Greentech Lead America: Dell has joined the industry
advisory council of Pecan Street, a nonprofit energy and smart grid research
and development organization headquartered at the University of Texas at
Austin.
As a member company, Dell will provide technology and IT
expertise to Pecan Street to advance its work in energy big data.
Pecan Street is currently conducting consumer electricity
and gas use and solar and electric vehicle integration. In more than 400 homes,
researchers are monitoring electricity and gas use from several circuits every
15 seconds, resulting in the world’s deepest consumer energy use data.
Dell’s decision to join Pecan Street builds on
its announcement this fall of the Dell Smart Grid Data Management
Solution: a tested architecture that bundles servers, storage, networking, and
security services with state-of-the-art software into a ready-to-deploy solution
that helps utility companies better manage their distribution networks.
Working with Pecan Street through the Dell Solution
Centers, Dell is providing the nonprofit with equipment, including: OptiPlex
and Dell Precision workstations for the project’s researchers; PowerConnect
network switches; PowerVault direct-attached storage to enable easier research
sharing; SonicWall back-up and recovery; and, Data center infrastructure
including a Dell rack, Dell power distribution unit (PDU), Dell uninterruptible
power supply (UPS), and Dell rack-mounted switch and console.