EMA Radar for Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM)

Transcription

1 EMA Radar for Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) Report Summary & itracs Profile By Steve Brasen ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES (EMA ) Radar Report December 2012

2 Table of Contents Executive Summary... 1 The DCIM Landscape... 1 Assessing the DCIM Market... 2 Characteristics of a Preferred Solution... 3 Architecture and Integration... 3 Functionality... 4 Deployment and Administration... 6 Cost Advantage... 6 Vendor Strength... 7 Evaluation Criteria... 7 Feature Eligibility... 7 Financial Evaluation... 7 Notable Absences... 8 EMA RADAR TM for Data Center Infrastructure Management... 9 DCIM Market Overview... 9 DCIM Value Leader: itracs Awards itracs Best Visual Modeling itracs Profile

3 Executive Summary Although only fully defined in the past few years, Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) has been broadly accepted as the primary method for achieving effective and efficient IT implementations, operations and management processes. The ability to leverage analytics and detailed modeling capabilities to provide real-time visibility across complex IT ecosystems enables organization to optimize a variety of critical infrastructure support elements, including energy efficiency, heat distribution, space management, network connectivity and system performance. Of the hundreds of solutions on the market claiming these capabilities, only a handful have been identified by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) to deliver full DCIM support. In this EMA Radar Report, seven of these leading DCIM solution sets have been reviewed and empirically compared across a broad range of measurements that identify product strengths and overall cost efficiency. The DCIM Landscape It seems that nearly every management vendor even remotely supporting data center services today is leveraging the DCIM moniker as a description of their product set. This is unfortunate as very few solutions in the marketplace are able to rise to the level of providing true DCIM capabilities and the misuse of the term only serves to create confusion amongst consumers and detracts from identifying the real value of DCIM management practices. At its core, DCIM enables a holistic view of the IT ecosystem that dynamically recognizes the relationship of one device to all the others. In other words, when a device is introduced, changes or fails, DCIM processes help determine how the disruption will affect the performance of all other devices and conditions in the environment. Solutions that offer limited infrastructure visibility (for example, just data on energy consumption) cannot be considered DCIM platforms because they cannot achieve holistic monitoring and management of the infrastructure by only looking at a narrow set data center environment elements. All DCIM solutions must, at minimum, provide automation support in three key areas: data collection, infrastructure modeling and analytical reporting. Data collection is an aspect of asset management All DCIM solutions must, requiring the development and centralized storage of a detailed device at minimum, provide inventory that also provides on-going health status of every physical automation support in three asset in the IT infrastructure. Additionally, data collection processes key areas: data collection, must continuously monitor environmental conditions, such as energy infrastructure modeling consumption, temperature, humidity and airflow. Collected data is and analytical reporting. used to develop a digital model of the infrastructure that is regularly updated to ensure it provides an accurate representation of existing conditions within the environment. Although not strictly required, this model is ideally presented in a graphical view that visually presents all the data center elements in an easily digestible format. This environment model is essential to establishing and presenting visibility into the interrelationships of all supported IT assets. To determine these relationships, however, requires a level of analytics that interpret the complex IT ecosystem to rapidly identify any potential problems or inefficiencies. These reported, displayed or alarmed conditions provide the critical intelligence necessary for informed decision making on environment improvements that will drive more effective IT performance and greater cost efficiencies. 1

