March 16, 2009 -- Black Box has released its AlertWerks II environmental monitoring system, a family of sensor hubs and plug-and-play intelligent sensors designed to protect network infrastructure from physical threats including security breaches, water and humidity, temperature fluctuations, and fire and smoke. The system also monitors airflow, AC voltage, and motion. With it, network managers can reduce downtime, prevent potential disasters, and eliminate unauthorized access to mission-critical equipment, says the company.
The centerpiece of the AlertWerks II system is the ServSensor hub, which comes in several versions: the ServSensor; ServSensor Jr.; ServSensor Contact; and ServSensor V4P. The ServSensor hub is the central processor of the environmental monitoring system, connected to a network and attached to the AlertWerks II Intelligent Sensors to remotely view the status of data centers or other facilities.
The ServSensor VP4 also provides real-time video monitoring and alerting. Along with the intelligent sensors, it connects up to four surveillance cameras, such as the company's AlertWerks II PT dome camera.
A wide range of sensors are available to work with the AlertWerks II ServSensor hubs. The hubs measure physical threats such as water, humidity, temperature, and airflow; and enhance security with a motion sensor or siren and strobe light; installation of third-party sensors is also supported.
"This system combines ease of use with an excellent value," comments Josh Whitney, Black Box product manager. "It allows users to remotely monitor their resources through its use of a graphical-based Web interface and e-mail or SNMP alerts. Additionally, it's scalable, allowing network managers to expand the system as their needs increase."
Each of the ServSensor hubs provides data collecting and graphing, and displays the values measured by the attached sensors. When the measured value exceeds the predefined threshold, an alert triggers, which can be a blinking LED, an audible alarm, or an e-mail to a response team.
On the Web:
www.blackbox.com/go/alertwerks