Schneider Electric, which provides enterprise energy management and automation for an international set of customers, isn’t known all that well for its security products. But security is not only software, and Schneider is pretty efficient at making and servicing IT hardware for environmental security purposes.
The company on Nov. 10 introduced NetBotz 250, a rackmount appliance designed to provide more simple-to-use data center physical security. Schneider said this scalable rack access control and environmental monitoring appliance proactively monitors critical IT assets in real time, protecting against physical threats, environmental risks or human error that can disrupt IT operations and reduce reliability.
NetBotz 250 can be used for IT deployments of varying applications, including environment monitoring only, rack access only or a combination of both.
The unit’s advanced feature set and modernized user experience offers native support for existing NetBotz wireless temperature and humidity sensors for rapid and flexible deployment, while supporting additional wired sensors such as spot fluid, vibration and smoke detection.
These capabilities enable immediate detection of common environmental hazards, preventing outages and allowing for rapid response action to minimize downtime.
NetBotz 250 is compatible with APC (formerly American Power Conversion, now owned by Schneider) racks and StruxureWare Data Center Expert. It integrates into an existing install base for efficient deployment, configuration and management to start protecting IT equipment within minutes.
Rack access control functionality is available in two handle kits, at 125 kHz and 13.56 MHz reader frequencies, and restricts rack access to only credentialed users. Configured alerts and outputs such as beacon alarms can be set up to notify IT staff in the event of a breach.
NetBotz integration with StruxureWare Data Center Expert enables efficiency and connectivity at every level of the data center, the company said. It provides centralized monitoring and management of the physical infrastructure and connected, networked devices to reduce energy consumption, protect system uptime, and improve planning and operational performance.
NetBotz 250 is now available worldwide.
Schneider Electric recorded revenues of more than $30 billion in FY2015 and has 160,000-plus employees in 100 countries.