4 DCIM is a relatively young discipline with management practices that have only been identified in the past few years. It is no surprise, then, that automation solutions are still radically evolving. Many have been built on older, proven management platforms that have extended their capabilities to support the holistic monitoring and management requirements of DCIM. Others have been purpose-built from the ground up to achieve these capabilities, and still others are a combination of the two leveraging key elements from matured technology to provide a fully integrated platform directly targeting DCIM goals. The product evaluations included in this EMA Radar should be considered a snapshot in time as all the solutions are undergoing continuous development improvements. Today, for example, very few solutions natively provide full Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFDs) in determining airflow and its relationship to thermal conditions (though several do integrate with third-party solutions that provide this capability). As DCIM solutions evolve, it can be expected that CFDs will play a more crucial role in the identification and prediction of environment inefficiencies. Nonetheless, it is undeniable that the leading DCIM solutions available on the market today are already delivering very robust management experiences and quantifiable Returns On Investment (ROI). It is undeniable that the leading DCIM solutions available on the market today are already delivering very robust management experiences and quantifiable ROI. Assessing the DCIM Market To assist enterprises in the identification of value solutions that deliver true DCIM capabilities, EMA has evaluated the leading platforms available on the market today. EMA s review process began with the determination of critical DCIM features and capabilities. This list was used to establish evaluation KPIs that were ranked and weighted to correspond with the requirements EMA determined to be prioritized by organizations that have adopted or plan to adopt a DCIM platform. The prioritization determinations have been based on discussions with IT operations and facilities managers, survey-based research responses and EMA s own experience and knowledge of enterprise requirements and best practices. From these KPIs, a minimum level of functional requirements was established to identify which management platforms qualify for recognition as true DCIM solutions. Minimum requirements included providing automation to perform all three principle process elements (data collection, infrastructure modeling and analytical reporting) and the ability to holistically deliver visibility across the entire data center infrastructure (including physical assets and environmental conditions). After an extensive review of the numerous products claiming DCIM capabilities, EMA identified only ten candidates that could be reasonably considered to deliver true DCIM functionality. The identified DCIM vendors were invited to participate in the evaluation process and were submitted a detailed questionnaire on the capabilities, cost and supportability of their respective product sets. More than 150 points of comparison were considered and all responses were carefully vetted for accuracy. EMA also conducted interviews with vendor customers to confirm product capabilities and indicate customer satisfaction with the product sets. Scoring of the vendor solutions was mathematically calculated by correlating available features, architectures, pricing and capabilities with the predetermined KPIs. Some individual feature scorings were adjusted based on customer first-hand experiences with the product sets. Final scoring of each product set was used in the product comparison charts and in the determination of award winners. 2

5 Characteristics of a Preferred Solution The EMA Radar Report standardizes the evaluation of product sets in specific management disciplines by comparing vendor and product review elements in five distinct categories. Identified below are the elements EMA believes are indicative of an ideal DCIM solution in each of the primary categories: Architecture and Integration The ideal DCIM solution is architected to provide a centralized management console for supporting all locally and remotely supported IT infrastructure elements. If multiple management servers are necessary to support especially large or geographically distributed environments, all servers should be managed from a single master server and accessed from a single interface. A Web-based interface is critical for enabling access to the management system from any location, including mobile devices. Scalability of the product set is achieved by enabling expansion that is based on increasing enterprise requirements (i.e. growing number of support endpoints and data centers, expanded DCIM process needs, etc.). EMA favors a modular approach in achieving scalability as it allows organizations to adopt and expand the platform according to their size and level of DCIM maturity, but to be effective all modules must be fully integrated. Data collection is an essential component of DCIM, so the breadth of data center components and environmental elements that are recorded must also be considered. Data collection is an essential component of DCIM, so the breadth of data center components and environmental elements that are recorded must also be considered. An ideal platform will automatically detect and record asset and status data from all data center endpoints, including (but not limited to) servers, environmental units (i.e. chillers), networking devices, storage devices, environmental sensors, power distribution units (PDUs) and intelligent racks. Additionally, the increased adoption of embedded technologies (i.e. IPMI, Dell DRAC, HP ilo, Intel DCM, etc.) provide opportunities for detail data mining even when systems are powered down, so direct integrations with these platforms greatly increases a solution s value. To increase data collection opportunities, a broad range of protocols must be employed, such as SNMP, WMI, Modbus, and BACnet, and all collected information should be recorded in a single, centralized data repository. All management elements within a DCIM solution should be fully integrated with each other, and direct integration with third party management products should be established to extend the platform capabilities. Direct integration implies the solutions share common code, employ common data collection processes, utilize a common management interface, and/or store data in a common repository without the need for additional customization. Some examples of direct integrations with DCIM platforms would be federated access to Configuration Management Databases (CMDBs), integration with virtualization management platforms (e.g. VMware vcenter), the ability to directly execute automated tasks on server management solutions (e.g. Microsoft System Center, IBM Tivoli, CA Server Automation), and the ability to directly access and update records on a service desk (e.g. BMC Remedy). Additionally, robust APIs should be provided to allow the easy establishment of custom integrations. 3

