Simplified infrastructure planning with the Local Edge Configurator

Article by Michael Kurniawan, Vice President - Singapore, Malaysia & Brunei, Secure Power Division, Schneider Electric.

Deploying an edge system is challenging work. There are multiple systems to put together, the requirements of customers to meet, and a plethora of considerations such as available space, dimensions and weight of components, power requirements, interoperability, and others to evaluate. 

Unsurprisingly, manually sorting through detailed specifications for the correct product code for a specific configuration, and then verifying compatibility across the deployment can be time-consuming and prone to errors.

The Local Edge Configurator is an effective web-based configurator tool by Schneider Electric designed to meet this need. Users can quickly and accurately put together a virtual rack enclosure of various power and cooling equipment with a simple drag-and-drop interface. Using it, channel partners can design and configure complex edge solutions much faster than before.

Design your systems 

Using it is a simple matter of adding APC equipment such as uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, power distribution units (PDU), cooling systems, or physical security equipment into the virtual enclosure. A handy search feature allows components to be filtered using parameters such as the width and depth of the rack, or by the power capacity of UPS systems.

Popular systems from third-party IT providers can similarly be found using the tool and easily integrated into the solution. This ranges from server, storage, to networking systems, with the option to customise equipment not in the list by keying in details such as a product code, power draw, and dimensions.

Once added, the Local Edge Configurator makes it easy to verify that the solution generated from selected products fulfils customers’ physical and technical specifications. A rules-based engine automatically verifies that products chosen can work together and will generate warnings should computability issues be detected with the proposed solution.

Benefits to partners

The Local Edge Configurator further drives productivity for partners with its ability to save reference designs as a template. This ensures consistency and facilitates the ease of reusing a specific template for future deployments with similar requirements. With greater time savings, partners can dedicate more of their effort to meet customers’ unique requirements.

The Local Edge Configurator also simplifies the ordering process and eliminates human errors by generating the correct product code automatically. Moreover, it allows partners to present the proposed solution to their customers in an easy-to-understand manner by leveraging its visual layout and reports – which include the full list of systems for transparency and better collaboration.

Finally, selected components are pre-integrated and delivered in a box directly to partners for deployment. With its inclusion of third-party systems from Alliance partners, the Local Edge Configurator makes it a simple matter to establish a more resilient and sustainable digital transformation at the edge.

IT Solution Providers who have enrolled in our APC Channel Partner Program (at the Select level or above) have access to the APC Design Portal, where the Local Edge Configuration is available. The Local Edge Configurator is also available on a trial basis here