netTerrain is the DCIM software of choice for numerous U.S. federal data centers and networks (check out our federal government customers here). Our users rely on netTerrain DCIM for a solution that’s both easy-to-use and affordable when they need to get their networks, and documentation, into regulatory compliance.

When it comes to the Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI), federal data centers are required to implement changes, for example, to achieve a target power usage effectiveness ratio (PUE).

Why? PUE is a metric that indicates how efficient, or inefficient, a data center’s energy usage is.
The PUE number of a data center is decided by dividing the amount of power a data center receives versus the real power that is used to run the data center’s infrastructure.

Without data center infrastructure management software (DCIM), data centers have a difficult or impossible task in figuring out where energy inefficiency is occuring.

If you had to bring a 100-year-old building’s energy expenditures down, you wouldn’t just start at the insulation level without first making sure the insulation is really the problem numero uno. Where do you need to start making changes — and what is the best place to start investing time and money for a better PUE?

DCIM gives users the tools they need to understand where inefficiency is happening and to make necessary changes.

netTerrain DCIM helps you comply with the DCOI in key ways:

  • Stop Energy Loss
    With DCIM and power monitoring in place, you can understand how much energy you are using and where and by what it is being consumed. Have equipment that’s drawing power but not doing anything to support business operations? According to the data, you probably do: a study out of Stanford indicates that a staggering 1 in 3 servers is a ‘zombie’.

    • When you find zombie equipment and eliminate it, you can start achieving that ideal PUE. netTerrain can help you to find underutilized assets, viewing color coded racks to see how much space are free, and view power availability on the racks. Power down these servers or utilize them more to help reduce expenditures for hardware and software.

  • Stop Spending Money on IT Clutter
    Buying IT clutter you don’t really need — or powering redundancies that don’t serve an actual purpose? With DCIM software, you can identify what you have and put it to work — instead of purchasing redundant equipment and powering both. With DCIM, you can fully utilize your equipment, your physical space, and plan for capacity and future builds.
  • Increase Security
    netTerrain DCIM can be restricted to ensure secure access — by user role or per diagram. With netTerrain DCIM, users can visualize all assets connected to the network, in real-time — helping users discern where parts of the IT infrastructure are at risk. Security patches and licenses are easy to stay current with — and work order management makes ensuring tasks get done a breeze.
  • Management-Style Dashboard Reports Makes it Easy to Understand Progress
    Your data centers and networks are full of data about how they are performing. netTerrain DCIM’s extensive reporting features, including dashboards and management-style reports, makes it easy to stay on top of progress and make data-driven decisions based on the numbers.
  • Reduce Data Center Physical Footprints
    Part of the DCOI initiatives is data center consolidation, to reduce the real estate footprint of Federal Government Data Centers. As mentioned in my previous articles, when consolidating data centers or doing data center migration projects, you will need a picture of what you have, where are the assets located, and how are they connected to each other.
    netTerrain DCIM can help you with this.Utilize its network discovery, its agentless power monitoring (using SNMP, IPMI), import existing data sources and applications (like Service Now, Solarwinds) to get an as built picture of your data center. With its powerful dashboard reports, managers can run reports on data center capacity, view 12-month power trending analysis to view efficiencies that can be achieved.

For federal data centers tasked with DCOI compliance, you can’t bring everything into compliance unless you know what’s causing issues in the first place. DCIM software provides real answers: with it, you can assess where everything is — and what is using what. With DCIM software, you can not only comply with the DCOI, you can enjoy efficiency, faster troubleshooting, reduced downtime, and controlled costs.

About Fred Koh

As a seasoned sales executive, Fred Koh serves as Director of Sales and is responsible for Graphical Networks sales and channel partner program, marketing strategy, and operations.