LS Simple – the complete Data Centre solution

Released: April 2009

LS has developed a range of data centre solutions to make it simple for IT and facilities managers to meet their specific IT requirements. LS Simple™ provides a key platform for all involved in an IT network and has simplified the decision making process. LS Simple provides all aspects of data centre design – from network infrastructure through intelligent infrastructure management and intelligent power management to complete turnkey data centres. LS will design, build and maintain the data centre or provide a complete outsourced IT operation.

The latest addition to the LS Simple data centre portfolio are mobile data centres. The LS Simple data centre in a box consists of a specially designed shipping container base with insulated sides that houses a highly sophisticated design integrating both the IT and non-IT elements of the data centre. Self contained, the unit houses all the data centre technology resources together with their own power generation and cooling equipment. Designed to complement existing data centres by providing added capacity or to provide resilience and ensure business continuity in the case of a disaster, the self-contained, transportable data centre from LS Simple offers a fast, cost effective and energy efficient solution.

Driving or driven?

Released: March 2009

Paul Eo of LS Simple argues that, in order to stay competitive, data centre and network managers need to take an active interest in monitoring and managing energy usage before legislation forces them to. Especially when simple measures could cut the energy usage and cost by over thirty percent.

Data centres used to be massive buildings with more flashing lights than a fairground, but as technology costs tumble, it can also mean a moderate sized room, with a few neatly dressed cabinets and a proportionate amount of blinking LEDs. The need to manage this critical infrastructure is the same, as is the business dependency of its users.

This redefinition occurs as even the smallest of businesses become highly dependant on or perhaps, even exist purely because of the enabling technology that they have acquired. So the barrier of capital outlay has been reduced making modern network centric data services available to the masses. With such a strong focus on capital outlay in the past, it is not that surprising that many organisations have totally overlooked the fact that their operational costs are on the rise. But it’s worse than that.  A substantial proportion of these recurring costs relate to largely ignored energy costs which no-one manages and this is made up of two substantial elements – the direct energy costs of running the IT estate, and then the supporting energy costs of support equipment such as air conditioning, lighting and UPS, that exist as a consequence of the IT equipment.

Previously, business managers would not have paid much attention to a rise in operational costs like this because they were not in the bigger scheme of things regarded as substantial. Until relatively recently energy was fairly cheap and there was plenty of it available. But it is not just the cost of the energy that conspires to threaten the future of the organisations that choose to ignore (or maybe just haplessly overlook) this new business management imperative. Many areas in the UK – Manchester for example – are extremely concerned about their lack of ability to cope with increased energy demand. What does a data centre do when it needs to expand and there simply is no more electricity available?

Many responsible managers – with and without IT skills – may not be aware that the landscape on energy consumption is changing rapidly. There is a strong lead coming from national Governments and collectively from the EU. The end of 2008 bought with it the launch of the EU Code of Conduct for Data Centres; and at this stage, it will be those with foresight that will respond to this nudge; those with that all too rare mix of commercial and technology skills that will soon establish themselves as leaders in this new field. The technical challenge is big enough, but the overall position is becoming politically, socially and economically difficult. It will not be an option to do nothing and the very survival of some businesses will be at stake.

The good news is that that there is a lot of help at hand and some of it can be accessed with Government subsides that significantly reduce capital payback and improve the return on investment (RoI).

A power management solution should ideally be designed into all new networks, it’s hard to imagine a business case for NOT doing this. However, few people realise that Intelligent Power Management can be retrofitted simply, cheaply and without downtime into existing operational data centres, bringing exactly the same benefits.

Probably the main benefit is the ability to make massive savings of up to 30 percent of the data centre energy bill, not only saving the CFO’s operational expenditure, but through managing consumption, conserving increasingly limited sources of vital energy.

Precisely what actions any organisation takes to address this new management challenge will (and should) vary to reflect the precise needs of that business. But at the heart of a solution that delivers benefit and value will be a core of simple intelligence that captures the complexity and presents it through a browser interface to a variety of interested stake holders (including, IT, Facilities and Business managers) with the dashboard of detail that they need to do their job the new way. This will reflect what is without doubt the biggest call to action facing all organisations and requiring a new level of leadership from the IT team.

In addition to the simple fact that IPM systems generally pay for themselves in less than 6 months (giving major ongoing energy cost savings from then on), a capital allowance of up to 30% (returned through Corporation Tax relief) is available for the deployment of intelligent power management systems. Provided through the Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) scheme, it is a form of accelerated tax relief, encouraging businesses to invest in energy saving plant and machinery. Products registered on the Energy Technology List are eligible and this is managed by the Carbon Trust on behalf the UK Government.

If the UK Government is so clear on the benefits of this technology, surely the finance department will be only too pleased to help IT improve user efficiency and save serious money? When the operational savings combine with the Government allowance and the business benefits are fully understood, power management based on intelligence, makes its own compelling case and new heroes are created.

