DCIM – What’s Up with That?

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Let’s start with turning that acronym back into words: Data Center Infrastructure Management. So what is this, and why are we hearing more and more about it?

Wikipedia defines it like this: Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) is an emerging (2012) new form of data center management which extends the more traditional systems and network management approaches to now include the physical and asset-level components. iTracs defines it as “…a relatively young term that represents an emerging class of IT physical infrastructure solutions…”.

So what’s making DCIM such a hot commodity? Management is craving for information on the tens of thousands of data assets under their supervision. An iTracs article put it this way: “They need to be able to see, understand, manage, and optimize the myriad of complex interrelationships that drive the modern data center – one of the most complex entities on earth. They need holistic information and visibility into the entire IT infrastructure, information that that is instantly meaningful and actionable. (Fragmented device-level data is no longer of much use to them.)”

iTracs further described what DCIM can do for an organization:

  • Locate, visualize, and manage all of their physical assets within an integrated “single pane” view of the entire infrastructure
  • Automate the commissioning of new equipment, reducing the need for error-prone, time-consuming manual tasks like walking the floor to confirm what can go where
  • Automate capacity planning with unparalleled forecasting capabilities, including the use of “what if” scenarios
  • Reduce energy consumption, energy costs, and carbon footprint – save the planet while you’re saving potentially mlllions
  • Align IT to the needs of the business – and maintain that alignment, no matter how radically those business requirements may change and grow

Data Center Journal provides a solid list of options for software:

  1. APC by Schneider Electric StruxureWare for Data Centers
  2. iTracs Converged Physical Infrastructure Management
  3. Emerson Network Power Trellis
  4. Nlyte Suite
  5. Rackwise Data Center Manager

Companies are now more able to plan and manage their systems better with this improved infrastructure approach, and of course there are decreased costs which are always a good thing. So if this is something you’ve been thinking about, now’s the time to learn as much as you can about it and implement a plan.

Resources:

http://wikipedia.com

http://www.itracs.com/what-is-data-center-infrastructure-management/

http://www.datacenterjournal.com/it/data-center-infrastructure-software-whats-out-there/#!prettyPhoto