Product

Three-engine generator unveiled in new POWERMX range

Energy specialist, Aggreko, has unveiled a comprehensive range of Stage V multi-engine generators to provide flexible, reliable, clean and efficient power to sectors with demanding and varying power requirements. Designed and manufactured by Aggreko, the new POWERMX range delivers modular power in one containerised offering that can rapidly be scaled up or down depending on the power requirement. The new range includes the POWERMX3, which is the first ever three-engine, 1.35MVA generator housed in a single ISO 20ft container, alongside the company’s latest dual-engine 1.25MVA POWERMX2 Stage V generator. The launch comes as energy intensive industries – such as manufacturing, utilities, data centres and construction – face the challenge of balancing energy resilience while reducing emissions in line with net zero targets. Aggreko has introduced POWERMX solutions into its European fleet for customers requiring a power package to provide additional capacity, enhance resilience, overcome power capacity constraints and grid limitations. The POWERMX generators operate with a load-on-demand system, adjusting seamlessly and autonomously to varying power needs. Their advanced control features and multi engine design means the system can efficiently generate power throughout the load range up to 1.35MVA. The intelligent Stage V solution ensures adaptable power delivery precisely when needed, in addition to optimising fuel efficiency, improving resilience and minimising emissions by generating only the required amount of power. Oversizing generator sets is a common occurrence across many applications, which risks inefficiencies and potential equipment issues when running at low loads for prolonged periods. However, the efficient, flexible power output that the POWERMX range can offer - even at low loads - mitigates these issues, further enhancing efficiency and reliability. The advanced control system also allows the engines to meet load-sharing, base-loading, peak lopping or standby requirements. Meeting strict emissions regulations across Europe, the new Stage V Certified generator is approved for diesel, Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), Gas to Liquid (GTL) and B10 fuels, providing fuel flexible options that support CO2 reducing strategies. When using multiple POWERMX units, flexibility of power output is further enhanced, allowing sites with high power demand to be able to access a Stage V certified solution. As organisations look to adopt decentralised energy approaches to improve resilience on their sites as the reliability of grid supply continues to be questioned, having this flexibility of power output with lower emissions will be key to mitigate potential disruption. As part of the company’s commitment to providing the correctly sized and efficient technology, the new POWERMX range joins the portfolio of Greener Upgrades solutions. This includes battery energy storage solutions (BESS), oil-free air compressors, steam boilers, Stage V generators and chillers. Supporting customers’ renewable energy transitions with access to these new cleaner technologies is a key part of Aggreko’s sustainability framework, Energising Change. David McDonald, Head of Power Generation Products at Aggreko, says, “Delivering best-in-class efficiency, reducing emissions and building energy resilience are key priorities for all industries. Harnessing the full capabilities of the first of its kind POWERMX3, in addition to the POWERMX2, we can support our customers with their sustainability goals without compromise. “The need to adhere to even more stringent emission regulations is often a priority, particularly for large, multi MW projects. This results in an increased requirement for Stage V solutions that are also compatible with greener fuels. With the new POWERMX range, energy intensive sectors will benefit from this type of revolutionary multi engine solution that delivers lower emissions while affording flexible power provision and security of supply. “Coupled with the existing fleet stage V generators, battery energy storage systems (BESS), oil free air compressors, coil steam boilers and extended portfolio of greener upgrades products, the POWERMX range will provide even more choice to our customers across all sectors.” For more from Aggreko, click here.

