http://www.networktechinc.com/enviro-mini.html

http://macdave.com/temp/nti_enviroment_monitor.jpg <-Web Interface (which only works well in IE on Windows )

http://macdave.com/temp/nti_toy.jpg <-Being configured at home.

http://macdave.com/temp/rat_monitor.jpg <-Being inspected by its admin.

http://macdave.com/temp/raticia_mbp.jpg <-And a close-up of the admin. =)

Dave

How much cheese does that admin insist on each year for their services?

You do get to play with some great gear macdave.
A keyboard for that admin must be really , really small.
Stewie

Ask me in 364 days. =) Raticia is only 3 months old and still in training now. She may insist upon better pay when she's fully qualified!

The NTI's web interface fails to load after a few hour's uptime and then the unit needs to be power cycled. I phoned NTI just a few minutes ago and they're shipping out a replacement unit and when it arrives in a few days, I'll ship the old one back.

I also ordered a second sensor probe (temperature only, the first is temperature and humidity) so I can monitor temps above and below the colocated Xserves and Mac minis. The second probe cost about 25 bucks.

When I get the unit up in the data center, I'll enable guest viewing for a while so you guys can check out how it works live.

Dave

Nice rat Macdave!

ROFL, cute rat, nice gear!!

I just returned from the data center after setting up the NTI.

http://alternativeunix.com:7777 <-Guest viewing enabled. (No login necessary.)

Best viewed in Opera on the Mac. Safari will show temps but not the graphs.

Like I mentioned earlier, the web interface may fail after a few hours and I'm going to swap out the unit in a few days. In the meantime, I can power cycle it with an APC Master Switch similar to the one in the link.

Dave

Dave just as a matter of interest can this thing crank out just plain text? (ie a list of temps etc) without all the fancy web stuff?

Yes and no, depending on how you look at it. It's designed to send email notifications when threshholds are exceeded. Also, it can work with MRTG to show graphs over a period of time.

Unfortunately, it does not have telnet or ssh, which would be a major improvement, IMHO. Still, it only sells for $310 USD + cost of probes. In the scheme of server room gear, that's VERY cheap. And afterall, the primary function of a such a device is to notify. it's not like one needs to actively view temps, humidity and breaker points.

More sophisticated environmental monitoring devices can do far more: SMS/Paging, setting off alarms, etc..

My host data center has such devices and are very good about keeping on top of what's going in within the server room. Unfortunately, their stats are not viewable by their colocation customers.

<edit>

Also, I use Hardware Monitor to keep an eye on what's going on with the Xserves:

[Osiris:~] dperez% date;stats.sh
Thu Aug 30 14:58:12 PDT 2007
CPU B 12V CURR: 0
CPU B CORE CURR: 0
CPU B VCORE: 0
Behind the DIMMS: 56 C
Between the Processors: 37 C
CPU A AD7417 AMB: 44.5 C
CPU A DIODE TEMP: 49.8217 C
CPU A INLET: 37.5 C
CPU B AD7417 AMB: 42 C
CPU B DIODE TEMP: 48.1035 C
CPU B INLET: 31 C
PCI SLOTS: 43 C
SMART Disk Hitachi HDS724040KLSA80 (KRFS26RAH92E2D): 35 C
SMART Disk WDC WD740GD-41FLC2 (WD-WMAKE1963293): 31 C
SMART Disk WDC WD740GD-41FLC2 (WD-WMAKE2007990): 31 C
SYS CTRLR AMBIENT: 45.625 C
SYS CTRLR INTERNAL: 55.375 C
1.2V: 1.18433 V
1.2V SLEEP: 1.18433 V
1.5V: 1.48041 V
1.5V SLEEP: 1.49881 V
1.8V: 1.80249 V
12V CPU A: 12 V
12V TRICKLE A: 11.9375 V
2.5V: 2.6261 V
2.5V SLEEP: 2.6261 V
3.3V: 3.2851 V
3.3V SLEEP: 3.28456 V
3.3V TRICKLE: 3.30176 V
5V: 5.04419 V
5V SLEEP: 5.09619 V
CPU A VCORE: 1.21826 V
EI_OVDD (1.2V): 1.48901 V
SYS CTRLR 1.5V SLEEP: 1.70453 V
CPU A 12V CURR: 1.50146 A
CPU A CORE CURR: 12.3291 A
CPU A 1: 11741 RPM
CPU A 2: 11612 RPM
CPU A 3: 11721 RPM
CPU B 1: 11751 RPM
CPU B 2: 11811 RPM
CPU B 3: 11661 RPM
PCI FAN: 20 %
SYS CTRLR FAN: 81 %
KEY SWITCH: 1

It's a very hot day today as it's "Indian Summer" here. Fan speeds -should- be in the 8000-9000 RPM range and temps around 6-7° C cooler than they are now.

Dave

We have remote monitors from AKCP http://www.akcpinc.com/company/products.htm and the web interfaces work well across Safari, Firefox and IE. Very nice indeed.

Chris.

More Images

Dave

Is that why the xserves are noisy - the high fan speeds ? 8,000 , 9,000 , 11,000 RPM !
Man they are high spinning fans.
I'm getting a headache just thinking about that whine.
I think my Sawtooths main fan spins along at an average of about 2,000 RPM.
Stewie

Yeah, G5 processors in general are hot runners and Xserves are designed to run the fans at high speeds to keep the internals relatively cool. The lower Xserve, a single processor 2.0 GHZ, is quieter. Its fans typically run about 1,000-2000 RPM slower than the dual processor 2.0 GHZ Xserve above.

G4 Xserves, which are based on MDD architecture, have a reputation of being even louder than G5 Xserves (though, I've never heard one myself.)

MTAU is hosted on a dual processor 1.0 GHZ G4 Xserve. If the admins around here don't hear you, that's probably why. =)

Intel Xserves are probably very quiet. I've never seen one myself. Perhaps others here have and could comment. Decryption may know. He admins a heap of Intel Xserves.

Dave

Well I can vouch for the noise of a MDD - the supposedly loudest Mac that Apple ever made AKA " The Wind Tunnel " or " The Hair Dryer ". The later G4 processors ran very hot and the only way to cool them down was to have the big CPU fan blasting away at max revs. Even with the recall program to replace the loud PSU fans they were still a pretty noisy computer. Despite my MDD running its fans full throttle , I still cooked one of the CPUs and am looking at getting a Sonnet upgrade for it.
If the G4 Xserves are based on the MDD's , I can now understand the noise aspect of them.
Stewie

Hey Mactalk folks.

We recently got in some of these Ethernet Temperature Thermometers for a client here in Oz, from a company called Equals Greater Than. They ship overseas too... They are very small and discrete, and have a host of different alerting options. (But yet, are very easy to use).



Probably useful to use the email (and email-to-SMS) alerts, plus incorporate the SNMP alerts, or just go check out the status of your server room's temperature, from any web-browser!

http://www.equalsgreaterthan.com.au/Products.html

Enjoy!
On-the-ball.