WEST KINGSTON, R.I., Feb 13, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- American Power Conversion (Nasdaq: APCC) (APC), a leading global provider of end-to-end infrastructure availability solutions, today unveiled new high density InfraStruXure(TM) systems that can scale up to 60kW per rack. These are the first integrated systems on the market that reach this critical load point for a typical data center rack, row or room design. Designed and fully tested for the latest in servers from the leading OEM providers, these systems provide UPS power, power distribution, and cooling in a standardized rack based architecture. The new systems also offer APC's popular InfraStruXure Manager management solution for monitoring critical functions and outputs along all points of the thermodynamic cycle, providing maximum peace of mind for data center managers and facilities managers alike.

APC's new high density InfraStruXure systems feature the company's new InRow cooling solutions that enable confident and consistent deployment of high density servers in quantities and concentrations that were never before considered economically feasible. APC's InRow RC cooling unit can predictably deliver up to 60 kW of cooling to IT equipment located in the row. The key design philosophy that enables such performance is the focus on heat removal at the source, rather than allowing heat to mix with ambient temperatures and driving inefficiencies as a result.

"The industry has learned that smothering heat through greater and greater cooling delivered in a 'circle the wagons' approach not only is inefficient, it also causes humidity control issues that can introduce problems such as electrostatic discharge that might ultimately reduce availability of the data center," said Dwight Sperry, APC's vice president of Enterprise Systems and Business Networks. "For high density loads, this legacy approach simply cannot deliver the required cooling to keep servers running safely. Our approach is to deliver predictable cooling exactly when and where it is required, and scavenge heat wherever it is produced in order to prevent mixing."

With today's announcement, APC now provides fully managed systems that include cooling, conditioned power, and power distribution at the rack, row or room level. In addition to the high density InfraStruXure systems, APC also introduced new systems for VoIP (where power and heat loads that formerly were dealt with by the telephone provider may now be concentrated in an IT wiring closet), first time data center users (where scalability requirements prevent the adoption of a legacy approach), and data center restructuring (where existing components need to be incorporated into a more thermodynamically efficient design). These systems have been pre-tested in production environments including high density applications, ensuring maximum compatibility with real IT loads and minimizing unexpected surprises on rollout. As a result design time can be shortened, and deployment accelerated. Finally, the new systems improve total cost of ownership by lowering operating costs with innovative energy-efficient cooling systems.

Customers frustrated by network-critical physical infrastructure (NCPI) problems such as hot spots, inadequate cooling, poor power distribution, or inferior management ability will find that APC's agile systems help companies address the business needs of today and the unknowns of tomorrow, making them an ideal solution for technology roll-outs, refreshes, or IT environment changes.

"Our new InfraStruXure systems help companies respond quickly to business and IT trends to effectively deploy key applications and develop or restructure data centers and server rooms," added Sperry. "As critical applications such as high density become increasingly complex to deploy, these integrated systems offer a better approach to designing, building and operating successful IT environments."

All of these systems feature APC's new InRow cooling architecture, SX rack platform, rack-mount power distribution, enhanced management features, plus optional security and environmental management capabilities through the company's NetBotz(R) division. Scalable to 60kW per rack, the InRow RC's small footprint and modular design allows for placement within the row of racks to provide predictable, reliable, and cost effective cooling infrastructure in the data center. The SX rack platform is a vendor neutral design that addresses trends in the data center including rack-optimized thin servers with increased depth, higher power densities that cause thermal issues, and the proliferation of cables. Rack-mount power distribution units are mounted in the rear side channels of the SX rack to conserve valuable "U" space. Each rack power distribution unit delivers up to 22kW of power. All of the systems include InfraStruXure Manager, which allows customers to proactively manage their entire system from a single management platform. In addition, all of the systems can provide real time monitoring of a customer's IT infrastructure for physical threats and enhanced environmental management.