Farmingdale, NY – October 27, 2010 – AFCO Systems, the Green Data Center Enclosure Manufacturer and Conference Sponsor to Detail Intelligent Power and Cooling Approaches, will exhibit its New HDS 10 Network Switch Enclosure Designed for Cisco Nexus 7018 Switch at New York State’s Premier Conference for Advanced Energy on November 8 – 9, 2010 at New York City Hilton.

Data center and facilities managers are under pressure to optimize computing performance while reducing power and cooling requirements and their associated costs in their data centers. At the intersection where high density computing and “Green IT” facilities meet, AFCO Systems (www.afcosystems.com), the leader in green data center resource management, will provide guidance and technologies to help customers reach both goals. During the Advanced Energy Conference 2010 (AEC 2010), November 8 - 9, 2010 at the New York Hilton in New York City, AFCO Systems executives will highlight advanced airflow management technologies for providing datacenter cooling and control and exhibit the new HDS 10 Network Switch Enclosure which represents how the manufacturer’s advanced airflow management technology enables required cooling, while delivering a smaller footprint in the data center compared to other cabinets. More information about AFCO Systems is available at http://media.afcosystems.com.

AFCO Systems, a conference sponsor for the fourth year running, is proud to offer insights on Green Data Center design in collaboration with Ed Koplin, a principal at Xnth, a professional engineering firm, on Tuesday, Nov. 9 from 3:45 – 5:00 PM as part of the Energy Efficient Data Centers conference track. His presentation describes how integrated physical plant planning results in sustainable Data Center designs that support IT systems without putting them at risk. Case studies will illustrate how IT collaboration in plant design can create cost effective, energy efficient, solutions for mission critical data centers.

More than 100 clean energy businesses from across New York will participate in the AEC 2010 conference, produced by the Advanced Energy Research Technology Center (AERTC) at Stony Brook University. The event will feature presentations by national experts in clean energy technologies and present both technologies and business models that demonstrate New York’s growing leadership in clean-tech industries.

“We’re pleased once again to sponsor such an important energy and economic conference that offers the opportunity for data center and facilities managers to learn and share with their peers and experts,” said Mike Mallia, AFCO Systems CEO.

About AFCO Systems

AFCO Systems is a global leader in the design and manufacture of scalable enclosure technology for mission-critical data center environments. It has one of the largest globally installed bases of engineered enclosures for high-density server, storage, and network switch applications. AFCO Systems serves the blue-chip customers operating Tier III and Tier IV data centers across industries including financial services, media, manufacturing and education.

AFCO Systems’ Sigma-T™ technologies allow data center managers and IT executives to measure, manage, monitor, and maintain their overall energy efficiency in accordance with ASHRAE standards. Its patented systems control supply-air delivery at the enclosure level, providing cost-effective data center cooling management. AFCO Systems’ services include data center planning and consulting using CFD modeling.

The company is headquartered in Farmingdale, NY with global operating capabilities for its installations in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit http://www.afcosystems.com or call 631-249-9441.

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©2010 AFCO Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. AFCO Systems, Sigma-T™ are registered trademarks of AFCO Systems, Inc. All other trademarks belong to their respective companies.

Processor magazine covers new HDS 10 network switch enclosure:

Data center professionals often struggle with the challenges of providing adequate cooling for enterprise-class network switches without giving up precious floor space in their data centers. In fact, a typical enclosure for this class of switch often requires a large footprint to aid airflow for cooling. Data center trends such as the use of FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet), I/O virtualization, and unified infrastructures are driving the need for higher-density switches that have increasing heat loads. And then there is the problem of dealing with side-breathing network switches in an otherwise front-to-back data center configuration.

Read the complete article.

Toby Buttle has joined AFCO Systems as executive sales manager. He brings 25 years of sales experience to his new role. The Farmingdale firm makes enclosures for data centers that feature resource management systems, which allow for more efficient cooling of equipment.

Buttle will be responsible for all inside and outside sales activities and for directing the sales team to maximize growth, leadership and profitability for the company.

According to Buttle, this is the most technical product he has sold to date. “But once you get a grasp on the concept, it’s easy to explain it to potential customers,” he said.

To accept the position at AFCO, Buttle relocated from Texas, where he worked for BlueScope Steel. He has never lived on Long Island before.

“The humidity is an improvement over Texas, and there’s a lot to do here within easy reach,” he said. “But the traffic is horrendous.”

