This is part three of a five part discussion hosted by FOCUS between DCIM leaders from Schneider Electric, Synapsense, Intel and Fieldview.

In this part Fieldview CEO Fred Dirla poses the questions to be anwered by the other discussion participants. Links to Parts one and two of the discussion are below. 

Q: FRED DIRLA, CEO Fieldview Solutions: With all the noise surrounding the DCIM market, what are the three major features that should be considered when evaluating / selecting a DCIM Solution?

A: JEFF KLAUS, Director Data Center Solutions, Intel: I’d like to answer this with the questions that data centers operators should ask: 1) Does the solution collect and analyze real-time data from the power supply, or is it collecting and analyzing modeled or estimated data based on faceplate ratings that can deviate from real measurements by as much as 40 percent? 2) Does the solution analyze data to the server or device level, or only to the rack or row, thereby missing granular level energy consumption insight? 3) Does the solution work across the wide range of hardware manufacturers’ equipment typically found in the data center, or does it require proprietary equipment?

A: SOEREN BROGAARD JENSEN, VP Enterprise Management and Software, Schneider Electric: The answer to this question is going to vary from customer to customer and from department to department and depend very much on respective ambition or goals. It starts with how the data center is required to support the business.

A: PETER VAN DEVENTER, CEO, SynapSense: 1) Power, Cooling & Space Optimization; 2) Business Risk Reduction; 3) Process Optimization

Q: FRED DIRLA, Fieldview Solutions: Will a DCIM solution eliminate the need for other monitoring tools used in today’s enterprise environments, such as BMS and EPMS? Please explain why or why not.

A: JEFF KLAUS, Intel: It’s possible that a solution could “integrate” the best methods of IT device and facilities data collection to provide a comprehensive solution for analysis. Wouldn’t this be easier for the data center operator? Provided the increased amount of data is served in a user interface that is simple to understand and utilize…absolutely.

A: PETER VAN DEVENTER, SynapSense: The beauty of an elegant DCIM system is that it can _ uidly work with equipment and systems that already exist in customer environments. As we look into the future, the evolution of DCIM and BMS will be a function of data center design. Traditionally, these sites have been islands of facility infrastructure and IT infrastructure. The data centers of the future will mesh these elements into single, unified infrastructures that meet the needs of both IT and

facilities while operating in the most efficient energy profile possible. I don’t think you’ll see an elimination of legacy tools, but you will see an evolution that will quickly blur the lines that we have traditionally known.

A: SOEREN BROGAARD JENSEN, Schneider Electric: A DCIM solution should be able to interoperate with other systems in use in the facility, so BMS and EPMS could be included within the scope of DCIM. There are subsystems around the building which have not been considered part of the past definition of DCIM and yet they are critical to data center operations. Without the capability to import data from such systems, you don’t have the full picture and aren’t in a position to make optimum decisions. For example, from a data center point of view, the BMS system controls and automates the cooling plant. Inputs from DCIM about the installation of new servers could be fed to the cooling system via the BMS enabling the system to adjust gradually towards the new load requirement, bringing with it energy cost benefits. The EPMS provides benefits for example, in alarming, root cause analysis and event recording - all of which go towards better power quality. No doubt, over time, applications such as BMS and EPMS will become part of the DCIM offering. This process of ‘blurring together’ has commenced with software integration and will continue as the applications evolve to become more specialized to the data center.

Q: FRED DIRLA, Fieldview Solutions: What type of data and insight into data center operations can DCIM provide that is not already available? And, why would this data be essential for successful operations?

A: SOEREN BROGAARD JENSEN, Schneider Electric: If you think about DCIM as being a data provider, then you’re probably going to be disappointed. DCIM puts a framework in place which actually contextualizes data, allowing the data center operator to make smart and informed decisions about how to utilize resources, increase efficiency, make the organization more agile and so-on. It should provide meaningful insights and information to users at all levels in the organization; facilities, IT and senior management.

A: JEFF KLAUS, Intel: Until recently, data center managers’ efforts to execute accurate power management have been stymied. This has come at a cost of $24.7 billion annually on wasted energy and cooling for unused servers, according to a 2010 McKinsey study. Although realtime, server-level power data has been available, collecting the data has typically been a complex, manual effort. DCIM is bringing a new level of aggregated data insight, thus empowering data centers to reduce their overprovisioning of power and cooling. As IT equipment advances in its reporting functionality, the next step has been to aggregate all this data into a single source that is then fed into a DCIM platform for analysis.

Finally, sophisticated DCIM platforms can help elongate business continuity during power and cooling constraints by powering down affected equipment and powering up unaffected equipment.

A: PETER VAN DEVENTER, SynapSense: The types of data are already available but in numerous disparate systems. This makes strategic decision making rather complex. Asset management tools, high-level power metering and sparse environmental monitoring have long had a place in the data center. However, the opportunity to convert that data into actionable information is what has been missing. DCIM assembles the capabilities of these previously disparate systems in order to “centralize monitoring, management and intelligent capacity planning”. It forces data center operators to no longer consider changes as taking place in a vacuum. Instead, DCIM allows operators to consider the cascading e_ ect of a single change is it relates to the various subsystems like power infrastructure, cooling capacity, space utilization, etc.

The full discussion is available to read now in DatacenterDynamics FOCUS Digital Edition - Issue 21. No registration required.

Join the DatacenterDynamics Linkedin Group and take part in the discussion.

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