A White Paper from the Experts in Business-Critical Continuity ™ Ten Steps to Increasing Data Center Efficiency and Availability through Infrastructure Monitoring
Summary The first decade of the 21st century was one of rapid growth and change for data centers. For most of the decade, data center managers were forced to react to rapid, continuous changes dictated by the capacity and availability requirements of their organizations, and the density of the equipment being deployed to meet those requirements.
Introduction During the first decade of the 21st century, the data center emerged as a significant corporate asset, playing a vital role in business management and customer service. Throughout this period, the data center underwent an evolution as computing and data storage capacities increased significantly.
The Emergence of Data Center Infrastructure Management Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) is a superset of infrastructure monitoring and encompasses the ability to manage the data center physical infrastructure to optimize data center resource utilization, efficiency and availability.
BUSINESS SERVICE LAYER BUSINESS APPLICATIONS IT INFEASTRUCTURE LAYER VIRTUALIZATION COMPUTE, STORAGE, NETWORK DCIM GAP DATA CENTER INFRASTRUCTURE LAYER EQUIPMENT (PHYSICAL) SPACE, POWER, COOLING SPACE POWER COOLING Figure 1. DCIM improves the management of the facilities infrastructure and the IT infrastructure layer it supports. 3. Analyze and Diagnose, which provides data center personnel with the ability to respond more quickly to changes in the infrastructure and manage more efficiently.
The 10 Steps to Effective Infrastructure Monitoring Although sophisticated data center management tools have emerged in recent years, many facilities still lack the ability to comprehensively monitor their physical infrastructure systems.
It is also advantageous to locate sensors near the end of the row where they can detect any hot air entering the cold aisle from the hot aisle. There are advantages to connecting the temperature sensors directly to the cooling system, as with the Liebert CRV, as well as to a central monitoring system.
A rack monitoring unit can be configured to trigger alarms when rack doors are opened (and can even capture video of the event), when water or smoke is detected, or when temperature or humidity thresholds are exceeded. These “eyes inside the rack” can be connected to a central monitoring system where environmental data can be integrated with power data from the rack PDUs, while also providing local notification by activating a beacon light or other alarm if problems are detected.
6. Intelligent control of critical power UPS systems now include digital controls with the intelligence to alter and optimize the performance of the UPS. They automatically calibrate the system and ensure the UPS is working properly. In addition, they ensure that the UPS switches between traditional operation and bypass during overloads, protecting the UPS system and the overall power infrastructure. This minimizes the need to make manual adjustments based on site conditions.
7. Managing alerts and alarms Minimizing system downtime has been the traditional justification for data center infrastructure monitoring and it continues to be a powerful benefit. The ability to view immediate notification of a failure—or an event that could ultimately lead to a failure— through a centralized system allows for a faster, more effective response to system problems.
provides the most accurate picture of IT equipment power consumption and can support Level 3 (advanced) PUE reporting. The ability to automate data collection, consolidation and analysis related to efficiency is essential to data center optimization and frees up data center staff to focus on strategic IT issues. Figure 3. Energy efficiency monitoring provides centralized visibility into trends. 9.
10. Monitoring and managing remotely Data center remote monitoring can lift the burden of infrastructure monitoring from internal personnel and place it with an organization with resources devoted to this task, as well as deep infrastructure expertise. In addition to improved resource utilization, a dedicated monitoring organization can respond more quickly to portfolio issues.
The steps outlined in this paper represent proven strategies for improving data center efficiency and availability and create the foundation for holistic data center infrastructure management. No.
Conclusion The next stage in data center management progression is automating and centralizing the management of the physical infrastructure to enable more effective resource utilization without compromising availability. Following the 10 steps outlined in this paper can help enterprises create the foundation for the future of data center management, while delivering value today by improving availability, efficiency and planning.
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