Redfish
The communication protocol used for monitoring data centres with liquid cooling systems
Liquid cooling is a fast-growing application that requires monitoring
Liquid cooling technology for data centres has been growing steadily over the last few years: in particular, the development of artificial intelligence has driven growth in applications with increasing power density, and these require liquid cooling to dissipate the heat generated in very small volumes.
These cooling systems feature low inertia and are highly dynamic, with greater interaction between the cooling system and the server needed to both maximise efficiency and ensure service continuity.
In this context, DMTF’s Redfish protocol, used to communicate the operating parameters of microprocessors, including temperature, is becoming increasingly popular. By using the same protocol for other system components, such as the cooling devices, control strategies can be customised to optimise cooling based on the actual needs of the microprocessors.
The strengths of this protocol are standardisation and scalability, as well as high security levels - it is in fact a REST API - thus facilitating integration of all the devices in data centres.
CAREL has now introduced for its boss family, specifically boss one and boss micro, the possibility to interface with Redfish systems in control solutions for units such as CDUs and “RDHX” (rear door heat exchangers), as well as chillers and many others.
The main benefits of the CAREL solution are as follows
HW flexibility
Boss one can now make all the pCO and c.pCO family controllers with optional BMS card compatible with Redfish, allowing them to interface with already-developed applications and existing units.
SW flexibility
The possibility to freely configure the device models read by boss one, together with the complete editability of the Redfish configuration JSON file, allow any application developed on a CAREL controller to interface with the system. The variables to be share can be filtered, and additional information requested that is often not available on the main device can be added directly in boss.
Application SW update
The Redfish protocol has been implemented according to the latest specifications, and the update service now also allows the pCO and c.pCO controller application software to be updated. Just like for the boss firmware packages, an automatic download service is available if the device has internet access.
boss micro: the high-end, universal solution
Using Redfish on boss micro offers a number of advanced features based on the product specifications:
- Connection to the device to be interfaced via both RS485 and Ethernet
- Possibility to use other services via Ethernet, such as a faster update on the device and browsing the pages of the controller connected to boss (without directly exposing the IP)
- Greater adaptability to any type of device, as boss micro is a stand-alone solution and can be connected to a controller that is not necessarily a pCO or in general not made by Carel, but rather to any device capable of communicating via a standard protocol such as Modbus.
- Better multi-protocol performance: the additional HW resources mean in some cases it is easier to use a protocol such as SNMP simultaneously for other functions required by the supervision system
For full details, see the complete documentation available on the boss family product page.
