1. Scott Milliken Computer Facility Manager
ITM2.1 DCIM Unleashed
Scott Milliken
Computer Facility Manager

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3. DCIM Unleashed
Even after 10 years of DCIM being a term used in the Data Center industry, there’s not a clear definition of what exactly a DCIM is or who owns it. Is it a Facility tool? Is it an IT tool? Who should own the process? The next 45 minutes we will explore the answers to those questions and why you should care about it.

4. The problem

5. General Types of Data Centers
Description
Operator
Operates the entire data center from the physical building through to the consumption of the IT services delivered.
Colocation Provider
Operates the data center for the primary purpose of selling space, power and cooling capacity to customers who will install and manage their own IT hardware and services.
Colocation Customer
Owns and manages IT equipment located in a data center in which they purchase managed space, power and cooling capacity.
Managed Service Provider (MSP)
Owns and manages the data center space, power, cooling, IT equipment and some level of software for the purpose of delivering IT services to customers. This would include traditional IT outsourcing.
MSP in Colocation Space
A managed service provider which purchases space, power or cooling in a data center in order to provide services to third parties.

6. Bridging the Gap
For years we’ve had the same rhetoric, regarding how Data Center Managers bridge the gap… IT
Facilities
Data Center Manager

7. Bridging the Gap with Tools
Asset Mgmt, Provisioning, Monitoring
Building Mgmt, Industrial Controls, Modeling
DCIM

8. Ok, great, now that we’ve figured that out…
As 451 Research datacenter analyst Dan Harrington puts it, “We’re seeing an expansion
in the total number of premium datacenter sites and a closing of local datacenters and
server rooms. However, when it comes to server closets, they will continue to be
needed for the foreseeable future to manage network traffic and latency-sensitive workloads.”

9. The Modern IT Organization is Heterogeneous
Core IT equipment that requires low latency or specific management and/or security processes may be in-house
Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Operations may reside in a Colo or MSP/Colo space
Some services may be offloaded to a cloud provider
A data center manager will have to adapt to all of these scenarios.

10. Now what? IT
Outsourcing Facility
Data Center Manager

11. Who is Responsible? Operator Colo Provider Colo Customer MSP in Colo
Physical Building
Implement
Endorse
MEP
Floor and Air Flow
Implement & Endorse
Racks/Rack Air Flow
IT Equipment
OS & Virtualization
Software
Business Practices
Source: EU Data Centres Energy Efficiency Code of Conduct

12. DCIM Is As Confusing as a Subway Map

13. DCIM Functions – Top 3 from Operator Perspective?
Asset Management / Cable Management
Monitoring (Facility Level)
Power Management & Control (Facility Level)
Capacity Management/Business Planning
Dynamic Cooling Optimization
Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis

14. An Operator’s View of Infrastructure
Mechanical cooling plant
Power distribution system
Generators
Air Handlers
Square Footage

15. DCIM Functions – Top 3 from Customer Perspective?
Asset Management / Cable Management
Monitoring (Cabinet/Cage Level)
Power Management & Control (Cabinet/Cage Level)
Capacity Management/Business Planning
Dynamic Cooling Optimization
Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis

16. A Customer’s View of Infrastructure
Cabinets
Power Strips
Network Switches / Patch Panels
Rack Units

17. Universal remote

18. Revisit the Trend Graph
Every day, there are more and more data centers being built. However, there are fewer companies that own a data center at the end of the day. Features will be driven by the needs of the Premium Datacenter providers as a simple matter of economics.
To put it bluntly, unless you are the Premium Datacenter provider, the likelihood of you being able to justify the cost of a commercial DCIM system is dwindling.
Additionally, the likelihood of having a presence in all of your Data Center locations is slim to none.

