DRIVING AUTOMATION IN THE DATA CENTRE
The advent of data centre automation is poised to revolutionise industries as organisations strive to enhance efficiency , elevate data accuracy and boost productivity . Yet , there ’ s a curiosity among data centre experts about the post-automation landscape of data centre management . Herman Chan , President of Sunbird
Software , a leader in second-generation DCIM for remote data centre management , outlines the key strategies for implementing data centre automation . Drawing insights from Sunbird ’ s clients , he shares instances of how second-generation DCIM software propels automation in their data centres . he benefits of data centre automation are wideranging and numerous . They range from having
T a single source of truth , improved workflow and productivity , improved collaboration across functional teams , increased utilisation of existing resource capacity , maintaining uptime and meeting service level agreements , eliminating human error , focusing more on strategic projects and simplified data centre security management .
1 . Enable a single source of truth with CMDB , ticketing and DCIM software
A conventional IT Configuration Management Database ( CMDB ) serves as a database of fields . By incorporating it with Data Centre Infrastructure Management ( DCIM ) software , you gain additional comprehensive asset details , including precise site and rack locations with U position , dimensions , weight , power and network port connections , along with 3D rack elevation visualisations for enhanced experience .
For organisations utilising ServiceNow for their CMDB , a contemporary DCIM solution offers a certified ServiceNow app , enabling seamless bidirectional communication for automatic creation , updating and deletion of items . Integration can be accomplished in under an hour . Furthermore , a secondgeneration DCIM solution includes a universal CMDB and ticket connector , effortlessly integrating with BMC , Cherwell , Jira , or custom asset and ticketing systems . The integration of CMDB and ticketing systems with DCIM software establishes a singular source of truth , fostering improved management of data centre resources and capacities . This approach dismantles information silos , enhances data accuracy , eliminates redundant manual entries and promotes data-driven collaboration and decisionmaking across all functional teams .
2 . Automate virtual machine management
Server virtualisation offers cost reductions in hardware , facilitates quicker resource provisioning and minimises energy expenditure . However , effectively managing clusters , hosts and virtual machines can pose challenges . To streamline virtual machine management , consider integrating your VMware deployment with DCIM software . Through this integration , events such as the deployment of new clusters , hosts or VMs are automatically recorded in your DCIM , allowing you to map the physical machines supporting a VM . Extend this integration to VMware Cloud , covering vSphere on AWS and hybrid clouds , providing insights into VMs across public and private clouds and on-premises data centres . You can efficiently search by asset name , type or status within the DCIM or VMware hierarchy . Additionally , when planning system maintenance , identify the specific VMs hosted on the targeted system . Users report a swift setup , typically taking only about three to four minutes for the integration . Alternatively , some users employ their API client to directly push VM data into their DCIM software , utilising a VMware application to track data , packaging it into a CSV file and employing Jenkins for automated processing and updating in the DCIM software .
3 . Automate provisioning and orchestration
Sunbird customers have leveraged the bidirectional RESTful web service API of their second-generation DCIM software to do things such as device provisioning and orchestration .
70 www . intelligentdatacentres . com