LS0221

Mind the management gap…

Released: February 2009

Life is complicated; especially for those responsible for the day-to-day aspects of network availability in a modern business environment. That is unless you take steps to deal with a network management black-hole – infrastructure management – and then it can literally be simple.

Making do

There are many tools available that have the words ‘network’ and ‘management’ in their description. However used, these two words can leave the unsuspecting technology manager wrongly assured.

These dangers are then reinforced by the statistic that most new networks are designed to offer ten to fifteen years of service, ergo, they must be reliable. They are, but unless you posses some super human powers, you will not know for certain, and in real time, how they are configured and, what is, or what is not, connected. This is called Infrastructure Management and because it is of only limited help without a high level of real time automation, Intelligent is added to confirm this.

So, Intelligent Infrastructure Management or IIM as it is abbreviated provides a management capability of the passive Structured Cabling infrastructures which in turn connects active Network Devices together, such as switches and Routers.

Why do you need to manage, when you can manage?

Lawyer, essayist, scientist and politician Sir Francis Bacon is credited with having said ‘Knowledge Is Power’ or in the form of a Latin maxim, scientia potentia est. There is much debate about what Bacon actually meant by this, and time no doubt has added its own dimension. One of the more common evolved meanings is that knowledge about something, installs power upon the holder of that knowledge; definitely the case with Intelligent Infrastructure Management.

Just because something appears to be working, it should not be assumed that it is. Many network Managers do not know what is connected to their network, what has been disconnected (stolen?), what has been moved, what amount of connection capacity is being used; furthermore, they may not have any record of the frequent moves, adds and changes or any forensic ability in the case of a crisis of any sort. All this can add up to the wasting of cash, staff time, purchased resources (e.g. servers) and leave the organisation incapable of providing the necessary records for legal and regulatory compliance. It can also be devoid of any forensic resource in the case of failure (to drive remediation) and the vital critical information required (possibly by the law enforcement agencies) in the case of attempted or successful, security breaches.

As many organisations prepare for an uncertain future, network infrastructure replacement projects are rife; and it is increasingly the case that what is being installed is an enterprise wide, core IP network. This core IP network will be used to deliver voice, video, data, building management, surveillance, building access and more. Can any organisation afford to leave this operationally fundamental infrastructure and business asset to languish unmanaged?

Simple and intelligent

The complexity of network management is a function of many things and most are present in varying ways in all networks. IIM is not just for specialists or the big enterprises; it is applicable to and can be scaled for any network, and the good news is that some IIM solutions can be retrofitted. It is only a question of honestly answering the question; can my business exist safely without this vital layer of operational management?

If it is the complexity of networks that makes the case, IIM in response has to be simple to implement, operate and act on.  In this respect, modern IIM solutions present a single, centralised network view that can be consulted equally well from a high view or drilled down to node level detail, with ease.

The lines of IT and business operations are blurring. Out go departmental silos and in comes Business Service. This is an amalgam of many things such as IT Service Management, Security Management, Change Control and Line of Business support. IIM can be the glue that facilitates this operational bonding as it works in the open without the negative impact of Knowledge is Power; knowledge-guarding for personal gain, by departments or, individuals. IIM solutions are equally capable of presenting IT staff with filtered and shaped technical information, as they are Business leaders with clear, concise, operational data about the network present and past, all context relevant – for example Web server downtime or failover.  

Another example relates to the rapid and universal adoption of the IT Infrastructure Information Library (ITIL) and IIM is a natural ally to ITIL based process and operations. Its real time discovery can be the sole or federated source of CMDB (Change Management Data Base) information; its diagnostic ability can assist in first, second and third line support – for example when PING doesn’t work.

Due Diligence

These troubled times will force all organisations to take a closer look, undertaking informed due diligence. It will need to be a radically different look at all aspects of their operations. There can be no doubt that at the heart of everything will be the network infrastructure. It will be the foolhardy board who bury their heads in the cable, preferring instead to boost shareholder funds by saving the modest cost of IIM. The adoption of IIM offers to diligently protect customers, staff and shareholders by providing staff in all business disciplines, with the tools they need to do their work, all of the time.

And the results are?

Some IIM facts

IIM provides:

Real time information

Real time – rapid – event response

Total management control and compliance

Automated network documentation

An always correct view of IT assets

Improved IT planning visibility

IIM delivers:

Increased efficiency of IT Service Management

Improved network availability

Managed device utilisation

A new line of security defence

Increased MAC efficiency and accuracy – no guessing

User specified event alarming

Reduced Mean Time To Repair

Improved problem diagnosis

Reduced operational cost

LS0168

A Simple Case of Clamping Down on Power Usage

Released: March 2009

LS Simple is making the monitoring of energy usage in data centres and comms rooms easier by offering the Simple CL-Amp.

