THE EDGE he world appears to be on a long-term path towards mass

Nations , predict that by 2030 more than 50 % of the world ’ s population will live in cities . With this in mind , many cities have declared that they will become ‘ Smart Cities ’, adopting tools that seek to improve citizens ’ quality of life through increased digitalisation of services and open access to data .

Such examples of Smart City initiatives include the deployment of an increased number of security cameras to show wildlife in its native habitat , watch pedestrians , evaluate vehicular traffic flow and supervise mass transit .

Streets have embedded sensors collecting data on vehicular speeds and open parking spaces . Even the citydeveloped mobile apps can detect or report everything from potholes on the roads to rubbish on the path . Electric vehicle chargers are being installed in parking spaces throughout these cities and are available by reservation through smartphone applications .

Such initiatives will ultimately enable greener and safer environments for all citizens . But these applications will require the support of compute power coming from data centres or distributed Edge Computing locations .

The transitions in approach to IT architecture and the ongoing proliferation of new computing locations can cause difficulties for those responsible for the IT infrastructure itself , namely the facilities personnel where the equipment is housed and the security team responsible for the equipment ’ s physical security in those facilities . In some cases , these same people are also responsible for things outside of the typical IT sphere , like distributed antenna systems , HVAC systems , lighting , conference rooms and telecom infrastructure .

Here , we will explore three scenarios requiring remote monitoring and find out how Smart Rack Controller is one solution coming to the aid of IT , facilities and security-focused personnel .

Scenario 1 : Adding modern intelligence to legacy infrastructure

In this scenario , legacy infrastructure is IT racks built out years ago and deployed inside an environment that was initially devoted to a single department or user community . For instance , a city traffic control centre , a university research lab or a petrol station chain . These spaces housing the IT gear or racks need to be repurposed into a multi-department , multi-tenant , or multi-user data centre that is frequently accessed by the respective users .

As the environment is repurposed , new challenges arise such as how to improve access control , implement more granular environmental controls and ensure uptime for everyone making use of the facility .

Listed here is some of the technology you may need , in order to transition to an intelligent infrastructure :

• Cage level and individual rack access control via secure door locks

• Support of in rack temperature , humidity , smoke detection , door open / close card reader locks

• Support for sensors outside the rack – temperature , humidity , floor leak detection , differential air pressure across perforated floor tiles and AC air filters

• Support for Logitech USB cameras to enable manual identity verification at the cage and rack levels

Marc Cram , Director of New Market Development for Legrand DPC ( Data , Power and Control Division )

• API and SNMP support for the collection and management of sensor data and alarms

• Support for a wide variety of DCIM and BMS tools

Scenario 2 : Managing complex urban installations

Remote infrastructure cabinets that support cities are now being used to support multi-purpose applications within those cities . They house a diverse set of systems with varying tolerances for environmental specs , power requirements and access / control needs .

The enclosure may service a wide-array of applications , including :

• Traffic light and crosswalk controls

• City traffic cam connections

• Parking system sensor interfaces

• EV charging reservation system with POS

• Public kiosk data delivery gateway

• Public Wi-Fi access point

• Gunshot detection system gateway

• Shared equipment for 5G carriers

• Air quality monitoring system gateway

• Copper or fibre patch panels

Listed are some of the suggested tools for successful management and maintenance of these city installations : www . intelligentdatacentres . com

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