Vapor IO has updated Synse, its API for managing and using sensor data from within data centers and networks.

Synse version 3.0 is more scalable and adaptable, and now includes a new version of a software development kit (SDK) for third parties to build drivers integrating new equipment and sensors to the open source platform.

Synse we saw you last...

Synse was launched in 2015 as OpenDCRE (open data center runtime environment), aiming at the time to provide an open platform to manage data centers. The project is hosted on Github. Now, under the Synse name, its goal is to make "environmental data actionable within the network and data center" - and Vapor says it will be a boon at the Edge.

“As thousands of geographically distributed, lights-out data centers emerge at the Edge, we have no choice but to make our infrastructure and applications autonomous,” said Cole Crawford, founder and CEO of Vapor IO. “Without the IT/OT convergence enabled by Synse, you don’t have enough context to properly automate Edge environments. Synse 3.0 provides an open source mechanism for exposing critical environmental information that impacts servers and workloads, further empowering the autonomous edge.”

Crawford believes Synse will help data center IT to converge with operational technology (OT) such as power and cooling systems, by providing access to data streams including the operating status of HVAC systems, fire suppression systems, security systems and sensors for things like pressure, vibration, temperature and humidity.

It can also help manage workloads on Edge devices, because it can feed data into software orchestrators such as Mesos or Kubernetes - perhaps using that information to help determine where to start or move workloads to avoid downtime, says Vapor IO.

Synse connects to environmental sensors and operational devices via plug-in drivers on protocols such as SNMP, IPMI, Intel AMT and Modbus - others can be added with the SDK. Tools and analytic platforms can consume this data using it for actions or reports.

In traditional data centers, it's designed to work alongside DCIM tools - Vapor IO uses it within its network operations center (NOC) and in the Kinetic Edge, Vapor's plan to enable multi-tenant micro data centers at Edge locations, which has partners including tower operator Crown Castle, software defined network player Packet, now part of Equinix, and content delivery network (CDN)Cloudflare.