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What this article shares with you is what are the tools of the five DCIM software vendors to solve the complexity of the data center. The editor thinks it is very practical, so I share it with you to learn. I hope you can get something after reading this article.

Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) tools can improve the management and operation of the data center. Operators need to understand how five DCIM software tools can help organizations control costs, manage energy, and track data center assets.

DCIM software provides a range of features that organizations can use to improve data center infrastructure operational efficiency and design.

The well-known DCIM products include Cormant, FNT Software, Nlyte Software Ltd, Schneider Electric, Sunbird Software Inc. And Vertiv Group products.

Before choosing a DCIM product, the organization should assess which features are critical to its data center operations and determine the extent to which each DCIM software vendor provides these capabilities. In the past few years, the DCIM market has grown to include more features than ever before. Here are a few factors to consider:

An open architecture is critical. Data center operators of all sizes now use third-party products, mainly for asset tracking and workflow management. Major DCIM tools still provide these features, but users are generally more satisfied with the products they already use. If an organization can integrate familiar products into its DCIM settings, DCIM adoption and value realization will occur more quickly.

The automation function can reduce the workload of personnel. Automation improves the reliability of IT, power, and cooling assets, creating more accurate and valuable DCIM systems.

Today's users have different needs. The information needs inside and outside the data center are very different, and users are using DCIM. If these users can adjust to their specific needs, the various basic reports designed for them will become more valuable.

DCIM now covers the scope of modern operations. DCIM must now cover the entire business, from the enterprise to cloud platforms to managed and edge computing sites, and provide windows to learn about the complete IT, physical power, and cooling infrastructure. This requires more than just adding functionality.

DCIM has become a tool for disaster planning. Coronavirus outbreaks around the world highlighted the value of DCIM, when the IT industry faced huge demand and employees were forced to remotely manage and operate data centers. User demand is growing exponentially, but because some of the operators' staff do not have access to their data center facilities, they have to rely on remote management. Disaster planning will now consider remote management more seriously than ever before. This makes accurate and extensive automatic discovery of assets critical and emphasizes the importance of comprehensive visualization and remote information access.

DCIM security is more important than ever. The DCIM system actually contains information about all aspects of IT operations, so protecting this information is as important as maintaining uptime. As the need for remote access increases, so does the importance of good security. Each DCIM software vendor handles this security differently, and a good assessment should assess how well DCIM security matches the organization's security standards.

The following overview describes and analyzes the new or extended product-specific features provided by five industry-renowned DCIM software vendors in alphabetical order.

1.Cormant-CS

As a pioneer of DCIM software, Cormant CS provides 100% network discovery with automatic multiple network interface card association, update, and link capabilities. Real-time and analytical data from diesel generators and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) to power distribution units (PDU) power chains have been enhanced.

Cormant-CS integrates cloud computing services such as AWS to monitor current and historical usage. It combines new and modern RESTful API with OAuth support and performs managed data collection, calculation, and analysis. This helps the provider balance the load in stages for billing and allows customers to see usage data.

Cormant CS supports the import of floor plans from existing Visio and AutoCAD drawings, JPEG, BMP, or drag-and-drop creation from an extended repository. Several new multi-level planning views can drill down to the device at any level, and there are new and updated dashboard widgets for planning, alerts, workflows, and trend analysis. The software can analyze the effects of new devices and provide them with a sorted list of optional locations based on space, power, cooling, and other specified limitations. It can also illustrate power and cable connectivity through graphics and custom sorted digital reports. Cormant CS can be integrated into third-party fully functional Computational fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling tools, such as Future Facilities's 6SigmaDCX, for comprehensive analysis of cooling performance and effects.

The software can now provide users with prompts for reporting parameters, simplifying reporting across multiple data centers. Power chain analysis now includes battery and circuit breaker loads for UPS power supplies, and data can even be obtained from some clamp tables. Historical tracking now covers the cloud computing architecture and the details of each rack, and captures and reports billing data. The product can also calculate and track carbon emissions.

Using mobile devices can provide online support for data center infrastructure, including workflow and auditing. Android devices provide offline mobility support and can access all DCIM data from locations where 4G or Wi-Fi is not available. Security enhancements include end-to-end encryption through military secrets and audits by financial institutions.

