Future Facilities Inc., provider of engineering simulation software for data center design and operational planning, has announced that it will be unveiling Release 11 of its 6SigmaDCX software suite at Datacenter Dynamics>Enterprise conference in New York City, March 14 – 15, 2017.

Introduced in 2014, 6SigmaDCX allows owners and operators to predict and quantify the engineering impact of changes made to their data centers before implementation. The simulation software uses Computational Fluid Dynamics to provide increased control over data center design, troubleshooting and operations, enabling businesses to be flexible, agile and adaptable. 6SigmaDCX was developed in coordination with data center designers, planners and operators to offer a predictive solution that can be utilized by professionals of all skill levels.

Release 11 of 6SigmaDCX offers a variety of new and enhanced features to help increase data center reliability, efficiency, and visibility. It also boasts the addition of a brand-new product called 6SigmaAccess. 6SigmaAccces is a web-based, multi-user product that has been designed specifically to help streamline the overall IT deployment process. 6SigmaAccess is connected to Future Facilities’ CFD engine, which allows teams to gain insight into the impact of IT being deployed into the Data Center before any actual installation.

Additionally, 6SigmaGateway can now integrate with Cormant-CS as well as The Green Grid’s (TGG) Performance Indicator (PI). Integration with the PI enables end users to assess their facility’s performance using three key metrics: IT Thermal Conformance, IT Thermal Resilience and PUE Ratio.

Other Updates to Release 11 Include: 

• User Interface
  Numerous modifications have been made to the user interface in the latest release of the software suite, among them: a new Attach window, the ability to approximate with library items during import, the addition of hover-over manipulator cursors, file locking in shared locations, protected placement properties for specific objects, a confirmation window when deleting objects, and the ability to exclude unwanted items from all of the software’s ribbons, in addition to the fully customizable Home ribbon.

• Model Creation and Manipulation
  Release 11 includes a variety of improvements to the sketching of cables, pipes and ducts (routes), making it faster and easier to draw these objects. New junction objects and branch buttons provide greater flexibility in the drawing of routes within the model, while more intuitive sketching logic helps make drawing faster and more accurate.

• Solution
  Several changes have been made in Release 11 to improve the level of control end users have over the solving process. The maximum number of grid cells available have been increased, allowing for models to be solved up to 700 million cells. Additionally, 6SigmaDCX now allows for separate saving of simulation and field data for Transient Models (such as during a cooling failure analysis).

• New, Updated, or Removed Model Objects
  Several new objects have been added to Release 11, others have been updated, and some have been removed from the suite. Additionally, end users can now model hollow cooling ducts. Most importantly, the suite allows for the creation of a simplified cabinet object so that IT equipment can be ignored during solver calculations.

• Results Data
  The way in which solved models appear, and the options that end users have to display the results and create new views and reports, have all been enhanced in Release 11 of 6SigmaDCX. In addition, results reporting has been expanded and mean pressure is now reported on result faces and vents.

“6SigmaDCX is a powerful and intuitive modeling and simulation tool that has been tailored for data center staff that don’t have extensive backgrounds in thermal design,” said Sherman Ikemoto, Director of Future Facilities (North America). “Release 11 includes a robust list of enhancements that increase the versatility and functionality of the software suite. The result is a greater capability to predict and analyze events in the data center before deploying IT equipment and critical infrastructure, which is a major advantage in preventing downtime and loss of capital.”

To learn more about 6SigmaDCX, visit: http://www.futurefacilities.com/solutions/data-centers/