The project aims to migrate the future Estates & Buildings Struxureware Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) to a centrally hosted IS infrastructure.
Struxureware is the next upgrade path of E&B’s existing Schneider Sigma BEMS system. Struxureware is currently available as a new software system operating new field hardware controllers. However, Schneider are also developing it to integrate with existing Sigma servers and hardware. This will essentially be a new front-end user interface which will have dual functionality in operating and communicating with new Struxureware hardware on new Estates & Buildings projects, whilst also having seamless integration with the existing Sigma server and field controllers. (Sigma has recently been migrated to a virtual environment by IS - Project EST066). Over the coming months, the Energy Office will be participating in a beta test programme for Struxureware with Schneider using two stand-alone PCs located within the Infirmary Street office. (Manchester University have also agreed to be a Struxureware/Sigma beta test site). These PCs will run Struxureware on standard windows desktops but it is anticipated that on completion of a successful testing programme (circa Q2/3 2014), we would require to migrate the system on to a virtual environment – similar to the existing Sigma BEMS. Struxureware will eventually integrate and communicate with the existing Sigma system so it may require a new virtual server or could possibly sit on the existing Sigma virtual machine (unknown at this point in time).
The Sigma BEMS controls and monitors the heating, cooling and ventilation systems for a large portion of the university, including critical installations within animal research labs and holding areas, category 3 labs and major IS server rooms at Kings Buildings and Appleton Tower. It also relays critical alarms to Security from these areas and sends daily automatically generated environmental charts to BRF lab managers to ensure that stringent Home Office requirements are being maintained.
Struxureware is the next generation of Sigma BEMS. Current Sigma hardware will be phased out (no end date as yet) although it will remain supported and operational through the new Struxureware user interface. The university has invested heavily in Sigma and currently has 650 field controllers which would be extremely costly to replace once obsolete. Struxureware will provide a seamless gateway to these controllers and also provide the current Sigma client users (currently 50 in number) with a new software package with greatly enhanced functionality. Once Struxureware has been tested and approved within the local Energy Office environment – it would be essential to migrate to a virtual environment to provide a robust infrastructure with automatic backup, increased resilience and disaster recovery facilities