At the Cisco Live IT and communications conference in Europe (Jan. 30 - Feb. 3), Schneider Electric announced plans to expand upon its existing relationship with Cisco to broaden its IT communications and data center energy management product offerings. The announcement builds on the recently launched Schneider Electric Torana Application Server, which integrates Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure architecture with Cisco's EnergyWise platform.
Leveraging the Cisco Intelligent Network, the companies say the combined products serve to maximize operational energy savings in the IT domain to better support enterprise energy management goals.
"The bringing together of Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure architecture and Cisco EnergyWise has already proven its value in managing networked and IT assets in distributed offices. We are thrilled to continue delivering solutions which help customers to better bridge the gap between their IT functions and their facilities, and do so while improving their operations, sustainability and the comfort of their buildings," commented Soeren Brogaard Jensen, vice president of enterprise software at Schneider Electric.
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Related to the announcement, Schneider Electric is demonstrating the following "proof of concept" solutions at Cisco Live:
Schneider Electric StruxureWare for Data Centers Suite Cisco UCS Manager Plug-In -- This plug-in will integrate with the Cisco UCS Manager to provide complete data center infrastructure management (DCIM) as facilities move to greater energy efficiency. Building on the StruxureWare Data Center Operations Suite's ability to guide the placement of new servers with respect to capacities such as power, cooling, and network and physical space constraints, customers will be able to use this critical knowledge of real-time physical capacity constraints to enable the Cisco UCS Manager to automatically cap power for either an entire location or for individual zones.
This capability will help ensure the compatibility of both the power and cooling load to rack and data center capacity for gaining optimal utilization of the data center's physical infrastructure while eliminating the risk of tripped breakers and reducing over-provisioning. The combined solution will also provide real-time automated inventory tracking of all data center equipment from commission to decommission and will offer monitoring capabilities so customers can discover which virtual machines are running on specific servers -- providing critical information in the event of a physical failure, and automatically moving impacted applications to a safe environment.
Schneider Electric PowerChute Network Shutdown and Cisco Unified Communications Manager -- Equipping IT managers and data center operators with tools to be prepared in the event of any emergency, the Schneider Electric PowerChute Network Shutdown software will integrate with Cisco Unified Communications Manager (UCM). In the event of an extended power outage, the software allows for the graceful shutdown of Cisco UCM, helping to prevent data corruption and enabling the quick reboot of unified communications systems upon restoration of power.
Schneider Electric Convergent Building Infrastructure Solution (CBIS) -- For distributed office networks, Schneider Electric's CBIS will offer a more effective way to install cabling, therefore improving the deployment of IT networks while reducing the physical space traditionally required. According to Schneider, this capability may allow capital expenditures on IT infrastructure to be reduced by up to 22 percent, minimizing required telecom space by up to a third, and enabling operational savings of up to 30 percent on subsequent moves, additions and changes. Because simplified design enables a truly distributed IT environment by allowing the physical placement of switches closer to the IT devices, buildings require less cabling, making it possible for installation costs to be slashed up to 60 percent, contends the company.
Using fewer raw materials, less energy and a future-proofed infrastructure, this solution brings together the Schneider Electric EcoStruxure Efficient Enterprise architecture with Cisco EnergyWise. For the IT manager, via single point of control, this enables the energy management of thousands of networked devices within the enterprise and exemplifies the future of smart energy usage by proactively notifying users of opportunities to reduce energy consumption. Schneider notes that alone, a cabling infrastructure is passive, but when integrated with Cisco EnergyWise, energy usage of the IT assets is managed by the building management system and Torana Application Server resulting in a more efficient enterprise.
The above products and solutions will all be available beginning June 2012 as part of Schneider Electric's Efficient Enterprise portfolio for the Cisco Intelligent Network. Visit booth #P3 at Cisco Live to learn more about all of Schneider Electric and Cisco's collaborative solutions.