Advancing DCIM with IT Equipment Integration

Abstract

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVE

Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) is the supervision, administration, and operational control of data center assets and resources with the aim to optimize cost and performance in terms of infrastructure availability, energy efficiency and operational efficiency.

Managed assets include both the supporting physical infrastructure systems as well as the IT and telecom equipment (i.e., the load).

The primary resources managed within a DCIM system to achieve effective capacity planning and workload scheduling are power, cooling, networking, and space.

All should be maintained and provided in the right amounts at the right time even as load and environmental conditions dynamically change.

An imbalance can strand resources, limiting capacity and operations, as well as be financially wasteful.

Worse still, poor management and planning of these resources can put data center assets and their continued operation at risk.

When properly implemented and maintained, DCIM systems and their software tools will achieve the following:

• Prevent or reduce the impact of critical events

• Improve asset, change, and workflow management

• Help match resource supply and demand for greater operational and energy efficiency

• Improve capacity planning through key performance indicators and resource tracking and trend analysis

• Facilitate reporting, auditing, compliance, and general performance monitoring efforts

The end goal for a DCIM implementation should be to take a comprehensive approach to the data center’s power, cooling, and space resources across both the facility and IT domain.

Systems that best communicate the interconnections and dependencies of the load to all supporting components, systems, and resources are best positioned to yield the full value of DCIM.

Software tools have matured over the years, making the implementation and use of comprehensive, multifunction DCIM suites easier.

This book is divided into the following chapters:

• Chapter 1—Introduction.

The introduction states the purpose and objectives of the book as well as gives a brief overview of the other chapters.

• Chapter 2—Overview.

This chapter describes in more detail the focus areas

of the book to show where opportunity exists for the deployment of DCIM systems.

It helps readers qualify or begin to quantify an investment to acquire and/or properly implement and operate a data center management and controls system.

• Chapter 3—ASHRAE DCIM Compliance.

This chapter describes the classification criteria for being ASHRAE DCIM compliant for hardware vendors and DCIM providers.

It defines naming conventions and the key telemetry the hardware device should expose to any DCIM software toolset.

This chapter also introduces, for the first time, the ASHRAE DCIM Compliance for IT Equipment (CITE).

• Chapter 4—DCIM Connected Framework.

This chapter presents a DCIM connective framework as a means to achieve the value of a DCIM system.

The aim is for the guidelines defined by the connective framework to simplify and accelerate deployment while ensuring the value of DCIM is realized throughout the operational phase of the facility.

• Chapter 5—Using Measured and Model-Based Data.

This chapter provides a framework and methodology for collecting, preparing, and analyzing data from the many distributed data sources found in a data center facility.

These analytical and simulation techniques help ensure operators are able to make the most out of the big data these systems are capable of providing.

• Chapter 6—DCIM Use Cases.

This chapter describes case studies highlighting examples of automation and control, as well as predictive analytics to demonstrate how these functions would be done using a modern DCIM system