DCIM is getting the IT infrastructure layer and the physical infrastructure layer to operate as one.  It's essentially virtualizing the physical infrastructure, just like what has happened to the IT infrastructure layer.  Covering this gap is very broad, so in order for that to happen you still need to draw boudaries.  What is your DCIM strategy?

The DCIM market is moving full steam ahead.  Steve Hassell, president of Emerson's DCIM division, Avocent, and Kevin Brown, VP of Data Center Global Offer at Schneider Electric, put their top DCIM questions to each other in this Data Center Infrastructure Management discussion.

Check out the questions below.

What are you hearing from CIOs as to the critical needs driving them to better manage their physical infrastructure and integrate that with the logical systems infrastructure?

How does a customer get started with a DCIM implementation?

Traditional data center design practices have involved several levels of power margins resulting in stranded capacity and lower efficiency.  How can DCIM help recapture some of that capacity without compromising availability?

>View the full discussion now" target="_blank">>>View the full discussion now

What is your DCIM strategy?

The Data Center industry is in need of of a solution that bridges the IT and facilities systems and provides data in appropriate interfaces across IT and facilities groups.  A holistic DCIM strategy is a data center manager’s best partner in meeting the stringent business demands in a modern-day data center environment. To successfully implement a DCIM strategy, data center managers must be on the lookout for the best family of hardware, software and services that allows them to address the critical infrastructure gap.

A new perspective on managing the critical infrastructure gaps is emerging that recognizes:

• The importance of real-time data to understand the true capacity of available infrastructure
• The criticality of interdependencies between logical and physical layers
• The need for holistic management capabilities and visibility of IT and facilities infrastructures
• The need for more powerful management tools that offer a rich, visual view of the infrastructure and can guide design and change management

Is DCIM the monitoring, collection and analysis of real-time, continuous, accurate information from an intelligent infrastructure that allows for immediate action, designed to keep the data center in an optimal state of balance between availability, efficiency and capacity?   Is it a framework for operating the data center?

What are your thoughts?

What are economizer systems and how do they improve energy efficiency?

This is the year that discussions around using outside air economization will be heard at many seminars.  The introduction of Liebert’s DSE, as well as ASHRAE’s proposal to increase the server air inlet temperatures, will certainly allow considerable energy cost savings to those early adopters. Don Beaty, DLB Associates, recently conducted a US Government seminar on Data Centers speaking to how efficient we can become utilizing outside air as an economization strategy, as well as (dare I say it) primary means of cooling a Data Center.  ASHRAE has recently released a study on areas of the United States where outside air, properly filtered and metered for gaseous and particulate contamination, can be considered as your primary source of cooling. Does your outside environment play a role in this decision?  Absolutely.  A thorough site assessment with a knowledgeable company is well worth the cost.  We all need to ask ourselves why Facebook, Microsoft and others are choosing locations conducive to utilizing outside air.

Published on March 7, 2012 | Richard Werner, Comcast, 7x24 Exchange

What energy savings can be expected for different types of economizers?

DVL and Emerson Network Power hosted a Data Center Infrastructure Management Seminar at the Microsoft Technology Center on Friday (2/24/12) - we had a great turnout and discussion. If you missed the seminar, click here to check out the presentation.

IT and facilities organizations have invested heavily in technology resources (people, processes, and tools) to manage the data center infrastructure, they have failed to achieve the promise and potential due to critical gaps between their data center facilities and IT infrastructure components. A new perspective on managing the critical infrastructure gaps is emerging that recognizes:

• The importance of 'real-time' data to understand the true capacity of available infrastructure
• The criticality of interdependencies between logical and physical layers
• The need for holistic management capabilities and visibility of IT and facilities infrastructures
• The need for more powerful management tools that offer a rich, visual view of the infrastructure and can guide design and change management 

>> Check out the FOUR TRENDS Driving the Future of Data Center Infrastructure Design and Management.