Sunbird dcTrack
Aravolta
The short version
Sunbird dcTrack is a DCIM built around asset management and cable management. Aravolta covers BMS, EPMS, SCADA, NOC, and DCIM in one platform, discovers your equipment on its own, and is running in days. If you want power metering, cooling, tenant billing, 3D views, and asset management in one system, that is what Aravolta was built for.
Sunbird has been in the DCIM market for a long time. A colocation operator needs more than asset tracking and cable documentation, though. Power metering, cooling, supervisory control, tenant billing, and 24/7 monitoring have to work together, and that is where the two platforms differ.
| Category | Aravolta | Sunbird dcTrack |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Unified BMS + EPMS + SCADA + NOC + DCIM | DCIM (asset management, capacity planning, cable mgmt) |
| Deployment time | Days to weeks with auto-discovery | Weeks to months with professional services |
| Monitoring latency | Sub-second, real-time streaming | Polling-based, minutes between updates |
| BMS / cooling | Built-in: chillers, CRACs, sensors, fire suppression | Not included, requires separate BMS vendor |
| EPMS / power metering | Built-in: one-line diagrams, branch circuit monitoring | Power tracking via SNMP, no one-line diagrams |
| SCADA | Web-native, any browser, no dedicated hardware | Not included |
| NOC operations | Built-in 24/7 monitoring, alerting, dispatch | Not included |
| Tenant billing | Automated, usage-based invoices via API | Not included |
| Customer portal | White-label, tenant self-service | Not included |
| 3D visualization | 3D facility views, rack elevations, floor plans, heatmaps | 3D modeling, cable management visualization |
| Asset discovery | Automated via SNMPv3, Redfish, IPMI, BACnet, Modbus | Manual entry with some auto-discovery |
| Protocols | SNMPv3, Redfish, IPMI, Modbus/TCP, BACnet/IP, gNMI, OPC-UA | SNMP, limited Modbus |
| API | REST API, webhooks | REST API (limited scope) |
| Pricing | Per-device, transparent | Quote-based, plus professional services |
As of March 2026. Based on publicly available documentation.
The core difference: DCIM vs. unified platform
Sunbird is a DCIM. It tracks assets, documents cables, and helps you plan capacity.
Asset management and visualization are one part of running a colocation facility. You also need power metering (EPMS), cooling and environmental monitoring (BMS), supervisory control (SCADA), 24/7 alerting and dispatch (NOC), and something tenant-facing for billing and self-service. With Sunbird, each of those is a separate vendor.
Aravolta puts all of those in one platform. Your ops team gets one login and one vendor to call. When a chiller trips, the same screen shows the power impact, the racks affected, and which tenants are exposed. You do not get that view when the BMS, EPMS, and DCIM come from three different vendors.
Deployment
A Sunbird deployment runs through professional services and takes weeks to months. The 3D views are only useful once the facility has been modeled in detail, and someone has to build that model by hand.
Aravolta ships a node to your facility. You plug it into the network and it finds every IP-enabled device it can reach: PDUs, UPS systems, chillers, switches, sensors. It classifies them and monitoring starts. Most facilities are running within days.
Monitoring
Sunbird polls devices, with minutes between updates. That works for capacity planning, but if a breaker trips or a chiller goes down, you might not know for several minutes.
Aravolta streams metrics with sub-second updates, and alerts fire as soon as a threshold is crossed. For an operator with SLA commitments to tenants, minutes versus a second of detection time matters.
Tenant billing and customer portals
Sunbird does not do tenant billing or customer portals. You would need a separate metering system and a manual process to turn readings into invoices.
Aravolta reads every branch circuit and maps the consumption to the tenant on it. Overages are flagged automatically and invoices can be generated through the API. Tenants get a white-label portal where they can see their own usage, set their own alerts, and open support tickets.
Cost
Sunbird pricing is quote-based, with professional services on top. The 3D modeling and cable management features need detailed manual setup, and that setup shows up as more services hours.
Aravolta prices per device, and you know the number up front. It does not require professional services: the discovery engine handles the setup you would otherwise pay consultants for.
Switching from Sunbird
If you are evaluating a move off Sunbird, Aravolta can run next to it during the transition. The discovery engine picks up your existing equipment without anyone re-entering it.
- No manual data migration for monitored devices
- Both systems run in parallel while you evaluate
- Your team works directly with Aravolta engineers during onboarding
FAQ
Can Aravolta replace Sunbird and my BMS vendor?
Yes. Aravolta covers the BMS side (chillers, CRAC units, environmental sensors, fire suppression) as well as DCIM, and it talks to your existing BACnet, Modbus, and SNMP devices directly.
Does Aravolta have 3D visualization?
Yes. Aravolta has 3D facility views, rack elevations, interactive floor plans, and power and cooling heatmaps.
How long does deployment actually take?
Most facilities are running within days of the node being plugged in. Discovery identifies and classifies the devices; your team checks the results and sets alert thresholds with help from our engineers.
Does Aravolta handle tenant billing?
Yes. Aravolta reads power at the branch circuit level and maps consumption on each circuit to a tenant. Overages are flagged automatically. You can generate usage-based invoices through the API, and tenants can see their own data in a white-label portal. Sunbird does not offer tenant billing.
Do I need to rip out Sunbird to use Aravolta?
No. Aravolta runs alongside Sunbird during an evaluation, and discovery picks up your equipment without re-entry, so current operations are not disrupted.
Last updated March 2026