Opportunities Abound with the New Eaton SmartRack Modular Data Center
Jun 6, 2024
By Tony Locker, Vice President, Product Management, Eaton
It’s been several years of hype and promises, but the anticipation surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) deployments is finally coming to fruition within the channel, with legitimate sales opportunities now materializing for power quality resellers. And Eaton is ready.
Buoyed by the continued growth of edge computing, enterprise customers are increasingly turning to distributed artificial intelligence (DAI) to maximize efficiency in their warehouses, manufacturing facilities and retail locations. With this shift, demand is ramping up for small data centers that can help organizations speed deployment cycles, lower costs and optimize capacity.
The innovative SmartRack Modular Data Center design enables easy configuration and maintenance while reducing the overall cycle time to deploy a data center from months or weeks to just days.
Designed for Edge Location Needs
Eaton’s new SmartRack® Modular Data Center addresses the unique and multifaceted requirements of these edge locations with a modular solution that can be rapidly configured and deployed in light industrial and other non-traditional computing environments. Although the SmartRack Modular Data Center was initially manufactured as a custom project for a large customer, repeated requests for this type of solution prompted Eaton to make it part of our regular product offering.
Comprised of an IT rack, cooling, service enclosures and management software, the SmartRack Modular Data Center forms a performance optimized data center, or POD. Its innovative design enables easy configuration and maintenance, ideal for edge environments where skilled on-site resources may not be present. Even more, the solution lowers costs by reducing the overall cycle time to deploy a data center ― from months or weeks to just days.
Ensuring Cyber and Physical Security
The POD addresses one of the most challenging aspects for customers supporting edge locations: managing and maintaining infrastructure across multiple sites and where on-site resources may not be present. Thanks to Eaton’s Distributed IT Performance Management (DITPM) software, part of the Brightlayer Data Centers suite, organizations can remotely monitor and control networked in-row cooling units, UPS systems and PDUs ― saving time and resources, while alleviating stress and hassles.
To meet the varied needs of your customers, the solution is highly customizable, with 13 standard configurations and pre-sales support ready to address custom configurations to fit unique applications, including but not limited to bundling with UPSs, PDUs and cabling. The POD’s scalability enables easy expansion and optimized capacity; as computing needs grow, additional enclosures can be added, with each SmartRack Modular Data Center providing the ability to house up to 44U of rack-mounted equipment.
Designed to meet IP54 standards, the enclosure’s robust design safeguards equipment against the heat, humidity, dust, water and other environment factors that are often rampant in factories, warehouses and other edge locations. Meanwhile, the POD’s locking doors and panels help keep contents secure and are compatible with access control systems. And because cybersecurity in edge environments is just as critical as physical security, the in-row cooling unit includes a built-in network management card, underscoring Eaton’s proactive and consistent approach to cybersecurity.
Available for Channel Partners Now!
For channel partners, the SmartRack Modular Data Center offers yet another advantage: the prospect of increased service and lifecycle opportunities, as many end users will likely look to resellers for configuration, commissioning and maintenance assistance. The SmartRack Modular Data Center is already available for channel partners who are ready to capitalize on AI-driven opportunities!
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