The following steps outline how Visual Data Center can be utilized to reduce energy consumption and reclaim capacity to reduce ongoing operating costs and enable more productivity from the facility.

Step 1: Monitoring and Data Collection The first step toward reducing energy usage and reclaiming capacity is to configure Visual Data Center to monitor and collect the data that is required to identify where improvements can be made and to track the results of improvement activities. Visual Data Center has the ability to monitor devices via SNMP, IPMI, Modbus TCP, and custom interfaces which allows for monitoring of almost any device involved in data center operations. It is important to note that monitoring of all power and cooling devices/systems involved in delivering power to and cooling the IT loads in the data center is required. This means covering everything from the utility power source(s) to at least the rack level via metered rack power strips or branch circuit monitoring for the circuits that feed power to each rack. This also includes the cooling system devices such as chillers, air handlers, environmental sensors, and any airflow sensors.In order to see maximum ROI and/or track accurate energy efficiency metrics, it is recommended that monitoring of individual servers, lighting, and any other sources of power consumption in the data center is configured within Visual Data Center as well.

Step 2: Benchmarking Energy Consumption, Cost, and Data Center Efficiency In order to track the results of any energy reduction initiatives is important to benchmark the starting point. After the system has had enough time to compile adequate data (roughly 30 days), benchmarking energy consumption is as easy as running the built-in energy efficiency report. This report will break down energy consumption and cost based on the cost per kilowatt hour of the facility. In addition, the report will provide the current PUE & DCiE ratings of the facility based on the average monitored energy consumption of each device over the past 30 days. Again, it is important to note that the accuracy and thoroughness of the report is dependent upon having the all the required monitored data available. The information will be broken down to the rack level, branch circuit level, or individual device level as long as that monitored data is available.

Step 3: Minimize the IT Load to Reduce Energy Consumption & Reclaim Capacity With server utilization monitoring and trending enabled, the user can simply run built-in reports to track server utilization and identify ghost servers and underutilized servers. Using this data, an organization can then eliminate or consolidate/virtualize those servers to reduce overall server count and improve utilization rates. By reducing server count, an organization minimizes the total energy consumption within the data center which reduces the load on the power and cooling systems and reduces rack space utilization. Keep in mind that for every (1) watt of energy reduction in server energy consumption you reduce the total facility energy consumption by a total of almost (3) watts (see Fig. 1 below). In addition to reducing energy consumption through reducing server count, additional power, cooling, and space capacity is also gained without having to spend money to build out more space or upgrade power and cooling systems.
Step 4: Optimizing Power & Cooling Systems Performance As efforts such as server consolidation lead to an overall decrease in energy consumption, if unchecked, they can also lead to issues like unbalanced UPS system loads and inefficient cooling systems design. Therefore, it is important to utilize Visual Data Center to continuously optimize power and cooling systems to ensure they are operating as efficiently as possible to further minimize overall energy consumption. The user can view UPS load by phase to verify the load is properly balanced which allows the UPS to operate more efficiently. If the load not balanced the user has the ability to view power consumption downstream from the UPS to the PDU and down to the rack level to check and correct load balances throughout the power path down to the IT load. To ensure cooling system optimization the user can start by viewing the data center temperature and/or humidity layer to identify any hot spots, over-cooled areas, and monitor return air temperature to air handlers. If any hot spots are identified, through a few mouse clicks, the user can check cooling system capacity, airflow rates in the area (if airflow sensors are being monitored), perforated floor tile layout and tile ratings, rack space density/utilization, rack power consumption, and whether or not blanking panels are being properly used. Having the ability to see all of this data in a central location allows the user to narrow down and identify the root cause of any problem and make the proper adjustments to fix the situation in a timely manner. Conversely, if any over-cooled areas are identified, the user can easily perform the same functions mentioned above to rectify the situation and properly adjust the cooling infrastructure to improve cooling efficiency.

Step 5: Analyze the Results Analyzing and documenting the energy and cost savings results of any energy reduction activities is as easy as re-generating the Visual Data Center energy efficiency report of the facility. The new data can then be compared with the benchmarked data to quickly an easily see the ROI of the performed activities.

Step 6: Ongoing Management & Continuous Improvement The fact is that no data center is a static entity and changes in the IT load will occur from day to day. Utilizing Visual Data Centers ability to monitor and present real time and historical data through device dashboards, trend charts, reports, and the data center Floorplan Layer Views makes it easy for the user to continuously monitor and manage the energy consumption and capacity (space, power, & cooling) within the data center. In addition, formally performing Steps 2 through 5 above on a periodic basis will also ensure that energy consumption is being proactively and continuously minimized.

The following steps outline how Visual Data Center can be used to avoid the costs associated with unplanned data center downtime.

Step 1: Ensure monitoring, alarming, and escalation processes are set up correctly Visual Data Center provides real time monitoring of critical infrastructure support systems such as UPS systems, cooling systems, rack power strips, temperature sensors, etc. In addition, the built-in alarming capabilities are user configurable as either warnings or critical alarms and the proper escalation process and timing can be custom configured as well. Through proper configuration of the alarming and escalation functions and organization is able to identify potential problems (overheating, overloading, etc.) before they can result in device failure or unplanned data center downtime which can result in lost revenue and increased recovery costs.

Step 2: Improve maintenance management and warranty tracking Through Visual Data Centers included service and maintenance management functionality an organization can improve data center maintenance by scheduling, tracking, and documenting service and maintenance performed for any device/asset in the system (UPS, CRAC, Chiller, Server, Generator, etc.). The user also has the ability to view reports and floorplans according to services scheduled or overdue. This functionality plays a key role in preventing system failure, ensuring service providers are meeting SLAs, and documenting the services performed for future reference. To avoid the additional costs charged by many manufacturers to re-certify a device due to warranty expiration, Visual Data Center gives the user the ability to input device warranty expiration dates (both parts & labor) for every device in the system. This information can also be included when importing mass device information during the initial deployment of Visual Data Center to make the task less cumbersome. Therefore, at any time a user can quickly generate reports to track upcoming warranty renewal requirements for every device documented within the system.

