM systems. The module employs advanced software from Vigilent that continuously adjusts cooling as environmental conditions change. This real-time response to temperature-affecting events, such as equipment moves/upgrades or IT load swings, stabilises air flow and solves the complex puzzle of cooling resource allocation.

Key benefits of the Cooling Optimise module include:

• Instant results: From the moment the system goes live, dynamic cooling control, improved thermal conditions, and energy savings are immediate.
• Risk mitigation: Up to 95% of hotspots are automatically resolved, and data is provided to help facility managers diagnose trickier issues. The system also includes robust fail-safes and alarms.
• Cost savings: Up to 40% of cooling energy costs are eliminated by delivering all necessary cooling with the lowest possible energy use.
• Increased capacity: Stranded cooling capacity is identified and unlocked, allowing facilities to handle increased IT load.
• Extended equipment lifecycles: Since cooling equipment is used more effectively and efficiently, it lasts longer and requires less maintenance.

Schneider Electric’s end-to-end DCIM software suite enables data centres to monitor, operate, analyse and optimise power, cooling, security and energy. Data Centre Operation: Cooling Optimise will be available through Schneider Electric, Vigilent and other select partners in November 2014.