Johannesburg, 12 May 2022
Industrial edge computing has emerged as a bona fide subset of edge computing, bringing data, storage and analytics closer to where content is created or consumed. To this end, Schneider Electric and Stratus Technologies have forged a partnership that sees the global leaders providing a solution that moves data acquisition and processing to the factory floor while dramatically consolidating industrial software workloads.
The Schneider Electric EcoStruxure Micro Data Centre (MDC) with Stratus Fault Tolerant redundant ftServer has been purpose-built for the rigours of industrial environments. The jointly developed solution features Schneider Electric’s UPS, Stratus Fault Tolerant redundant ftServer and pre-installed AVEVA software all in an enclosed rack (6U, 12U or 42U rack sizes), optimised for the harsher industrial operational technology (OT) environments.
“Our partnership with Stratus and the resultant development of EcoStruxure MDC have led to four important features and fundamental pillars of industrial edge computing: sustainability, efficiency, adaptability and resiliency,” says Rohan de Beer, Channel Manager – Southern Africa Secure Power Division, APC by Schneider Electric.
“With the combined efforts of Schneider Electric, Stratus Technologies and AVEVA, we have provided our channel partners and end-user customers with a future-proofed platform, growing as more applications move to the edge, no matter its environment or specific challenges.”
Adds Pieter van der Merwe, Regional Manager Sales and Business Developments Africa & Middle East at Stratus Technologies: “The EcoStruxure MDC’s open architecture is ideal for deployment by VARs, especially system builders, system integrators and end-users looking to install MDC solutions. It can be used in applications like monitor and control and integrate into control rooms or command centres.
“It can even work alongside the world-class AVEVA software and a unified operations centre and can be deployed in a variety of industries like water wastewater, mining, F&B CPG, pharmaceutical/life science, power and oil and gas,” he concludes.
The Schneider Electric EcoStruxure MDC with Stratus ftServer offer key features for edge locations such as:
- Built-in security, fluid, vibration and smoke sensors.
- Deployment in confined spaces – the MDC “in a box” fits in factories or facilities running edge computing applications.
- Performance tested, characterised and validated – the solution is pre-wired, verified and configured out of the box.
- Project execution complexity is mitigated resulting in a 40% reduction in field engineering time, 7% reduction in maintenance costs and a 20% increase in speed-to-market.
- Stratus’s ftServer’s virtualisation capabilities consolidate workloads. This includes running (in tandem) monitor and control, on-premises historical, manufacturing execution, asset performance management and automated material handling applications as well as advanced AI and ML (machine learning) applications.
- Schneider Electric’s smart, uninterrupted power supply (UPS) offers protection against electrical hazards, remote support, calculated shutdowns and integration into the Stratus ftServer.
The EcoStruxure Micro Data Centre incorporating Stratus ftServer and AVEVA was showcased at Stratus’s 28th Annual X-Change User Conference, held from 8-11 May 2022 in Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal.
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