The impact of rising prices and limited availability of energy on the IT industry has been widely discussed in recent months. A number of high-tech energy saving solutions are available and being implemented in new data centre projects.

The Simple CL-Amp is a non-invasive current clamp, which makes it ideally suited for legacy data centres without in-built power monitoring systems. It is designed to work with 13 Ampere, 16 Ampere and 32 Ampere single phase supply cables and clamps simply around the three conductors and the insulation.

Installation of the current clamp is simple. The correct size core – which splits into two separate halves – is placed around the target cable and the head is slid over the locked halves, holding the clamp in place and collecting the real-time current consumption of that cable; it weighs about 135 grams.

Monitoring power usage with the Simple CL-Amp provides real-time data without the need for scheduled power downtime like some other monitoring technologies. The data can be read directly off the LED display or fed into analysing software via an RJ45 connection.

The open fork design of the Simple CL-Amp makes it easy to install anywhere on the cable. A range of locking ring collars to fit cables from 8 mm to 18 mm in diameter is provided.

LS Simple to partner with Obelisk in Ireland

Released: February 2009

Following the successful European launch of its LS Simple™ brand of network infrastructure, intelligent power and intelligent infrastructure solutions, international LG Electronics offshoot company LS has appointed Obelisk Logistics as its distribution partner for the Republic of Ireland.

Well established in the Irish Market, Obelisk numbers amongst its customers O2, Vodafone, Meteor, Smart Telecom and Eircom.  Through its Logistics Division it will distribute the full range of LS Simple copper and fibre structured cabling, LS Simple Intelligent Infrastructure Management and LS Simple Intelligent Power Management as well as LS Radio Frequency cables.

“The team at Obelisk has a vast experience in network installation, testing and commissioning”, says Paul Eo, regional manager Europe for LS Simple. “We are confident that Obelisk is the ideal partner for growing the LS business in Ireland.”

Obelisk Logistics has been deploying LS cabling products for more than 18 months and will start installing LS Simple Intelligent Power Management systems next year.

“We have been working with LS for the past year and have developed a very successful relationship with them”, comments Liam Gillespie, business development manager at Obelisk Logistics. “The supply chain has been very successful, with Obelisk Logistics bringing in a container load of cable and accessories at a time to service our customers needs in Ireland.

“By stocking up to four months usage at any time in our central warehouse in Portlaoise we can assure our customers of an un-interrupted supply of network build materials,” said Gillespie, “LS products have proved to be very reliable and their supply record is excellent.”

LS Simple is a complete infrastructure solution set for the Data Centre and Enterprise network. The portfolio comprises structured cabling, intelligent infrastructure management, intelligent power management, secure cabinets though to integration with building management and network operations, advanced air-conditioning through to complete design, build, maintenance and outsourced operation of data centres of IT networks. The whole solution range is designed to be simple to specify, simple to design, simple to order, simple to install, simple to maintain and all backed by a simple comprehensive 25 year warranty.

Obelisk offers a range of quality infrastructure products to operators, manufacturers, contractors, utilities and service companies across the telecommunications, engineering, construction and industrial sectors. The company was founded in 1996, employs 120 people and has offices in Cavan, Dublin, Portlaoise and Cork.

 LS0163

LS Simple gives Networks Centre a new direction

Released: February 2009

After three very successful years as a fibre-only distributor, Networks Centre has been appointed by LS to distribute its complete LS Simple^TM copper and fibre structured cabling solution.

Announcing the appointment, Paul Eo, regional manager Europe for LS Simple said “We’ve chosen Networks Centre because they are young and aggressive in the market. Many distributors only pay lip-service to “customer service” but Networks Centre has it right at the centre of their business model.”

Eo continued by explaining that Networks Centre built their business around computer-based processes not only designed to support the highest levels of responsiveness – but uniquely also to enable Networks Centre to offer customers an SLA (service level agreement).

Duncan Lindsay, managing director of Networks Centre, commented “We believe that LS Simple will be a massive success for Networks Centre. It is relatively new to the UK market, but with the backing of LS, a $20 billion business and the third largest cable and cable systems manufacturer in the world it is without doubt going to be a major success.”

With more than 500 installers on their books currently buying fibre from Networks Centre but having to buy their copper cabling systems elsewhere Lindsay believes that many will now opt for a one-stop-shop approach buying the LS Simple complete fibre and copper system with the LS-backed 25 year Simple Warranty™ covering the entire installed system. .

“Unlike other systems”, explained Eo “we don’t have an expensive training requirement for accreditation. Provided that installers have been adequately trained on other systems, that’s all that’s needed. After all LS Simple is just that, it’s simple to install and simple to use.”

Installers wishing to become accredited to install LS Simple should contact Networks Centre’s sales team on: +44 (0) 1403 754233 or enquiries@networkscentre.com.

LS0229