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Herman Chan , President , Sunbird Software
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 .
Before they deployed DCIM software , one customer had a homegrown tool they had been integrating with other systems . They learned that , unless they were able to do this in near real-time , they were going to encounter data integrity issues where their asset tool could report values that weren ’ t accurate until a machine configuration was complete and this had the potential to create issues with operations , compliance and credibility . To overcome this challenge , they created the concept of a ‘ source of becoming ’ similar to the wellknown ‘ source of truth ’. They realised that they needed a way to track both . The solution was to leverage the custom fields capability of their DCIM software . Instead of using a standalone database to capture these desired values , they capture data for both the desired values and the reported values within their DCIM software , then use those values as integration points for provisioning and orchestration tooling .
4 . Automate parts management
Contemporary DCIM software offers a Parts Management feature facilitating the centralised administration of diverse components , ranging from hard drives and memory modules to cables and even boxes of screws . This feature has brought relief to data centre managers , liberating them from the cumbersome use of spreadsheets .
Users of DCIM have achieved a fully automated parts management system . Through the implementation of DCIM software equipped with Parts Management and the adept utilisation of its open API and ODBC access , clients have seamlessly integrated their DCIM systems with platforms such as Slack and Jira . This integration allows the generation of daily reports detailing parts consumption per location , alerts for surpassing predefined consumption thresholds , identification of excessive usage of specific parts and the creation of deprecation reports for obsolete components .
5 . Leverage a business rules engine
Business rules are automation programs that a system admin can create to benefit all users . They streamline operations which improves productivity , reduces errors and saves money . With a modern DCIM solution , you can apply business rules to your data centre operations with an easy-to-use rules engine . A rules engine creates automation rules based on user-configurable conditions . For example , if a field is updated , another field is automatically updated with specific values based on the rule . Rules can be applied to any assets that qualify based on the rules ’ built-in logic and parameters . A rule is evaluated and applied whenever an asset that meets the rule ’ s criteria is created or updated .
6 . Automate device power budgeting
Data centre managers often struggle with the complexity of accurately planning and managing their power capacity . The traditional approach to device power budgeting is to derate the server nameplate value to around 60 %. This process is manual , estimated , largely inaccurate and often results in wasted space and money .
Leading data centre professionals are getting enormous ROI by leveraging DCIM software with an Auto Power Budget feature . This feature automatically calculates an accurate power budget
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