Vertiv adds new UPS model to lithium-ion portfolio

Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity innovations, has introduced the extension of the Vertiv Liebert GXT5 Lithium-Ion double-conversion, online uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system for 5kVA-10kVA Global Voltage (GV) (200V-240V; Default 230V) applications. This expansion of the Liebert GXT5 Lithium-Ion line to 10kVA (from 1-3kVA) further extends the Vertiv portfolio of lithium-ion UPS systems and innovations for the edge of the network. Vertiv is now accepting orders for the new 5-10kVA GV models in the EMEA region and is shipping from current inventories. The Liebert GXT5 Lithium-Ion models are designed for the smaller spaces typical of the network edge, with a convertible rack/tower design and only a 3U (5kVA to 10kVA UPS) rack height. These GXT5 LI GV models include an integrated maintenance bypass cabinet preserving additional rack U-space. All Liebert GXT5 Lithium-Ion UPS systems come with a five-year limited warranty. The higher power density of lithium-ion batteries enabled Vertiv to pack more runtime in less space compared to a typical UPS with valve-regulated lead acid (VRLA) batteries, and that runtime can be extended with up to eight external battery cabinets. With improved performance at higher operating temperatures and longer life expectancy, the lithium-ion batteries in the Liebert GXT5 Lithium-Ion reduce the total cost of ownership by up to 50% compared to VRLA solutions. In addition, lithium-ion batteries typically last eight to 10 years, compared to about three to five years for VRLA batteries, reducing or eliminating the cost and inconvenience of battery replacements during the life of the UPS. “With this expanded offering, Vertiv is poised to capitalise on the expected rapid growth of lithium-ion batteries,” states Karsten Winther, President for Vertiv in the EMEA region. “The Liebert GXT5 Lithium-Ion UPS offers compactness, versatility, and low-maintenance, presenting an efficient solution perfectly suited for remote sites with minimal onsite technical support.” According to Omdia, lithium-based battery adoption for UPS in data centres is expected to continue its fast growth and soon dominate the UPS battery market, reaching 65% of global revenue by 2030. For more from Vertiv, click here.

Kohler launches new KD Series industrial generator

Kohler Power Systems, part of Kohler Energy, has expanded its KD Series line of industrial generators with a new model, KD800, designed for 50hz markets. This generator features a new advanced engine (KD18L06) that can also run on Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) as a renewable fuel source. This new model joins a proven series of gensets that continues to provide the highest power density and best fuel consumption at more nodes than competitors between 800-4500 kVa, offering cost savings to users. The new KD unit is designed to power mission-critical applications, including airports, hospitals, and healthcare facilities, water treatment plants and mid-sized data centres. The KD800 joins Kohler’s industrial generators that are engineered to use HVO fuel. HVO provides a more sustainable alternative to conventional diesel and biofuels. No adaptation is needed and both HVO and diesel can be mixed together. HVO is also highly stable, with no sensitivity to oxidation, so it can be stored long-term. It enables to offset carbon emission by up to 90% by using renewable waste products. Kohler’s KD Series is designed to deliver extreme durability and ultimate reliability in a variety of emergency and prime applications. KD Series generators are engineered to last, with better fuel economy and a small footprint. When paired with Kohler’s global sales and support network, the KD Series line-up provides an innovation that secures customers’ critical operations. And when service is needed, Kohler has a global dealer and distribution infrastructure consisting of more than 800 facilities offering 24/7 parts availability. For additional details about the Kohler KD Series range, visit its product catalogue by clicking here. For more from Kohler, click here.

