LoRa and Wireless Sensor Technology for Data Center Digital Twins

CHICAGO - July 13, 2023 - PRLog -- A data center digital twin is a virtual representation of the live system. Implementing a DCIM software together with comprehensive sensor monitoring technologies, like AKCP's sensorCFD™, is a great way to get started creating your own digital twin.

Wired or Wireless Sensors
When we talk about wireless sensors in the data center, we are not talking about WiFi. There are options such as Zigbee, Bluetooth Low Energy, and LoRa. Out of these, LoRa is particularly interesting. It has a long range, and low power consumption and complete end to end encryption, making a powerful combination for data centers.

LoRa is a Long Range Radio technology from Semtech. It utilizes a spread spectrum modulation technique, which is derived from the Chirp Spread Spectrum technology. AKCP has developed a wireless sensor system, known as Wireless Tunnel™,  tailored specifically to the needs of the data center, and critical infrastructure monitoring, that utilizes LoRa radio. This system has several benefits over standard LoRaWAN

• Guaranteed message delivery, queuing, retry, and acknowledgement.
• Multiple sensors on a single radio reducing costs and the number of broadcasts
• Local threshold checking with immediate broadcast on exceeding the threshold
• Reduced message size for less airtime and increased battery life

LoRa features advanced security features with 128 bit encryption and authentication mechanisms between the radio transmitters and receivers.

Wireless Tunnel™ sensors deployed in the data center monitor environmental, security and power conditions. The sensors update the Digital Twin virtual model regularly with near real time monitoring.

Here are some examples of how LoRa based Wireless Tunnel™ sensors are utilized.

• Thermal map sensors on each rack provide temperature readings for the front and rear, top middle and bottom. AKCPro Server DCIM displays heatmaps of your data center to visualize the rack inlet and outlet temperatures throughout the facility.
• Power meters at rack and distribution level give feedback that allows effective power management, monitoring and live PuE calculations
• Security sensors on racks display the door status.

Some data centers may take an approach where a mix of wired and wireless sensors are deployed, utilizing wireless sensors only in difficult to cable areas. For example underneath raised access flooring for water leak detection, or monitoring fuel level in generators that are outside the main building.

ABOUT AKCP
AKCP established in the USA in 1981, has 30+ years experience in professional sensor solutions. AKCP created the market for networked temperature, environmental and power monitoring in the data center. Today with over 150 employees and 200,000 installations, AKCP is the world's oldest and largest manufacturer of networked wired and wireless sensors. AKCP has several divisions tailored to the needs of different industries.