Everything under control: intelligent environmental monitoring from Black Box

AlertWerks II system controls environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity, and current peaks, as well as access to critical areas

Hallbergmoos, May 19, 2010 – With the AlertWerks II from Black Box, the IT and telecommunications specialist, a system for extensive monitoring of critical environments is available now. With up to 600 intelligent sensors, it controls environmental conditions and alerts users via SNMP, email, sound, voice, or fax in case of deviations. Ideally suited for use in computer centers or computer rooms, it can also be used in other sensitive areas, such as telecommunication or the food industry.

Besides being protected by virus scans and firewalls, the physical protection of computer centers and server rooms is of utmost importance. Insufficient cooling and voltage fluctuations in particular can cause failures, but also fire or water can pose a real hazard. Efficient environmental monitoring allows for an early response from a distance to initiate appropriate countermeasures against looming threats. “The heart of our new monitoring system is the ServSensor Hub. This control center is linked to the corporate network and intelligent sensors steadily supply up-to-date information“, Axel Bürger, Managing Director of Black Box Deutschland GmbH, explains. Depending on configuration, up to 600 sensors, potential-free contacts, and even video cameras can be integrated.

Various sensors and user-defined contacts control temperature, humidity, current peaks and overvoltages, and detect water ingress, smoke, chemical substances and motion of the door or in the room. Whenever a situation arises that could have an averse effect on valuable equipment, an alarm is triggered and the respective staff member is informed automatically in the way set – via acoustic warning signals, emails with or without image attachment, SNMP trap, SMS or fax. In addition, the monitoring system can activate external devices, such as sirens or a strobe light.

“No company can afford system failures these days. While awareness of logical dangers such as hacker attacks or viruses is widespread, we still notice deficits where physical security and environmental monitoring is concerned“, adds Bürger. “Especially if units fail that are crucial for the company, for example if it interrupts production, the time factor plays a vital role. Downtime can be reduced considerably if potential dangers are detected early and countermeasures are taken in time.“ Sophisticated monitoring increases productivity at the same time: work processes can be organized much more efficiently, and the amount of stand-by equipment can be reduced considerably.

About Black Box:
Black Box (NASDAQ: BBOX) is one of the world’s largest technical services company with focus on design, installation and maintenance of network infrastructure systems. From data communication and telecommunication services to on-site network installation, the company supports more than 175,000 clients in 141 countries with 194 regional offices. With “Free Tech Support“ for free and competent technical advice on the phone, free test scenarios, as well as installation and maintenance services, Black Box offers an exceptional service program. The Black Box main catalogue is well-known in the industry and comprises an extensive product portfolio on more than 700 pages. It provides details of approx. 10,000 IT products such as network components, as well as solutions for infrastructures and applications.

The headquarters of Black Box Corporation is in Pittsburgh, USA. Worldwide, the company has approximately 4300 employees, 50 of which in Germany. Black Box Deutschland GmbH is active on the German market since 1984. Its regular customers include small and medium-sized businesses, as well as big enterprises of various branches, such as services, industry, telecommunications, health care and public administration, as well as the banking and insurance sector.

Press Contact: Black Box Deutschland GmbH
Axel Bürger, Tel +49 811 5541 322, Fax +49 811 5541 499
E-Mail axel.buerger@black-box.de, Web: www.black-box.de

PR Agency: Weissenbach PR
Bastian Schink, Tel. +49 89 5506 7775, Fax +49 89 5506 7790
E-Mail: black-box@weissenbach-pr.de, Web: www.weissenbach-pr.de