Managing a data center involves more than traditional aspects of space, power and cooling. Modern data centers contain software-centric elements that must also be managed, which increases the complexity and difficulty. A centralized view of all components and capacities in this hybrid infrastructure is needed to ensure optimal data center operation. FNT's professional software for DCIM is a tool that provides this view and centralizes documenting, planning, and managing all aspects of the data center.
Advantages of FNT’s DCIM Software
A single system of record for all data center physical inventory, IT assets, and network resources that delivers full transparency into all system resources. All data is stored in an integrated data model that exposes it to planning processes and makes it available for analysis and reporting. Access to this data enables faster impact analysis, reduced fault repair times and reduces operating costs.
Enhance space, power, and cooling for on-premise, edge locations, colocation space, and distributed IT/network rooms. Know what is being used and where to reclaim lost capacity and avoid stranded capacities.
Gain access to comprehensive information relating to daily data center processes. Whether managing a live data center, consolidating multiple data centers, or setting up a new one, detailed space and capacity planning must be performed before any changes can be made. FNT supports managing all standard move, add, and changes for IT and facility assets.
Highlights of FNT’s DCIM Software
FNT's Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) is a resource management and optimization tool that creates a complete overview of the data center’s entire system landscape. It streamlines processes and optimizes the use of building infrastructure (power, cooling, floor space), IT infrastructure (networks, servers, storage), connectivity (cables, patches) and services (software, applications). It stores this information as a digital twin that represents the entire data center environment. The digital twin data is kept up to date in a single, dynamically updating repository that can easily be integrated into key systems.
The data center management solution additionally contains many modern management functions, from analysis and visualization to planning and process management. These can be used to run more efficient data center operations, improve data center infrastructure planning, and plan capacity for future growth. Additionally, 2D and 3D views of the rooms can be created to provide a visual overview of the physical space.
From recording and monitoring live power consumption and temperature values to planning the entire data center, FNT DCIM software will keep your data center operating with maximum efficiency.
FNT Solution for efficient Data Center Management
FNT's DCIM solution gives you a comprehensive overview of the infrastructure, enables you to make more informed decisions and makes planning and change processes much more effective.
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FAQ: Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) Software
DCIM describes a set of tools or solutions that help manage and optimize the data center infrastructure. DCIM provides a centralized system for monitoring, measuring and managing data center resources, which typically include IT equipment, power, cooling and floor space. The goal is to improve efficiency, reduce costs and increase overall performance by providing insight into the utilization and condition of the various components within a data center. This includes servers, storage devices, network equipment, power distribution units, cooling systems and much more.
DCIM solutions typically offer features such as real-time monitoring, capacity planning, asset management, energy management and reporting. They play a crucial role in the smooth operation of data centers and the optimization of resource utilization.
Most DCIM solutions cover the same basic aspects of data center management, but focus on different functions. Asset management, power and cooling management, environmental monitoring, automation and orchestration, capacity planning, analytics and reporting are all covered to some degree. It is the functions that are not found in every solution that can have the biggest impact. These important functions include:
- Cable Management. Monitoring of passive cabling equipment and infrastructure, including trays, master patch management and network connection capacity used by the data center. It enables the optimization of lead times for changes to the physical network and the acceleration of support processes to minimize network downtime.
- Software integration. Integration with other IT management systems provides a holistic view of the entire IT environment and enables a more comprehensive and connected approach to data center management. An integration layer that reconciles data from third-party systems and makes information accessible to any application that needs it facilitates data exchange with other systems and helps ensure that the data used for analysis, planning and decision-making always reflects the current state of the data center. APIs, ETL technologies and pre-built interfaces facilitate the collection, reconciliation and use of data from different sources. Scalability. To support the growth of the data center and its infrastructure.
- Manufacturer independence. All device types should be supported. An IT environment with only one manufacturer is very rare, so cross-manufacturer product catalogs and libraries are a must. Visualization and reporting. Graphical representations and comprehensive reports on the status and performance of the data center infrastructure help with decision-making and trend analysis.
Most solutions cover similar aspects of data center management but emphasize different feature sets. The following function domains are typically covered to some degree: Asset management, Power and cooling management & Environmental monitoring, Automation and orchestration, Capacity planning, Analytics and reporting.
To avoid comparing apples and oranges, users looking for a suitable solution should identify their needs and the business value they want to achieve by implementing a DCIM solution before comparing alternative offerings.
For more details on the different tool types, see our free White Paper "Rethinking DCIM".
The needs for data center management are evolving constantly and the move to colocation, virtualization, and hybrid infrastructure adds new aspects to management processes. DCIM should therefore be selected not just by looking at todays’ needs, but with the future of data center operations in mind. Features such as planning, including cable management and network aspects, or vendor-agnostic support for all equipment models are critical for the long-term value of a solution.
For more details on next generation tool requirements, see our free White Paper "Rethinking DCIM".
While projects will be delayed or fail on occasion, we can clearly state from our experience with over 2.000 DCIM implementation projects that difficulties can be minimized or outright avoided. Problems implementing enterprise management software most often arise when the implementation method does not match the organizational structure or other project requirements. As a best practice, we suggest making the implementation planning part of the tender phase and vendor selection process rather than delaying planning tasks to the project phase after awarding a contract.
For more details on implementation best practices, see our free White Paper "IT Infrastructure Management Tools".
The short answer: Yes, with one caveat: when it is used right.
Much has been written about this topic by analysts, experts, and vendors that clearly demonstrates the value of DCIM. From reducing time and effort for planning, minimizing outage risks, and speeding up root cause analysis, DCIM contributes to reducing OPEX with a wide range of cost reduction aspects that clearly justify the investment.
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