White Paper – Dynamic Rack Control Dipl.-Kffr. (FH) Csilla Burján Dipl.-Ing. Markus Schmidt

Copyright © 2009 All rights reserved.

Rittal GmbH & Co. KG

Auf dem Stützelberg D-35745 Herborn

Phone +49 (0)2772 505-0

Fax +49 (0)2772 505-2319 www.rittal.de

www.rimatrix5.de

Dynamic Rack Control

Contents

1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................5

2. RFID .................................................................................................................................5

2.1. Technology ...............................................................................................................5

2.2. Strengths and opportunities......................................................................................6

2.3. Acceptance...............................................................................................................7

3. Optimisation potential at the data centre ..........................................................................8

3.1. Stocktaking ...............................................................................................................8

3.2. Power supply and cooling.........................................................................................8

4. Description of the Rittal Dynamic Rack Control system ...................................................9

5. Benefit aspects...............................................................................................................12

6. Prospects .......................................................................................................................13

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List of illustrations

Fig 1 – RFID global market sales development in USD mn .....................................................7 Fig 2 – RFID significance over the next few years ...................................................................8 Fig 3 – Aerial with lit LEDs .......................................................................................................9 Fig 4 – Rittal tags and aerial.....................................................................................................9 Fig 5 – Basic data and power balance of an individual rack extension ..................................10 Fig 6 – Master record of a 482.6 mm (19”) component..........................................................10 Fig 7 – Supplementary management information ..................................................................10 Fig 8 – Technical layout of DRC.............................................................................................11 Fig 9 – PSM rail with LEDs per socket ...................................................................................12 Fig 10 – Costs incurred by downtimes ...................................................................................13 List of tables Table 1 – Active and passive transponders compared ............................................................6 Table 2 – Properties and advantages of RFID .........................................................................6 Table 3 – Opportunities and advantages of RFID technology..................................................7

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List of abbreviations

CMC - Computer Multi Control

CPU - Central Processing Unit

DRC - Dynamic Rack Control

HU - Height Unit

HF-RFID - High Frequency Radiofrequency Identification

IT - Information Technology

RFID - Radiofrequency Identification

DC - Data Centre

UPS - Uninterruptible Power Supply

Tagging - Data Identification

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1. Introduction

The internet of things – not only computers, also a growing number of objects and processes

are being networked. The basis for this is provided by RFID technology. Radiofrequency

identification or RFID opens up new prospects for a great many sectors and is therefore

evolving into a cross sectional technology. A pioneering role is adopted above all by logistics

and inventory control, with great potential and possible applications still to spare.

One of these many sectors involves the optimisation of data centres. To date little

consideration was given to physical stocktaking with RFID in conjunction with monitored

power and cooling requirements. In this respect the further development of RFID technology

and its innovative application can contribute towards generating solutions for a wide range of

diverse requirements.

2. RFID

2.1. Technology

RFID makes possible the contactless identification of objects and persons by means of radio

waves. An RFID system infrastructure consists of a transponder, a transceiver, and an IT

system operating in the background. At centre stage is the transponder, a microchip with an

aerial coil. This is integrated in a carrier, e.g. a plastic card. As a rule a numeric code is

stored in the chip. This encrypts information that is stored in a database. Consequently every

object with an RFID transponder receives an unmistakable identity.1

The information is read out and written by means of radio waves. At low frequencies this is

an inductive process via a near field, at higher frequencies via an electromagnetic far field.

The distance over which an RFID transponder can be read out depends on the design

(active/passive), the frequency band used, the transmitting power, and environmental

factors.2

Search procedures applied to these objects are similar to those for information on the

internet. The tag transmits data, and the reader forwards the code to a database. The IT

system decrypts the code and links this to information stored in the database or on the

internet. The knowledge or the intelligence of the system does not lie with the transponder,

but in the databases.3

Today there are transponders in the most diverse shapes and sizes. Depending on the

application active or passive transponders are used.

1 http://www.info-rfid.de/downloads/basiswissen_rfid.pdf 2 http://www.info-rfid.de/downloads/rfid_leitfaden.pdf 3 http://www.info-rfid.de/downloads/basiswissen_rfid.pdf

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Active Passive

Power supply battery radio waves

Service life dependent on battery unlimited

Price high low

Storage space large small to medium

Writability rewritable once only or rewritable

Range far few cm to several m

Read rate medium to high low to medium

Table 1 – Active and passive transponders compared

2.2. Strengths and opportunities

Owing to the great many advantages industry and trade are today backing RFID technology.

Table 2 presents the properties of RFID data media and their practical advantages.

Properties of RFID data media Practical advantages Every chip has a unique serial number that

is assigned once only in the world (UID).

Unique assignability on single product level

Complete product individualisation

Rewritable data storage in the chip Flexible data management directly on the

product

Information on the RFID data media can be

modified, deleted, and supplemented at any

time.