Don’t compromise on power protection

By David Bond, Chairman, Centiel UK When we are ill, we consult a doctor, a trusted expert in the human body, to diagnose and appropriately treat the problem. They will also advise on how to best prevent a recurrence of the problem. Hopefully, we don’t listen to “old wives tales” that guarantee an immediate cure. The same common sense applies with the diagnosis, help and advice for critical power protection. Nobody would knowingly purchase an inferior UPS, but how would they know a good UPS from an inferior one? If you’re not a UPS expert, it’s easy to fall for sales talk and marketing speak, but just like a doctor won’t try and ‘sell’ you unnecessary medication, real UPS experts will act as trusted advisors and will only act in their customers’ best interest. No sales 'spin', just facts and sound advice. While Centiel’s team of UPS experts don’t swear an hypocritic oath like a doctor does, every Centiel employee signs up to a set of core values which keeps the best interests of customers at the heart of everything they do, namely:   We always behave with integrity We are honest and open in our business transactions We treat our customers, suppliers and each other with respect We constantly strive to improve our customer service We never compromise on health, safety or environmental matters Finding the best way to protect critical power is a complex topic. Therefore, Centiel’s expert team act as trusted advisors to all customers, including data centres, hospitals and all IT facilities, to ensure they always have the optimal UPS solution, whilst reducing their Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and maximising their system availability. Centiel’s engineers and UPS solutions experts and are not required to 'sell' UPS. Instead they establish long term relationships by offering their wealth of experience and expertise. By taking time to understand the challenges faced, they always provide the best advice in relation to solutions based on best practice. It's this long-term vision and close relationships with Centiel’s clients which led to the development of its industry-leading UPS solutions. For example, Centiel recently launched StratusPower, which shares all the benefits of the award-winning three phase, true modular UPS CumulusPower - including '9 nines' (99.9999999%) availability to effectively eliminate system downtime; class leading 97.6% online efficiency to minimise running costs; true 'hot swap' modules to eliminate human error in operation – but now also includes long-life components to improve sustainability. StratusPower minimises TCO because of its class-leading efficiency and low maintenance costs and it is fully scalable, so is unlikely be outgrown.   Centiel’s experts help organisations around the world understand TCO calculations and provide best recommendations to protect power from day one and into the future. Armed with this information, informed decisions can be made about the most appropriate option to protect critical power, reduce carbon footprint and maintain the highest level of availability. So just like you would consult a doctor to maintain your optimal health, when it comes to looking at UPS solutions, don’t compromise. Choose experts who will provide best advice to protect your critical power. To arrange a discussion or for more information, click here.

Tintri announces two new cloud solutions

Tintri has announced two new offerings that will enable customers to leverage the advantages of a cloud infrastructure. Tintri Cloud Platform (TCP) leverages the efficiency, transparency and flexibility that its customers rely on without the hardware investment. Tintri Cloud Engine (TCE) is a container-driven VMstore platform that allows current customers to add a hybrid cloud deployment to their existing infrastructure. Tintri Cloud Platform: Integration of VMstore environments TCP enables customers to experience the benefits of its VMstore-powered managed cloud infrastructure. It is a full turnkey offering that provides scalability and flexibility, delivering host-in-cloud as well as process-in-cloud capabilities. It also offers Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS), ensuring continuity of critical workloads in the event of a disaster. TCE virtual platform compliments VMstore T7000 Series in simple cloud deployment Tintri Cloud Engine decouples with its AI-powered software from the VMstore T7000 hardware platform. It provides customers with the flexibility to deploy its technologies outside of the private data centre. TCE is purpose-built for virtualised workloads, opening the door to new levels of infrastructure efficiency in hybrid cloud ecosystems. Running in the cloud as a container, it provides enhanced data protection, enabling snapshots of on-prem workloads to be replicated to cloud-based storage, leveraging Tintri Native Async Replication. With TCE snapshot replication, customers leverage the cost-efficiencies of cloud storage while increasing disaster recovery capabilities and ransomware protection. With the massive influx of data and mobile workforces over the past few years, there is a critical need to implement a more flexible and interconnected IT ecosystem to manage the size and complexity of applications. TCE is designed to address this shift in the IT market and will give users a complete view into their hybrid cloud needs. Click here for more latest news.