Step 3: Map Interdependencies and Relationships to reduce the risk of Downtime caused by human error. Visual Data Centers Relationship Editor allows the user to map the network and power path within the data center facility to provider greater visibility into the interdependency between devices. Using this functionality makes it easier and faster to track the root cause of a problem or to investigate the potential effects of planned activities in the facility to avoid accidental downtime caused by human error.

Step 4: Store and place procedural documentation where it is needed to avoid operator error With human error or operator error being associated with roughly 50% of unplanned data center downtime it is important to do everything possible to avoid mistakes. Visual Data Center provides the unique ability to store documents attached directly to a device within the system. Documents like user guides, shut down procedures, or start up procedures can be attached to a device so that when a user views the data center floorplan and clicks on the specific device (server, CRAC, UPS, etc.) the required document is there to be viewed. Having this easy access to procedural documents helps to ensure that a well meaning employee will not accidentally cause costly downtime.

The following steps outline how Visual Data Center reduces the amount of time data center employees spend on gathering and organizing critical data and preparing reports for day to day operations, decisions, and upper management review instead of working on more productive activities.

Step 1: Utilize Built-In Reporting Capabilities Visual Data Center provides quick and easy access to asset information and performance data through a built-in reporting engine, custom report set up, and/or through integration with Crystal Reports. Instead of paying an employee to spend time gathering data and preparing asset reports, capacity reports, performance reports, etc., the employee can simply make a few mouse clicks within Visual Data Center to generate the required report.

Step 2: Utilize Built-In Document Management Visual Data Center allows for documentation to be stored in three different locations within the system which makes it faster and easier to access stored information. As mentioned earlier, documentation that is specific to a device or devices can be stored/attached directly to the device within the system so that a user can simply click on the device within the floorplan/rack to access the information. In addition, system wide or enterprise wide documentation can be stored as Shared Files in the main File Depot that is accessible from every floorplan view or facility location within the system. Finally, site specific documentation such cabling diagrams or as-built drawings can be stored as Floor Files in the main File Depot so that they are accessible from the floorplan view of the facility to which they apply.

Step 3: Utilize the Global Search Function to Locate Devices Faster & Easier Locating any device within Visual Data Center is as easy as clicking on the global search icon at the top of the main navigation page and searching by a piece of device information (device name, serial number, asset tag number, type, model, manufacturer, etc.). A list of devices matching the search criteria is automatically presented. The user selects a device from the list by double clicking on that device and the system will automatically open a window and navigate to the exact device location down to the rack level. This functionality can eliminate cost of paying.

Every IT project that includes new equipment will have an immediate impact on the data center and will add to the ongoing facility operations costs. The equipment will need to be housed, powered, cooled, and connected to network. In most cases, these issues are overlooked when planning an IT project and calculating the equipment TCO. The following steps outline how Visual Data Center can be utilized to improve IT project planning accuracy to avoid unanticipated project costs.

Step 1: Include power and cooling costs when calculating IT equipment TCO By monitoring and benchmarking power consumption as outlined in the first section of this document (Reducing Energy Consumption & Reclaiming Capacity) an organization gains key insight into ongoing costs to power and cool each piece of IT equipment within the data center. By analyzing the cost per month to power similar existing equipment and applying the fact that roughly (1) watt of power is consumed to cool (1) watt of IT load an organization can more accurately estimated the total energy cost to power and cool new IT equipment over the lifetime of that asset. Those figures can then be included in any TCO calculations to improve budgeting and planning estimates and avoid unanticipated operations costs.

Step 2: Verify space, power, and cooling capacity is available Within Visual Data Center, a user can utilize the Floorplan Layer Views and Layer View Filter to first identify potential racks that meet the physical space, power, and cooling capacity requirements of the new IT equipment. The user can then view the rack elevations of the potential candidates to verify power port availability, double check available capacity on the rack power distribution unit(s), and verify that the desired levels of power and/or cooling redundancy are available.

Step 3: Verify network and power port availability By clicking on the appropriate patch panel (typically located within the rack elevation of the potential rack candidates) the user can view the device relationship manager for that patch panel to verify network port availability for new IT equipment.

Tracking the physical location of IT assets and identifying unutilized assets can be a difficult task, especially within large IT organizations. However, re-deploying unutilized assets and/or fully decommissioning them help to save money and reduce energy consumption. The following steps outline how Visual Data Center can be utilized to track assets and identify unutilized assets.

Step 1: Initial Configuration and Deployment of Visual Data Center During the initial deployment of Visual Data Center all devices within each facility to be monitored (data center, MDF/IDF, etc.) are created within the application through importing device information and/or auto device discovery. If required, Visual Data Center systems engineers are deployed to inventory devices and their exact location. Typically, through both auto discovery and the manual inventory process unutilized or previously undocumented assets are identified. All of those newly identified devices will be documented and presented as part of the overall deployment process so that the enduser can either redeploy those assets or fully decommission and retire them.

Step 2: Using the built-in reporting engine to identify unutilized assets Visual Data Center provides the ability to generate asset and device reports that can either be presented as a single Excel export or broken down in multiple ways (by facility location, by rack, by device group, by type, by device name, by asset tag number, etc). Exact device location is included in the reports. At any time a user can generate these reports to inventory assets and identify unknown or unutilized equipment for redeployment or retirement as well.