2.FNT Command

FNT Command is a modular system that focuses on five areas: asset and connection management, workflow, capacity planning and reporting, discovery, and monitoring. However, FNT has shifted from product and module terminology to the naming of case-based point solutions that are closer to customer use cases. Users can adjust various data models according to their own needs.

FNT Command supports Web-based tools as well as virtual, cloud computing, and hybrid digital infrastructure software, often referred to as second-generation DCIM. The company believes that organizations should implement and strengthen DCIM steps and upgrade and expand the organization's ability to record information and communications technology equipment, including from internal to edge and managed environments, and even telecommunications networks. The focus is on the ease of use of day-to-day tasks at work.

FNT Command is committed to open system design, adding more API calls, interfaces and graphical editing of internal bus systems, and making it easy for third-party products to subscribe to channels. The company added a RESTful API to its previous simple object access protocol (API) for real-time integration projects and added an extract, transform and load tool with graphical modeling capabilities for high-volume data synchronization.

The FNT Command drag-and-drop graphics feature from Visio or AutoCAD drawings provides a new layer concept to better and more accurately record computer room information without an elevated floor. Alternative functions based on the GIS engine can display complete campus maps and complex external cable routes. The software creates a hypothetical scenario and shows the location of potential equipment and the expected impact on power and cooling on the drawing. FNT can be integrated with 6SigmaDCX CFD to extend the thermal analysis of room design.

FNT Command provides a full range of financial arrangements, including purchase, license, lease or SaaS.

3.Nlyte DCIM

Nlyte consists of four main products: Nlyte Enterprise Edition, Nlyte Energy Optimizer, Nlyte Asset Explorer, and Nlyte Machine Learning, as well as a variety of additional connectors and add-ons. The capabilities of Nlyte support the entire data center asset lifecycle from docker to Decom. This enables the product to fully manage assets and monitor the resources and infrastructure consumed by those assets.

Major upgrades to Nlyte DCIM include enhanced open architecture and security for third-party Veracode certification. More tasks and functions are automated, including the Nlyte asset optimizer. This automatically looks up the DCIM database and uses available assets and network information from network-connected devices, regardless of whether their communication is two-way or one-way. The resource pool details the volume and weight of the equipment, as well as configuration, power consumption, cooling load and airflow direction. Through the extended connector library, DCIM tools can use IT and cloud computing technologies to provide an overall view of the power and cooling infrastructure.

This also links building management systems (BMS) to leading IT service management (ITSM) providers such as ServiceNow, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and BMC Software. Nlyte pushes performance and data failure alerts to smartphones and prioritizes them by alert level.

The new metrics provide an in-depth understanding of the risk, lifetime, and workload relationships of key assets, such as batteries, for each workload. Flexible integration and presentation options provide insight and reporting beyond traditional DCIM, and organizations can customize them for a variety of user types, from system administrators to business executives.

Nlyte has established a new partnership with Carrier Global's Automation Logic Division, which integrates WebTRL building automation system applications into DCIM. Data center personnel can now receive alerts that may affect data center operations, and facilities and security teams that typically monitor building management systems (BMS) will receive data center-specific information that requires action. This ensures a more comprehensive view and management of operations inside and outside the data center.

Organizations can purchase Nlyte products through a renewable license or SaaS. The system can scale to any size, regardless of the number of devices or locations, and its cost is based on the number of racks managed by the site.

4. Schneider Electric EcoStruxure IT

Schneider Electric has transformed its previous StruxureWare DCIM into three compatible software packages and integrated them into EcoStruxure software and edge computing products. EcoStruxure IT Advisor is essentially Schneider's DCIM system, but other products from suppliers combine with it to form a complete DCIM package.

IT Advisor is a vendor-independent, highly scalable monitoring, planning, modeling, and troubleshooting component that can be used in on-premises or cloud-based SaaS maintenance. The tool is completely vendor-independent and integrates with third parties and legacy systems. Although it is not a network optimization tool, it does monitor the connection of devices.

Schneider Electric continues to support StruxureWare, but moving to IT Advisor may reduce DCIM maintenance for existing users or help them gain new features, including access to their local, cloud, and managed services from remote devices. The main function is heat dissipation simulation based on multi-year data collection, providing 90% accurate 3D heat map without sensor or CFD modeling.

