What are the Components of DCIM?
Software for Data Center Infrastructure Management
A DCIM solution provides accurate and meaningful information about your Data Center’s assets, resources used, and operational status – from the lowest level in the power chain to the highest level – in an integrated fashion.
A comprehensive DCIM solution is comprised of components that provide:
Enterprise Class Monitoring
Monitoring and data collection, thresholds, and alerts to accommodate tens of thousands of nodes across multiple data centers. This includes Intelligent Rack PDUs, Floor PDUs, Remote Power Panels (RPPs), Busways, UPS, CRACs, and environmental sensors. Plus, considerations for multiple protocols that exist including SNMP, ModBus, and BacNet.
Complete Asset Inventory Information
Inventory Information from racks, servers, storage, network equipment, including network connectivity, power chain, and applications. Complete critical infrastructure information plus the relationships between IT and Facilities equipment with mapping down to the physical port level between each device.
Multiple Ways Visualize & Report on Data
Visualize data center asset information easily and quickly with the ability to drill down or up with a few clicks of the mouse. Information can be provided in a dashboard, trend charts, reports, floor layout plan, rack and row elevations, color coded status, with high resolution visio-like front and back equipment diagrams.
Change & Workflow Management
Built in processes to create systematic workflows to support modeling, planning, ticketing, work management, approvals, and auditing. Quickly and easily understand the status of all work items and changes across one or multiple data centers. Support multiple user roles and ensure highly productive staff and accurate DCIM database.
Power Chain and Physical Connectivity
Track all physical connectivity across the entire power chain and cable/data network. Built in rules automatically validate connectivity prior to provisioning of equipment. Simplify troubleshooting and maintenance and maps of physical relationships between floor PDUs, branch circuit panels, UPSs and CRAC units.
Comprehensive Models Library
A complete models library that is continually updated and provided, containing over 37,000 Smart Models, across 450+ manufacturers, including 13 categories of physical media, 10 protocols & 25+ network speeds, and 250+ com and power connectors.
Open and Compatible for Easy Integration
Integration Tools such as APIs that enable the integration between 3rd party CMDBs and ticketing systems.
A good DCIM architecture has the flexibility to adjust to user needs, makes it easy for the user to do their job, and has the right components necessary to solve real-world Data Center issues. It can leverage and integrate with existing data (e.g. CMDB, BMS), tools like service desk, help desk and ticketing systems, and reporting systems.