19. Data Centers Are Like Hotels
Customers want to know what’s available
Customers want to reserve for their needs
Different customers need different amenities/room sizes
Every customer wants to maximize the value of their purchase
Expansion should be available on demand

20. To Manage Remotely, Documentation is Key
Manage your data center like NASA manages space missions
What resources you have
What your limitations are
Every action is a defined process
Every procedure documented

21. DCIM is like a Reservation System
Tracks what is in each “room” of your data center hotel
Who owns it
What it is
How long it has been there
What it connects to
What resources it demands (room service, anyone?)
Should be able to report on aggregate information
Rate of installation
Capacity at cabinet/room/facility level
Cost of operations
Efficiency

22. DCIM Interoperability needs
Many can feed directly into CFD Analysis tools for a pseudo realtime modeling
Integration with the financial asset management tool is a must
Ability to flow data downstream to BMS
Compare usage metrics to help identify inefficiencies
Allow for finer grain measurement (such as PUE Cat 3)
Change and Incident Management should integrate and reference the physical components

23. I’ve got a small shop, I’ll just use Excel
Excel was (and is estimated to still be) the primary tool used for data center inventory
Sheets were easily equated to cabinets
Very short learning curve
Easily searched
Not multi-user
Formulas had to be constantly updated as capacity increased
Most data centers operated (and many still do) by the mantra of “build first, document later”

24. The DCIM Movement Is All About Scope and Process
Capacity Management within the data center is not about square feet, it’s about filling up the bucket you’ve been allocated
Build-out occurs in a modular fashion, where blocks of capacity are added and gradually used, rather than adding exact amounts of capacity
Take inventory of what you have, then continually adjust as you make changes.
Audit periodically, because gremlins

25. Secret Formula to Success in Life
Execute
Validate
Plan

26. DCIM and Process
Getting an accurate inventory is the foundation upon which DCIM is built
Often times this is outsourced or becomes an “All Hands On Deck” exercise
Accuracy is more important than completeness
Document every Move, Add, Change, or Delete in your Data Center before you execute it
DCIM should be able to provide the context, if not the actual work order, for all activities that modify the inventory
Validation serves two purposes – to ensure that your execution matched the plan; and to ensure that any required improvisations (port is already occupied, etc) are documented

27. Avoiding Process Derailment
Know all of the injection points in the process
Does all Data Center work happen through a single group?
Does everybody know your process?
Is it written down?
Do you require training for data center access? Add your process to it.
Management supports the process
Having a strong culture around Change Management

28. Even the little guys need DCIM

29. What are your roadblocks for using DCIM?
Management doesn’t understand the commitment (process)
The value returned is in Quality, which is very hard to put a dollar amount on
You lack the resources to fully implement it
$$$$

30. openDCIM – An Open Source Alternative
Hundreds of users worldwide
Translated into over a dozen languages
Free to use, free to enhance
Community driven repository of device templates

31. openDCIM Platform
Web application (LAMP Server)
Thin client (tablets, phones, laptops – anything with an HTML5 compliant web browser)
Download-to-deployed in under 30 minutes

32. Key openDCIM Features
Capacity management (Power, Space, Cooling, Weight, Networking)
Full cable plant documentation
Support for SNMP managed power strips and environmental sensors for accurate dashboard metrics
RESTful API for interconnection with other systems

33. openDCIM at a High Level
Floor Overview
Simple diagram showing spatial relationship within the space
May be color coded to indicate capacity levels
Not a CAD level drawing, more of a functional level

34. openDCIM at the Mid-Level
Individual Metrics Matter
Space utilization
Weight / Center of Gravity
Power
Capacity Planning
Reduce unusable spaces
Understand your power estimate – is it cyclical, or simply inflated?

35. openDCIM at the Bottom Level
Nothing in a data center operates independently
How are individual devices affected by others?
What single points of failure exist in my infrastructure?
Do I have capacity to add more systems?

36. 3 Key Things You Have Learned During this Session
DCIM is not just for the big guys
DCIM is more than just software, it’s also a process
Not everybody sees DCIM in the same way

37. Thank you
Scott Milliken