Product, maintenance, production, and service

data available directly on the product

Contactless communication out of the line

of sight between RFID data medium and

read/write system

Insensitivity to soiling owing to chip integrated

at protected sites

Invisible integration in a great many existing

products

Simplified process automation

Virtually 100% first read rate Accelerated processes

Reduced misreads

Simultaneous reading of more than one

RFID data medium in the one operation

(multiple capture)

Accelerated processes

Reduced misreads

Table 2 – Properties and advantages of RFID4

4 http://www.smart-tec.com/index.php?id=2273

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RFID technology presents opportunities for all public sectors – for the economy, science,

public institutions, and recreation. Some examples are listed in the following Table 3.

Opportunities Example

Optimised processes Goods and pallet identification in logistics

Simplified traceability Organic foodstuffs

Assured authenticity Electronic passport, animal identification

Improved product safety Drugs

Optimised inventory management Automated stock replenishment control at supermarkets

Simplified access control procedures Chip cards

Table 3 – Opportunities and advantages of RFID technology

2.3. Acceptance

In spite of a number of setbacks RFID has turned out to be a success on several sectors.

This finds testimony in a great many projects successfully applying RFID, for instance goods

tagging and transponder assisted theft protection. Also the market figures are promising.

Basing its calculations on the 2007 global turnover of USD 917mn the consulting company

Gartner expects strong international growth over the next few years. They predict that growth

in 2012 will reach USD 3.5bn.5 Fig 1 presents the expected trend of global turnover.

Fig 1 – RFID global market sales development in USD mn

How companies accept and rate the technology was investigated in 2008 by the FTK

research institute for telecommunications in collaboration with the RFID information forum.

The findings – two thirds of the 298 investigated companies, most of them SMEs, are well or

very well informed of the essential aspects of RFID. The majority of the investigated

companies agree that in the next few years RFID will gain greatly or very greatly in

5 http://www.networkcomputing.de/gartner-erwartet-12-milliarden-dollar-umsatz-mit-rfid/

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significance for the Mittelstand (SME), the sector, and their own company. Fig 2 presents the

surveyed ratings in the form of a bar chart.

Fig 2 – RFID significance over the next few years

In the face of these evaluations we must now start closing the information gaps and

presenting new, potential applications. The intention behind Dynamic Rack Control is to tap

improvement potential at the data centre and present new approaches to finding solutions.

3. Optimisation potential at the data centre

3.1. Stocktaking

At data centres – in particular above a certain size – it is difficult to maintain an overview of

the installed hardware components. Although it is possible today to communicate with every

intelligent IT device, problems are encountered with the physical assignment between the

rack and the affected height unit. Also the device structure in each enclosure with servers,

fans, UPSs, etc., often lacks transparency. Against this background the processes involved

in taking stock and constantly updating data on the distribution of components at the data

centre are complex and in most cases time consuming to boot. In many cases the available

documentation generated by hand is not examined for correct contents. These details though

are necessary if the right decisions are to be made in the event of a fault.

Another problem is the half life of the captured information. Capture and updates always

depict an instantaneous record of the DC inventory. Efficient rack assignments and

transparent component administration though require up to date and therefore reliable data.

3.2. Power supply and cooling

Fitting racks with components is all too often based on experience, with mostly no

consideration to an efficient power supply and cooling or adaptation to changing power

requirements. This gives rise to hot spots and the probability of faults becomes greater.

When for instance a server with key applications signals a fault, availability is safeguarded

when virtual machines are relocated to other racks. Yet which rack houses the server, and

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which provide the optimal physical conditions (electrical power / cooling)? How much

electrical power is drawn by a device in the enclosure, and what are the present cooling

requirements? Answers to these questions require up to date and reliable information on the

device structure in each rack and their physical conditions. The following presents the

Dynamic Rack Control system and illustrates its benefits and advantages for the

demonstrated optimisation potential.

4. Description of the Rittal Dynamic Rack Control system

Dynamic Rack Control (DRC) utilises RFID technology directly in the rack for the contactless

and realtime capture of all components fitted in the 482.6 mm (19”) level. The concept –

components fitted with RFID tags constantly transmit information to a strip aerial installed in

the enclosure. This features a sensor at every mounting hole so data can be retrieved from

every height unit. In this manner every single server is captured free of contact immediately

when it is installed. In addition all basic information (hardware maker, component type,

installation date, software) can be stored on the RFID tags for permanent access. Figs 3 and

4 depict the illuminated strip aerial and an installed tag respectively.

Fig 3 – Aerial with lit LEDs

Fig 4 – Rittal tags and aerial

Flashing LEDs at the sensor confirm when the tag is identified, read out, or written to. In this

manner an up to date overview can be gained of all components installed in the rack, sorted

according to device class, power consumption, or form factor.

The rack configuration can be viewed on the one hand as a visual representation on the

CMC TC website6, on the other as a list of data allowing import and export via the XML file

format. These records can then be processed further e.g. in external databases and simplify

to a great extent the daily work involved in optimising a data centre.

