Day 1 in the Data Center: Prepare for Constant Change

Maybe you’ve just completed a data center buildout and moved all of your racks, cabinets and IT equipment into the facility. Or maybe you’ve moved your data center from one facility to another, or expanded into additional space.

Congratulations! You’ve survived Day 0 — installation. Now it’s time for Day 1 — ongoing operations.

IT teams have very little time to pat themselves on the back when they complete a data center buildout or migration. The moment the power goes on in the new facility, they need to begin implementing operational processes. Automated tools can take over some of the more tedious manual tasks, but human beings need to oversee the management of the data center to meet availability, performance and security requirements.

It’s no easy task. An enterprise data center is one of the most complex systems in business, and it’s constantly in flux. While a factory might require months to implement even a modest change, the modern data center must be agile enough to meet ever-changing business and customer demands. IT teams need empirically grounded, data-driven processes for managing the data center infrastructure.

The key to successful IT operations is to be proactive — to solve problems before they arise. When it comes to IT equipment, that means promptly testing and installing software patches, keeping an eye on system resources, and ensuring that security tools are kept up-to-date. When new systems are implemented or configuration changes are required, IT teams must ensure that other systems aren’t negatively impacted.

Change can also impact the data center infrastructure. When equipment is added or moved, it affects power requirements, airflow and heat concentration in ways that can be hard to predict. There is a tendency to go ahead with the change and address any infrastructure issues after the fact. But this practice runs counter to the goal of proactive operations.

Today there are tools available to help you visualize the affect of change and simulate “what-if” scenarios that could put your environment at risk. These tools can also help you optimize space, energy consumption, resource utilization and uptime, and gain insight into future capacity requirements.

Nlyte Software offers three solutions for monitoring and optimizing your data center environment so you can respond quickly and confidently to change requests:

• Nlyte Energy Optimizer (NEO) spots potential failure points and performs simulations so you can prevent energy problems before they occur. It allows you to view real-time and historical data so you can identify unused power infrastructure and plan for future needs. Optimization tools help you to reduce costs and postpone or eliminate infrastructure investments by increasing power and cooling efficiency.
• Nlyte System Utilization Monitor (NSUM) provides real-time visibility into utilization across the environment and up and down the IT stack. It allows you to locate underutilized and “ghost” systems that drain resources and gives you the tools you need to meet SLA requirements.
• Nlyte Asset Optimizer (NAO) increases efficiency and enables automation across the lifecycle of IT assets. Capacity planning and asset tracking features help you optimize space and respond more quickly to change requests. Automated tools eliminates many redundant and manual tasks.

On Day 1 in the data center, it’s hard to imagine how constant change will impact your environment. Let Rahi Systems show you how Nlyte’s tools can help you optimize your infrastructure to meet today’s stringent requirements.