Sun is planning a radio frequency identification system
that will combine the abilities of its existing IT asset management
platforms with RFID to track IT equipment that is not connected to
a network. The system can be applied to tracking other physical
assets.
Dubbed the Sun RFID Industry Solution for Physical Asset
Tracking, the project uses RFID technology to determine where
critical assets are located at all times. Sun said alerts can be
issued immediately when the assets are not where they are supposed
to be. The technology also allows managers to effectively analyse
and plan asset utilisation, maintenance and deployment.
Datamonitor analyst Adam Jura said tracking assets provided a
faster return on investment for RFID within businesses. "Item-level
tracking in the supply chain is difficult. Asset tracking using
RFID is a lot cheaper and it is easier to set up [RFID reader]
networks."
The technology being developed could also help IT directors
track computer equipment that is not connected to the network. IT
assets may become non-networked when they are not actively
connected to the network; for example, when they are disconnected
and placed in a storage area, the company said.
Sun's asset tracking system is designed to extend network
management to enable the physical handling of assets.
It is based on Java, using Java System RFID software packaged
with third-party components and applications. Sun said it is
working with a number of companies to provide components such as
RFID tags and readers, as well as an RFID-enabled asset tracking
and management system that users can employ to track, locate and
manage assets in real time.
Vijay Sarathy, director, RFID product marketing and strategy at
Sun, said the company's acquisition of integration software
specialist Seebeyond would allow Sun to improve asset tracking.
"With our recent acquisition of SeeBeyond, we look forward to
enhancing the offering by providing a development environment from
which to build and deploy process-centric applications that
maximise the vast amount of information available from the asset
tracking system."
No release date for the RFID Industry Solution for Physical
Asset Tracking has been confirmed by Sun, although it plans to use
it for the more than 10,000 servers and computing devices at the
Sun Newark Shared Lab Project.
Sun said the project would allow IT managers at the site to
verify the location and physical characteristics (type, age,
expiration date, temperature and movements) of all assets at the
facility in one hour, without the need for a network connection.
Sun said it would be able to track the association of each asset to
a rack footprint, section, room, building and campus.
With the ability to perform full weekly inventories in under an
hour, Sun said it could now get more accurate information on a
weekly basis versus what was acquired through an annual physical
inventory, which was completed manually by numerous people via an
outside supplier. In addition, management now has a view into the
assets they have, how they are allocated, and can therefore avoid
duplicate or unneeded hardware purchases.