Planetary Gear

Read all 'microcomputers' posts in Planetary Gear
January 28, 2009 8:26 AM PST

Sensors central to Sentilla data center monitoring

by Candace Lombardi
  • Post a comment

Sentilla's sensor and software system directly connected to monitor SunFire X4100 and T2000 servers.

(Credit: Sentilla)

Sentilla, a company that makes energy management technology, announced Wednesday it's also getting into management for data centers.

The Redwood City, Calif.-based company makes a software and microsensor system for detecting and managing the environments and energy consumption of commercial and industrial facilities.

Sentilla's new product announcement on Wednesday expands their reach to include analyzing the energy consumption of computers, servers, and their accoutrements in data centers.

Simply named the Sentilla Energy Manager, the system uses Sentilla's sensors with microcomputers to measure the change in activity levels and electricity consumption of servers. The devices are basically microcontrollers with built-in low-power wireless radios that run on two AAA batteries, according to the company. The computer is roughly the size of a dime and is loaded with Sentilla's Java-compliant software.

The microcomputers' data is sent wirelessly every couple of minutes to a computer so a human monitor can determine in real time a facility's energy patterns. Sentilla's sensors can also be used to monitor room temperature.

Sentilla received $7.5 million in Series B funding in early January from Onset Ventures and Claremont Creek Ventures. Prior to that, the company tested its technology on the Moscone Center in San Francisco during the JavaOne 2008 conference.

  • prev
  • 1
  • next
advertisement
Click Here

15 sites that went kaput in 2009

Web sites launch all the time, but they also shut their doors. We highlight 15 that bit the dust this year.

Top 10 news stories of the decade

Let the debate begin: Was the iPhone more important than iTunes? Was anything bigger than Google finding a great business model? CNET offers its list of the 10 most important stories of the '00s.

About Planetary Gear

In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating in her blog, Planetary Gear. A journalist who divides her time between the US and the UK, Lombardi has written for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com and Gamespot. Email her at CandaceLombardi@gmail.com. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.

Add this feed to your online news reader

Planetary Gear topics

Most Discussed

advertisement

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right