I recently gave a presentation at Data Center World about the importance of using Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) tools in your data center. At Consonus, we use nlyte Software for data center infrastructure management and capacity planning. But regardless of the vendor you choose, you should consider the following:
1) Data Collection Process – Should the collection process be automated? Agentless? The process of discovery should uncover ALL network physical assets and should provide accurate data, faster implementation, and reduce audit time.
2) Presentation Process – How is the information presented? Visually? The information shown should include: hotspot identification, optimal asset placement, connections, and power.
3) Modeling Capabilities – What type of modeling capabilities does the software have? Does it offer “What if” scenarios? It should address changes in power, space, heating, and cooling.
4) Control Process – How much automation is provided? What kind of scheduling capabilities are there? The software should improve service delivery, reduce server deployment time, and should enforce ITIL best practices.
5) Management Capabilities – What management-level dashboards are provided – standard and user-defined? The tool should include a daily measurement of operations, robust asset management and reporting capabilities.
6) Analysis Functions – The software should enable you to take a proactive stance to capacity planning, providing trend analysis to predict the lifespan of your data center. It should also include operational metrics for the entire datacenter including heat and cooling, space, and network connections.
Bottom line…using a DCIM solution can help you maximize your most expensive asset, the data center. Use it.
Bruce W. Cardos, PMP
Director, PMO
ITIL Foundation Certified