6 http://www.rittal.de/downloads/PrintMedia/PM5/de/cmc_tc_wireless.pdf

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Fig 5 – Basic data and power balance of an individual rack extension

Fig 6 – Master record of a 482.6 mm (19”) component

Fig 7 – Supplementary management information

Rittal applies HF RFID technology (f = 13.56 MHz) whose carrier frequency allows

particularly compact sizes for the aerial modules. The data are written to the tag in

compliance with ISO 15693. These can be captured and edited with suitable handheld

readers, both when the tag is integrated directly in the rack and when the components have

been removed.

At a later time an optional RFID reader in the enclosure frame and the corresponding tags at

the base will also make it possible to capture the exact rack position at the data centre. It is

therefore recommended, above all with rack extensions and new installations, to take this

innovative inventory management system directly into consideration. Fig 8 depicts the

technical layout of DRC.

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Fig 8 – Technical layout of DRC

The option of storing a great many component characteristics on their passive RFID tags

helps to identify free capacity on the 19” level in racks and to draw conclusions on the

installed power consumers. Every rack therefore can be fitted with additional hardware for

the optimal space utilisation, cooling performance, and power supply. These data are

available at all times up to date and online, and modifications are applied immediately: there

is none of the manual capture or stocktaking otherwise usual.

RFID is the basis of a module for an extensive monitoring system. This can also be

integrated in RiZone, or the Rittal Infrastructure Management Suite. RiZone is a

management platform that has been optimised to the physical infrastructure of a DC. It

manages inhouse infrastructural devices like CMC; UPSs; power supplies in the rack, room,

and floor power outlets; cooling up to the rack level; etc.; but can also communicate with

other products via SNMP and BACnet.

This makes possible

the administration of the entire physical infrastructure of a data centre

measurements of the power draw and individual servers switched on and off per slot

statistics

characteristics for power draws, etc.

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Fig 9 – PSM rail with LEDs per socket

Dynamic Rack Control, RiZone, and management software like e.g. Microsoft's System

Center Operations Manager, can be used to observe and control all key parameters like

cooling, power supply, and energy consumption at a data centre.

In addition to enhanced failure safety and energy efficiency, applications can be relocated

faster, devices found and replaced more quickly, and optimisation potential utilised better in

the event of a fault.

5. Benefit aspects

With RFID technology Dynamic Rack Control offers a great many benefits at data centres.

Components must be located, the device type and serial number registered, the records

sorted, and the metadata (purchase date, maintenance, etc.) updated at regular intervals.

Depending on the size of the DC and the available staff these tasks are a considerable time

and coordination factor – not only at own data centres, but also for outsourced processes.

DRC offers here the advantages of automated stocktaking. It automatically identifies

components and assigns these to the rack and exact height unit. Changes to hardware

positions are registered and signalled automatically.

Furthermore human error and their effects on hardware stocktaking play a role. Incorrect

identification of components' installed locations and inadequate documentation may have far

reaching consequences in the event of failure: decisions, e.g. to shut down a server, are

made on the basis of wrong information and can cause considerable financial losses. The

costs incurred by the non-availability or downtimes of a service depend heavily on the

affected application and business segment. Fig 10 depicts the estimated costs per hour in

US dollars on various sectors.

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28 90 90 113

1100

2500 2600

6500

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

Manufa

cture

Logis

tics

Retail

Home s

hopp

ing

Media

(pay p

er vie

w)

Bank d

ata ce

ntre

Credit c

ard pr

oces

sing

Brokeri

ng

Cos

ts /

h (in

TU

SD)

Fig 10 – Costs incurred by downtimes7

Nor must we forget the monetary effects on IT service providers and their service level

agreements (SLAs). SLAs are agreements between customers and service providers for

requested and provided services like availability, response times, online times, etc. In this

context non-availability of services can affect a great many customers and processes.

The loss of customers owing to loss of image, compensation for inadequately provided

services e.g. in the form of costs for additional purchases, possible liability for consequential

damage to partners and suppliers, etc., are virtually unquantifiable effects that can also

occur.

By providing hardware data and integrating them in existing monitoring systems Dynamic

Rack Control can simplify asset management at the DC. Other possibilities like the

management of electrical power draws and losses for every component, conclusions on free

capacities for cooling and power supply requirements in the rack, and as a further step the

integration in RiZone are provided by an extensive physical DC management tool.

6. Prospects

RFID links the physical world with the virtual world of digital data. Although the internet of

things is still very much in the future, RFID already plays a significant role in our times. Many

RFID projects have already become reality, e.g. for capturing vehicles for toll systems in

7 Contingency Research,

http://www.tecchannel.de/server/hardware/458076/it_systeme_ausfallsicherheit_im_kostenvergleich/index3.html

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Dubai, or for registering epasses, etc. According to Gartner the value of this technology lies

not only in RFID, but in the innovation of business processes.

There appears to be a demand for this. According to a 2008 study8 for the economical use of

RFID 41 of 149 subjects surveyed could well or very well imagine applications in the field of

inventory management. On the other hand those surveyed could imagine RFID less well for

status checks. This shows that the advantages of this technology are still not known to an

adequate extent. What we must now do is to make companies aware of the benefits of RFID

at data centres and to demonstrate the advantages.

8 International Performance Research Institute, "Economic use of RFID", 2008