Combining IT consultants with EcoStruxure IT experts provides automated asset discovery, enhanced visibility, intelligent alerts, and artificial intelligence-driven load balancing assistance. IT experts are based on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform and can provide extensive artificial intelligence analysis and mobile access over any phone or Android device. This information includes time predictions before battery replacement, security analysis (such as outdated security certificates), updated status, and whether standard usernames and passwords still exist.

The EcoStruxure Asset Advisor software package provides 24 / 7 continuous device monitoring through the cloud platform. This add-on to IT Expert interacts with handheld mobile applications and can track energy efficiency for many years.

Schneider Electric's entire system supports multiple simultaneous users through strong safety control. Users can contact the supplier for price information.

5.Sunbird DCIM

Sunbird software provides a twofold approach: the dcTrack DCIM solution covers day-to-day asset management and planning needs, while Power IQ's DCIM Monitoring is responsible for all active polling and event processing. In addition to complete network monitoring, these systems cover almost everything.

The main upgrade of Sunbird is its general configuration management database two-way connector, which enables systems such as ServiceNow and Sunbird's dcTrack to share information. Suppliers provide asset management and planning through an integrated automation approach.

Policy-based intelligence can compile and analyze large amounts of computing device power consumption data through Power IQ monitoring, calculating the best budget for each deployed computing device to significantly reduce idle power capacity.

Sunbird can automatically create 2D and 3D plans and rack stereo drawings. 3D functionality is rendered on the client side through Web, so page views can be created without the need for application resources. This also makes the software fast enough to provide an augmented reality experience from real-time sensor readings, which many people think is more useful than in the field. This can be an important feature when remote access is required.

Sunbird's power chain support now includes DC power supplies, ranging from power plants to fuses and alarm panels. Data-driven collaboration now enables organizations to display and share dashboard widgets on any browser, SharePoint, or Wiki page. Extended asset tracking includes infrastructure subcomponents, such as disk drives, memory, and network interface controllers, including those items in the alert when inventory levels fall below a defined threshold. Zero configuration analysis reduces the time required to create administrative reports and provides automatic creation and distribution of all dashboard information. Sunbird also tries to simplify GUI by minimizing the number of clicks required for common tasks.

Sunbird's color-coded Health Chart and the associated File Cabinet Checker tool provide scaling assets and operational representations of rows and cabinets in the floor diagram. The DCIM software displays temperature and humidity levels and device status based on availability thresholds, and can conduct in-depth analysis to identify and resolve threshold conditions. Sunbird also has patented cooling charts that help achieve recommendations that comply with manufacturer and industry approval, such as ASHRAE thermal guidelines.

Sunbird's services and support include weekly free training, modern support portals and complete services. Sunbird's DCIM is scalable and has no known limit on the number of cabinets, devices or locations it can monitor. Pricing depends on the number of racks or cabinets managed by the software and can be obtained through purchase, license, renewal, or SaaS.

6.Vertiv Trellis

Vertiv's newly released Trellis platform provides enhanced usability and a faster return on investment. Major updates include a redesigned user interface, improved network management, enhanced alarm display, simplified alarm management, and integration of computing tools for performing hypothetical scenarios.

As a power and refrigeration manufacturer, the Vertiv Trellis platform monitors physical infrastructure, including asset and inventory management. The electrical diagram shows the current state of the power-on and power-off components in the power chain, as well as the interdependence between upstream and downstream. Vertiv's redesigned dashboard provides a better understanding of its asset management and infrastructure monitoring functions and can now be integrated with the Building Management system (BMS).

The Vertiv Trellis platform is compatible with all communication protocols, so it can accept data from each type of sensor device. It can also be integrated with third-party ITSM tools and CFD modeling systems. The Vertiv Liebert iCom software automatically balances all Vertiv air conditioning and heat needs, and the new 3D heat map provides visualization to quickly respond to power and cooling needs. Vertiv also upgrades its security features and maintains and tests them regularly.

Instructive monitoring setup tools help reduce deployment time and effort. Vertiv provides reusable templates for common infrastructure and digital twinning capabilities. Vertiv Trellis can connect various data center assets and use all protocols on data center facilities and IT. The user contacts the supplier directly for price information.

These are the five DCIM software vendor tools to solve the complexity of the data center. The editor believes that there are some knowledge points that we may see or use in our daily work. I hope you can learn more from this article. For more details, please follow the industry information channel.

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