Penton Systems / Tools
Free engineering toolsInstruments, not lead magnets
Calculators built by engineers for the decisions engineers actually make. No sign-up, no tracking, no marketing gate. Every tool shows its formulas and assumptions, and every result link can be shared exactly as configured.
Tool index
-
Hardware
PowerEdge upgrade planner
Open →Memory, drive and RAID builds for the R610, R710, R720 and R730 with live capacity math, channel balance checks and a quote handoff.
memory = modules × size · usable = f(RAID, drives)
-
Storage
RAID rebuild-risk calculator
Open →Usable capacity, rebuild time and the probability of losing the array while it rebuilds, for every level on your drives.
P(URE) = 1 − exp(−bits read / spec)
-
Facilities
Rack power, heat and UPS
Open →Amps, circuits at the 80 percent rule, BTU per hour, cooling tons, annual energy cost and UPS runtime, with a rack that fills as you add servers.
A = W / PF / V · BTU/hr = W × 3.412
-
Satellite
Geostationary dish pointing
Open →Azimuth, elevation, slant range and round-trip time to any geostationary satellite, with a sky plot of the whole belt over your site.
el = atan2(cos γ − R/(R+h), sin γ)
-
Cost
Refurbished versus new, with power
Open →Total cost including electricity, cooling overhead and a spares reserve, the year the lines cross, and a plain answer when new hardware wins.
total = hardware + W × 8.76 × rate × years
-
Experience
The Economics of Computing
Open →All of the cost, power, storage and upgrade instruments on one page, plus electricity projections and a side-by-side platform comparison.
six instruments · one cost river
-
Live data
Penton Earth
Open →Live satellite positions computed in your browser, ISS passes over Orlando and NOAA space weather on a real-time globe.
SGP4 propagation · public orbital elements
Useful first
We build these because we use them. They answer the questions that come before a quote: will it fit, will it hold, what will it cost to run. If the answer leads you to us, good. If it leads you to buy new, that is a good outcome too.
- Privacy
- Calculations run in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to us unless you submit a quote form.
- Sharing
- Each standalone tool keeps its configuration in the page link, so a result can be shared exactly as built.
- Limits
- Every tool lists its assumptions. None replaces a qualified electrician, a datasheet or a tested backup.
Designed under the direction of Scott Penton, founder of Penton Systems.