Project challenge: monitoring critical levels

In our customer's data centre, there are many servers. Each server has a dual single phase redundant power supplies plugged into two separate supply rails on one of three phases each. There are seven rows of  servers. Each row has a 3-phase supply from the left, and a 3-phase supply from the right, making up a total of 63 individual rails of power. 

Should for any reason there be a power supply problem on one of the power supplies the customer needed to know with certainty that the remaining redundant supply would have sufficient bus power to cope with the load.
IF A POWER SUPPLY FAILS, DOES THE REMAINING SUPPLY HAVE SUFFICIENT BUS POWER TO COPE WITH THE LOAD?

JAD solution

The JAD Systems solution utilised the following equipment: 
  • 4 National Instruments compact rio controllers with 32 channel analog input modules
  • 12 Wall mount HD panel PCs
  • 68 Hall effect sensors
  • A custom application to perform the monitoring

The four National Instruments Compact Rio's were installed at the four power distribution points around the data centre. A full HD wall-mount PC per row of servers was located on the left and right walls of the data centre: each PC monitored the six power rails in its row and the power supply. 

The JAD pc displays show the instantaneous consumption of current in the 6 rails, colour-coded for :
  1. Green - should one power supply fail, the system would be able to cope
  2. Yellow - right now the system was coping, but should one power supply fail, the remaining power supply rail would be overloaded.
  3. Red - the power supply rail was already overloaded.

Graphs of usage over the past 24 hours are also displayed, and each PC also displays the net load on the main breakers at each power supply point.

"I now have full information available on the state of the data center, and can proactively manage the load on the rails."  - Client Data Center Manager.