Network Monitoring for the Planet
InterMapper network mapping and monitoring software supports “green” initiatives
Hanover, NH, January 29, 2008 – Businesses require careful network monitoring to ensure that services are up, running, and available. The same is true for networks that support green initiatives. InterMapper network mapping and monitoring software is being used by two compelling projects that are aimed at the problem of global warming: measuring its impact on polar bears, monitoring temperature, security and network devices in a “green” data center, reducing household carbon footprints.
Polar Bears International (PBI) just wrapped up its annual six week visit to Churchill, Manitoba where scientists, photographers, and IT staff work around the clock to gather data from the dwindling polar bear population as it migrates along with the ice. Polar bears are considered global warming's canary in a coal mine. “We're working with researchers at the biggest zoos in the world and other research centers to provide real time data on polar bear migration, communication, diet and feeding, and population,” said Robert Buchanan, President of Polar Bears International. “Without the network, and without InterMapper, we're in trouble.”
PBI delivers data over a network that relies on distributed radio repeater and network devices. “We have six links from Churchill that spread across the tundra,” explains Daniel Zatz, owner of SeeMore Wildlife Systems in Homer, Alaska. “We have towers with point-to-point radios and other with Omni directional radios. Our towers are powered by methanol fuel cells. If the radio links go down, the fuel cells and research programs are greatly harmed.”
That's where InterMapper comes in. “We use InterMapper to monitor the network and fuel cells on towers,” says Zatz. “We can query fuel cell status by converting serial data to IP, and we can easily monitor the status of the entire network. InterMapper tells us that cells are working and warns us if they're getting too cold. If anything is wrong, we can get to the tower and fix things without sacrificing research time.”
Green House Data's 10,000 square foot data center in Wyoming is 100% powered by renewable energy. Cheyenne's abundance of wind and sun allow Green House Data to provide professional, co-location, and hosting services without using fossil fuel and Shawn Mills, CEO of Green House Data sees the day when energy efficiency in his facility will negate the “green premium” in pricing. Right now his prices are the same as fossil-fuel burning competitors. One day, they will be lower.
Of course, low environmental impact is just one reason customers choose Green House Data. The others are the Green House Data promises of 100% uptime and complete security. That's where InterMapper network monitoring software comes in.
Green House Data engineers have created a facility-wide network map that allows them to see temperature increases that could threaten network device performance and their uptime promise as well as open doors and inappropriately lit or unlit areas that could indicate security breach. (InterMapper is aimed at temperature and security sensor devices.) And, of course, InterMapper network maps and alerts let engineers know when devices are underperforming or in danger of going down.
Mills explains that he and Green House Data engineers are also very excited about InterMapper's “trending capabilities.” “We want to always maximize efficiency of service and InterMapper lets us see how devices are performing over time.”
Meanwhile, far to the south in Santa Barbara, California, Bill Doering is using InterMapper to monitor temperature and humidity in his “green house.” Doering and his father-in-law modified an existing house in an effort to make it more environmentally sound and reduce the family's carbon footprint.
“We wanted to do more than save on energy bills,” says Doering. “We wanted to create a model that others could follow; to show how creating an envelope that could collect solar energy and hold heat would reduce reliance on fossil fuel.”
First, Doering and his father-in-law created a model to simulate performance. After the house was built and systems were in place, they wanted to see if the actual house performed to the standards set by their model. Doering uses InterMapper at the Gervitz Graduate School of Education, University of California at Santa Barbara, where he is Director of Technology. At the University, Doering uses InterMapper to monitor the overall network along with temperature and humidity conditions in the server room. He recycled that experience at home, installing InterMapper, making a map of his house, and pointing probes at temperature and humidity sensors.
“We keep a constant check on temperature and humidity inside and outside the house,” reports Doering. “We have EDS Ethernet devices in the living room, attic, and outside. With InterMapper, we can see what each device is reporting to determine if the attic is holding too much heat and making the house too hot or leaking heat and making the house cold.” Outside Doering is monitoring sun and shade temperatures to note how the house envelope is performing in those two basic conditions.
More monitoring is on the way. “I need to keep track of the solar water heater and on-demand water heater. When I can see how the on-demand system is going on and off, I can tell how much free water heating we're getting.”
While InterMapper does include built-in EDS probes, Doering had to create custom probes for the specific devices he's using. “I started with InterMapper's EDS probe and made modifications so they would work for my devices. I found that to be a fairly straightforward process, and I'm not a programmer.”
Doering and his family have already done a lot to reduce their carbon footprint but he's looking forward to further gains. “The next step is to become carbon neutral,” says Doering. “Maybe we'll install solar panels or buy some form of alternative 'green' energy. Until then, we'll continue to monitor current systems so that we can establish a baseline against which to compare future improvements. And we'll be able to tell if the envelope materials are continuing to perform over time.”