Eaton introduces xIntegra – systems engineering for data centres

Eaton has announced the launch of xIntegra, a new integrated systems engineering approach to powering systems level performance within a data centre at every stage of its lifecycle. This evolution of Eaton’s power management capabilities and expertise represents a shift from the traditional mix-and-match design and procurement of individual elements, to considering a group of intelligent components, acting, and working together as a complete system. As a result, xIntegra ensures optimised system level performance and integrity at every stage – from design to implementation, operation to retirement. Karina Rigby, President, Critical Systems, EMEA, Eaton, says, “Optimal design, performance and efficiency are key to a data centre’s commercial success. To realise this, we believe it requires all the elements that make up the electrical infrastructure in a data centre to function as an end-to-end system. This can be achieved through designed-in optimisation at both component and system level. That is why we have developed xIntegra.” A systems engineering approach Systems engineering is a methodical, multi-disciplinary approach acting as a pathway to creating truly engineered solutions. It connects elements of the data centre’s power train including hardware, software and services, to the value chain lifecycle stages to facilitate the balancing of organisational, cost and technical interactions in complex systems. “Eaton’s new systems engineered approach focuses on the design, implementation, operation and retirement of a fully connected system,” says Neil Potter, Business Development Manager for Electrical Systems and Solutions at Eaton. “The approach prioritises early engagement between vendors and key stakeholders with a primary objective of de-risking the electrical design. This leads to enhanced reliability, safety, security and resilience, as well as supporting sustainability goals and regulatory compliance, whilst delivering system level performance throughout the whole lifecycle of a data centre.” “With the introduction of xIntegra, Eaton is applying its knowledge and expertise to bring a new level of insight and align its portfolio with how operators see the data centre environment,” adds Neil. “Our extensive network of professional engineers is ready to support all key stakeholders in the design, installation, testing, commissioning, measuring and maintenance of their data centre electrical power infrastructure.” xIntegra enables a true systems engineering approach that considers the ‘bigger picture’ and moves beyond the traditional functional blocks in design. It’s a logical way of thinking when connecting systems, understanding decisional impacts, and optimising overall performance. It’s time to think differently. Click here for latest data centre news.

Supermicro announces new E3.S all-flash storage solutions

Supermicro has announced that it is delivering a high throughput, low latency E3.S storage solutions, supporting the industry's first PCIe gen5 drives and CXL modules to meet the demands of large AI Training and HPC clusters, where massive amounts of unstructured data must be delivered to the GPUs and CPUs to achieve faster results. Supermicro's petascale systems are a new class of storage servers supporting the latest industry standard E3.S (7.5mm) gen5 NVMe drives, from leading storage vendors for up to 256TB of high throughput, low latency storage in 1U or up to a half PB in 2U. Its innovative symmetrical architecture reduced latency by ensuring the shortest signal paths for data and maximised airflow over critical components, allowing them to run at optimal speeds. With these new systems, a standard rack can now hold over 20PB of capacity for high throughput NVMe-oF (NVMe over Fabrics) configurations, ensuring that GPUs remain saturated with data. Systems are available with either the 4th gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors or 4th gen AMD EPYC processors. The systems also support up to 4xE3.S 2T (15 mm) CMM devices on Intel and AMD based platforms. These systems now enable memory cache coherency between CPU memory and PCIe attached DDR based memory devices. The new line-up of optimised storage systems includes 1U servers, supporting up to 16 hot-swap E3.S drives, or eight E3.S drives, plus four E3.S 2T 16.8mm bays for CMM and other emerging modular devices. The 2U servers support up to 32 hot-swap E3.S drives with both single-processor and dual-processor models. The dual-processor models support the latest 4th gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, while the single-processor models support the latest 4th gen AMD EPYC processors. Customers will experience increased performance with these latest technologies. These systems all include PCIe 5.0 (twice the performance of PCIe 4.0), 1.5X memory performance of DDR5 compared to DDR4, and up to 1PB in a compact 2U server when 30TB drives become available later this year. Click here for latest data centre news.

