T H E E D G E
Herman Chan , President of Sunbird Software
each make and model instance of a device based on the actual measured load of that device in your environment running your applications . The budget numbers are automatically updated every week . You only have to set a policy once and the software does the rest . Auto Power Budget provides many opportunities to safely deploy more devices in fewer racks , enabling highly efficient data centre operations . Organisations can try the free calculator which shows exactly how much money can be saved with Auto Power Budget , and read the Comcast case study to learn how to get 40 % more utilisation out of existing resources .
7 . Automatically schedule charts and reports via email
In today ’ s ever-changing data centre environment , insights from data are critical to making the most accurate data centre management decisions . However , with the huge volume and variety of data being generated , it can be difficult to know what data to collect , how to analyse it and how to derive value from it . With legacy management tools like Excel and Visio , it ’ s arduous .
With second-generation DCIM software , business intelligence and analytics are made automatic with dashboard charts , reports and visual analytics . You don ’ t need to worry about ‘ garbage in , garbage out ’ because your device , meter and sensor data is automatically collected , stored and trended with extreme accuracy . With a modern DCIM solution , you have access to over 200 charts and reports out of the box without requiring any tedious configuration effort . You can also easily automate data sharing to drive a culture of collaboration . Simply select the preconfigured custom charts or reports you intend to create and distribute , pick the frequency of email delivery and then select who should receive them . Your team and stakeholders will be automatically aware of the latest data centre KPIs . If there ’ s uncertainty around which KPIs you should be tracking , take a look at the Top 40 Data Center KPIs eBook .
8 . Automatically be alerted of potential power and environmental issues
Most data centre professionals know that power monitoring and environment monitoring provide critical data and insights that help improve uptime , capacity planning and efficiency . However , it ’ s still a common practice within some organisations to periodically go on-site to read and record meter and sensor measurements manually . This wastes time and leaves you vulnerable to potential issues if you ’ re unaware of the goings on inside your data centre .
With DCIM software , it ’ s easy to set warning and critical thresholds on the live measured readings from power meters and environmental sensors . Then , with automatic alerting upon threshold violations , you will be the first to know of conditions in your data centre that may cause downtime or decrease efficiency . A modern DCIM solution will allow you to set power thresholds on rack loads , inlet loads and circuit breaker loads , as well as on a three-phase balance . This ensures you don ’ t exceed capacity restraints and trip a circuit breaker . You can also set environmental thresholds on temperature and humidity . This will notify you if a hot spot is forming , a piece of equipment is overcooling or other conditions outside your guidelines . By integrating DCIM software with your collaboration tools , you can have these alerts sent to your entire team so everyone has visibility into what ’ s happening in the data centre .
9 . Leverage webhooks
A webhook is a service that allows one application to push data to another as soon as a particular event takes place . Given all the different software tools that are necessary for the complete remote management of modern data centres , the value of using webhooks to drive data sharing is enormous .
DCIM software with webhook functionality can automatically push information about adds , moves and changes to an external system that needs to know when asset details have changed .
For example , an asset change audit log . Details such as what change was made , who made the change and when , can immediately be sent via webhook .
Alarms set off by power and environment threshold violations can also be sent by webhooks to Slack , Teams , or other external systems so all team members and stakeholders are aware of the current conditions in the data centre .
Potential issues can be proactively investigated and resolved to maximise uptime and efficiency .
10 . Automate anything with APIs
Leading data centre experts have realised that with the DCIM software ’ s bidirectional RESTful web service API , they can automate anything that can be done via the GUI . DCIM software with a complete set of fully documented APIs allows you to create , read , update and delete all items , ports , locations , lookup lists , requests and work orders , power and data connections , custom fields and model library items . It allows the freedom to create your automation .
Final words
Data centre automation is not some vague prediction about the future of data centres . It ’ s already here .
The best data centre managers in the world are pioneering exciting new ways to simplify and optimise data centre management by automating manual and routine tasks . At the centre of their data centre automation strategy is DCIM software . Don ’ t risk falling behind , learn from their example and implement their best practices to drive automation in your data centre today . �
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