Most airflow sensors currently available for data centers and server rooms are analog. They report only whether airflow is present, based on a mechanical trigger, with some units allowing the trigger level to be set by hand at install time.

ServersCheck introduced one of the first standalone digital airflow sensors for data centers. The probe measures airspeed in meters per second and reports that value to the base unit.

• A number, not a flag: you see the actual velocity, so you can tell a healthy 2.4 m/s from a struggling 0.9 m/s long before either becomes zero.


• Thresholds in software: alert levels are set on the base unit and changed at any time, rather than adjusted mechanically on site.


• Trendable: a continuous value can be graphed and compared against its own baseline. A trigger state cannot.

Airflow is the mechanism by which cooling capacity actually reaches equipment. Temperature tells you the outcome; airflow tells you whether the delivery path is still working.

• Rack intake and exhaust: confirm that air is moving through the cabinet rather than around it.


• Containment aisles: verify that hot and cold aisle separation is delivering air where it is meant to go.


• Raised floor tiles: check that perforated tiles are still delivering their design flow after equipment or layout changes.


• CRAC and CRAH discharge: catch a unit whose output has quietly dropped off.


• Edge and server rooms: confirm that a wall fan or extraction unit is genuinely running, not just powered.

Cooling rarely fails all at once. Filters load, belts slip, fan bearings wear and dampers drift — each of which shows up as a gradual reduction in air velocity well before anything trips.

• A trend, not an event: because the sensor reports a continuous value, a slow decline is visible in the graph and can be actioned during planned maintenance.


• Ahead of the temperature alarm: by the time rack intake temperature rises, the airflow that should have prevented it has already been degraded for some time.


• Baseline comparison: record the velocity at commissioning and alert on a percentage drop from that figure rather than an arbitrary absolute.

Air velocity varies sharply over short distances, so a reading is only meaningful when the probe stays where it was commissioned.

• Orientation: mount the probe facing into the airstream. A probe at an angle to the flow reads consistently low.


• Fixed position: once placed, leave it. Comparing today's reading to last month's only works if nothing about the mounting has changed.


• Away from obstructions: keep clear of cable bundles, blanking panels and cabinet doors that create local turbulence.


• Baseline at commissioning: record the velocity when the installation is known good, and set thresholds relative to it.

The ENV-AIRFLOW connects to the base unit, which makes it an Ethernet sensor. The base unit is a standalone device with its own IP address in your network. On its own it monitors the sensor and triggers alerts via email, SNMP or optional SMS when needed.

There is no software or PC required for the sensor to run.

With our optional Monitoring Software you can centrally monitor sensors with trending and more. This is optional and not required.