The Data Lab launches AI-driven tool to navigate funding opportunities 

The Data Lab has launched a new free tool which uses AI to provide smart funding matches and help businesses navigate the UK’s complex funding landscape. Funding Finder allows businesses to quickly determine what financial backing is available to them in Scotland and across the UK, matching them with the most appropriate funding bodies to best support their work. The user-focused tool is designed to provide value quickly by guiding users through a simple three-staged online form. The information provided helps to create a personalised recommendation based on the available funding for which they are most likely to be eligible. The Funding Finder’s embedded AI element delivers the most relevant search results to boost application success and minimise the time spent on inappropriate bids. The launch of the tool follows a successful two-month pilot, tested exclusively with members of The Data Lab's community. The pilot received positive feedback, with a number of those who trialled the tool, identifying new funding opportunities as a result. It is now available to businesses across the UK, with further scope to extend overseas. Users of the tool will also benefit from tailored support, event news, weekly updates from the innovation centre and access to useful networks and connections, including the European Space Agency, UKRI, Innovate UK, and Find Business Support Scotland. Adam Turner, Head of External Funding Services at The Data Lab, says, “It’s impossible to ignore the crucial role grant funding plays for all stages of a business, but particularly during the start-up and scaleup phases. Scotland has always produced high quality, innovative organisations and this is something we want to nurture with the deployment of this tool. “While the funding landscape is positive, the application process has never been straightforward. As well as being time-consuming, it’s often complex and, with no single central funding body, every application can be different. We regularly received feedback from our community that a lot of time was wasted applying for funding that simply wasn’t suitable or that particular organisations were unlikely to win. Our aim with Funding Finder is to overcome some of these common pitfalls by providing a one-stop-shop for funding, to make it more accessible for businesses.” Click here for more on The Data Lab.

NVIDIA launches data centre visualisation processor

NVIDIA has announced NVIDIA OVX servers featuring the new NVIDIA L40S GPU, a powerful, universal data centre processor designed to accelerate the most compute-intensive, complex applications, including AI training and inference, 3D design and visualisation, video processing and industrial digitalisation with the NVIDIA Omniverse platform. The new GPU powers accelerated computing workloads for generative AI, which is transforming workflows and services across industries, including text, image and video generation, chatbots, game development, product design and healthcare. Powerful performance for AI and graphicsNVIDIA OVX systems will enable up to eight NVIDIA L40S GPUs per server, each equipped with 48GB of memory. Based on the NVIDIA Ada Lovelace GPU architecture, the L40S includes fourth-generation Tensor Cores and an FP8 Transformer Engine, delivering over 1.45 petaflops of tensor processing power. For complex AI workloads with billions of parameters and multiple data modalities, such as text and video, L40S enables up to 1.2x more generative AI inference performance and up to 1.7x training performance compared with the NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPU. To power high-fidelity professional visualisation workflows like real-time rendering, product design and 3D content creation, the NVIDIA L40S GPU includes 142 third-generation RT Cores that deliver 212 teraflops of ray-tracing performance. This enables creative professionals to create immersive visual experiences and photorealistic content. For computationally demanding workflows, such as engineering and scientific simulations, the NVIDIA L40S includes 18,176 CUDA cores, delivering nearly five times the single-precision floating-point (FP32) performance of the NVIDIA A100 GPU to accelerate complex calculations and data-intensive analyses. Early adoptionAmong the first cloud service providers to offer L40S instances is CoreWeave, which specialises in large-scale, GPU-accelerated workloads. Software to boost AIEnterprises deploying L40S GPUs can benefit from NVIDIA AI Enterprise software. The software provides production-ready enterprise support and security for over 100 frameworks, pretrained models, toolkits and software, including NVIDIA Modulus for simulations, NVIDIA RAPIDS for data science and NVIDIA Triton Inference Server for production AI. Omniverse expandsThe next generation of NVIDIA OVX systems powering Omniverse Cloud will feature L40S GPUs to deliver the AI and graphics performance needed to supercharge generative AI pipelines and Omniverse workloads. AvailabilityThe NVIDIA L40S will be available starting this fall. Global system builders, including ASUS, Dell Technologies, GIGABYTE, HPE, Lenovo, QCT and Supermicro, will soon offer OVX systems that include the NVIDIA L40S GPUs. These servers will help professionals worldwide advance AI and bring generative AI applications like intelligent chatbots, search and summarisation tools to users across industries. Click here for latest data centre news.