Buttle graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. “At the time, I was interested in attending the Naval Academy because it offered a free education,” he said. “I didn’t enjoy it very much while I was there, but, looking back, it was probably the best decision I have made.”

After fulfilling his five-year commitment with the U.S. Marine Corps, Buttle was ready for civilian life and got into sales at the suggestion of a college friend. His first sales job was with Sensormatic, a provider of retail security solutions.

Buttle said he learned a lot from every position he has held. “You can’t succeed in this business without taking a little constructive criticism,” he said. “I always say that sales is like having a tool: the more you use it, the better you will do with it.”

Motivating sales professionals is an important part of Buttle’s role. “When you lead people, sometimes you have to make them do what they don’t want to do,” he said. “But by setting realistic goals and objectives, you can improve performance a little bit at a time.”

For those starting out in sales, Buttle suggests finding a mentor who is very successful. “Learn as much from that person as you can,” he said. “It’s easy to form bad habits, but the salespeople who are the most successful are the ones who work the hardest and the smartest.”

Read the complete article

In a recent Processor magazine article, AFCO CTO John Consoli offers tips for measuring and maintaining realistic power usage effectiveness (PUE) in your data center. The good news, according to Consoli, is small to medium-sized enterprises will have a much easier time reducing their PUE numbers and gaining efficiency.

Read the entire article.

In this recent magazine interview, John Consoli, AFCO Systems CTO says: “Most network switches wreak havoc in a data center, generating heat loads of 1,500kW for each switch. That is a major power and cooling challenge right there. Add to that the network switch cables running into the unit, problems hot-swapping parts because of how the cabinet is positioned, and worry about exhaust out the back of the system. This is the industry’s first active airflow management network switch enclosure.”

Read the complete interview at Processor magazine

John Consoli, chief technology officer at AFCO Systems (www.afcosystems.com), says administrators should understand their overall cooling strategy, whether it is a hot aisle/cold aisle layout, aisle containment, in-row cooling, or active airflow management. Each of these approaches, says Consoli, has positives and negatives, so administrators should become familiar with the pros and cons of their chosen course of action and plan accordingly.

Read the article at Processor Magazine

In the article, “Get A Better Handle On Data Center Costs”, AFCO CTO John Consoli discusses the benefits and necessity of taking a granular approach to power monitoring:

Want to get a grip on energy costs? IT managers will need to monitor energy use and record it for each piece of IT equipment, says John Consoli, chief technology officer for AFCO Systems (www.afcosystems.com).

“The more granular the monitoring, the more precise the number,” he says. “Power strip monitoring is more precise than branch circuit monitoring for instance.”

With power use numbers in hand, managers can better make decisions on how to control and manage energy costs, he adds.

Read the full article here

In the article, “Use Computational Fluid Dynamics To See How Changes To Your Data Center Will Affect Cooling”, AFCO CTO John Consoli discusses the merits of CFD modeling:
Because data center conditions can be so complex and variable, data center managers need all the help they can get. Without sufficient visibility, they’re flying blind—and wasting resources.

“Many data center managers have basic information on what power and cooling is being used,” says John Consoli, CTO of AFCO Systems (www.afcosystems.com). “CFD modeling can provide a very detailed picture of what the cooling resources are actually accomplishing.”

Consoli continues, “Many data centers that seem to require additional cooling are often using existing cooling inefficiently—the cooling is being wasted. CFD modeling can show where cooling inefficiencies exist and model improvements in airflow to improve data center cooling.”

Read the full article

Ed Koplin, a Principal in X-nth’s Mission Critical line of business, has more than 26 years experience in data center electrical and mechanical design. He was recently interviewed by Rami Rihani, a consultant with Accenture, for his views on datacenter power and cooling. In this interview, Koplin points out that “All data center resources converge at the computer enclosure. Understanding, testing, and modeling the coordination of power, space and cooling at the enclosure is essential for optimizing energy conservation.”

Read the complete article (PDF)

It may be more important to ensure good cooling in small data centers than in big ones. John Consoli, CTO at AFCO Systems (www.afcosystems.com), draws an analogy to protecting fine cigars. “The cigars I keep at my cigar club are preserved in a big, walk-in humidor. I have never had one go bad on me there,” he says. “Yet, if I neglect the small humidor I keep in my office for even a few days, I will have a bunch of dried tobacco sticks! The smaller the environment, the less tolerance for error.”
Read the complete article