Western Digital's new storage solutions for data centre architecture

From the cloud, to the edge, to the enterprise, data centre architects are deploying higher levels of flash to unlock the potential of AI, object storage, file sharing and more. At the same time, they are laser focused on controlling spend and must find solutions to help them manage, scale and utilise storage assets more efficiently. ​ This is driving a growing trend to disaggregate and share NVMe flash over fabric (NVMe-oF) for improved performance, availability and flexibility of storage resources. Helping customers simplify NVMe/NVMe-oF storage deployment, Western Digital has announced new solutions: Enhanced OpenFlex Data24 3200 NVMe-oF JBOF/Storage Platform Next generation RapidFlex A2000 and C2000 NVMe-oF fabric bridge devices (FBDs New Ultrastar DC SN655 PCIe Gen 4.0 dual-port NVMe SSD These new storage solutions are enabling an ecosystem, providing more flexibility and choice for simplifying solutions deployment for customers. It has vertical integration capabilities targeting both ends of the ethernet wire to deliver solutions, where data travels from the server initiator to the storage target. Fully integrated OpenFlex Data24 3200 NVMe-oF Storage Platform The platform extends the performance of NVMe flash to a shared storage architecture. By separating storage resources from compute, and sharing it over ethernet, OpenFlex Data24 becomes widely available to multiple applications and servers, allowing for greater resource control and scalability, leading to improved storage utilisation without overprovisioning. Using RapidFlex FBDs, the Data24 3200 allows up to six hosts to be attached without a switch. A switched environment allows scaling even more hosts and Data24 platforms, providing scale-out or scale-up capabilities from hundreds of terabytes to petabytes of its flash with very low application latency. In addition to RDMA over converged Ethernet (RoCE), it now features new TCP connection support. Available in a 2U 24-bay platform and backed with a five-year limited warranty, it is built to deliver low power, high availability and enterprise-class reliability with up to 368TB in a single platform of low latency dual-port PCIe Gen 4.0 SSDs. Next generation RapidFlex FBDs: the A2000 ASIC and the C2000 fabric bridge PCIe adapter card The RapidFlex family of NVMe over fabric bridge devices provide the foundational building blocks for OEMs/ODMs and large organisations taking a DIY approach to their software-defined infrastructure to enable next generation workloads based on highly scalable shared storage across an ethernet fabric. These second generation low-power, high-performance FBDs come in two versions: the RapidFlex A2000 controller, and the RapidFlex C2000 that places the A2000 chip on a PCI adapter for powering solutions. The new FBD is a unique state machine that exports the PCI bus over ethernet, allowing externally connected SSDs to appear as if they were local to the server. The new family also doubles performance with an additional 100GbE port matched to 16 lanes of PCIe Gen 4.0, and provides a PCIe root complex within all NVMe all-flash arrays, making it easy to qualify and deploy. The new FBDs add initiator mode capability to the existing target mode capability, so customers can now deploy more cost-effective and lower power initiator cards in their servers instead of a conventional ethernet NIC for NVMe-oF connectivity. Enterprise-class Ultrastar DC SN655 Dual-Port NVMe SSD This is a cost-effective, dual port, high capacity PCIe Gen 4.0 NVMe SSD designed for cloud, OEM and enterprise customers who need high-performance, high capacity storage for a variety of applications and workloads such as disaggregated storage, object storage, storage servers and other mission-critical applications. The Ultrastar DC SN655 is a vertically integrated SSD that provides a simple, scalable, single-port or dual-port path to ensure continuous data access for enterprise high availability requirements. It also expands capacities from new 3.84TB to 15.36TB, targeting both storage and mixed workload compute applications, and increases drive reliability to 2.5 million hours mean time between failures (projected). Additionally, it reaches more than one million maximum random read IOPs and enhanced Qos for large unstructured workloads. It comes in a drop-in U.3 15mm form factor and is U.2 backwards compatible. It also offers additional enterprise features like power-fail protection and end-to-end data path protection to ensure data is available when needed. Click here for latest data centre news.