6 Functionality The core of any DCIM platform is in how it is able to manipulate and present the extensive infrastructure data it has collected in such a way as to enable a holistic visibility into the environment for informed decision making. Further, this view of the interconnectivity of the IT ecosystem should be leveraged to initiate automated activities for the dynamic optimization of the environment. Nearly every data center management practice can be enhanced through this process. However, EMA has identified several specific areas of support that DCIM platforms should include to be considered comprehensive: Asset Management Attribute and status details on all data center physical asset should be collected and recorded in a centralized data repository. Key device details should include: brand, model, configuration (e.g. CPU, memory, disk), hostname, owner, purchase cost/value, operating system, IP address, MAC address, firmware versions, health status, network performance status and attached peripherals. The solution should have the ability to group assets by organizations, user roles, physical locations or network segments to enable consolidated views and reports. Ideally, a percentage of ownership should be assigned to each asset so that accurate calculations can be performed for chargeback and metering. Visual Modeling Collected asset data must be modeled to enable a holistic view of the complete physical, virtual and environmental IT ecosystem. These models should be graphically imaged to enable easy identification of physical asset locations, configurations, and status. The more detailed the data center imaging, the more rapidly administrators can absorb infrastructure conditions and make decisions on environment optimization. 3-D visualizations, for example, provide more accurate representations of infrastructure details than 2-D visualizations. Graphical representations should be provided for multiple scales from individual devices, to racks, to whole data centers, to an entire facilities location, to geographical regions supporting multiple IT infrastructures. Power Management Details on energy consumption and distribution of the entire power train should be recorded. This includes data for individual devices, racks, Power Distribution Units (PDUs), Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPSs), on-site generators and provider sub-station feeds. All energy consumption should be historically tracked, metered by use, and alarmed to ensure power caps and other limitations are not exceeded. Automated power control should also be included enabling the initiation and scheduling of graceful shutdowns of servers and other devices during periods of non-use. Thermal Management Data must be collected on thermal conditions across the infrastructure from live readings taken directly by sensors, chillers, embedded server technologies, or other temperature recording devices. Estimated temperature conditions are also possible by calculating server configurations with performance data, but these will likely yield less accurate results. Thermal data should be visually modeled and mapped to allow rapid identification of hot spots and indicate opportunities for reducing costs and power consumption related to cooling. Airflow conditions will also affect heat distribution, so an ideal solution will identify air flow requirements of devices and model how existing airflow affects thermal conditions across the data center. 4

7 Space Management Features should be included to enable the rapid identification of available space and environment resources. These include physical data center floor space, physical rack space, weight capacities, as well as power and networking availability. Automation that quickly identifies available space based on administrator-identified requirements will greatly simplify processes for device adds, moves and changes. Hypothetical Modeling An advanced DCIM solution is able to leverage current environment status and historical trending data to create hypothetical models. In this way, a move, add or change event can be introduced into a what if scenario that accurately predicts the impacts of that alteration on the IT environment, before actually implementing it. For instance, prior to the deployment of a new server, a hypothetical model can be created to see how that server will affect power and thermal condition of device that will share that rack as well as those on neighboring racks. Leveraging this, administrators can optimize the new installation before deployment, greatly reducing error and remediation time. Hypothetical modeling also allows organizations to proactively identify optimal data center configurations without impacting production environments. Access and Control Remote console access to servers and other devices allows enterprises to geographically consolidate administrative staff while improving security and reducing unexpected failure incidents (e.g. tripping over a power cable) by minimizing physical traffic in the data center. Types of remote console access include IP-based network access, serial console over IP access, full Keyboard-Video-Monitor (KVM) access, and access to service processors (i.e. embedded technologies). Integrating remote console access directly into a DCIM platform allows administrators to instantly react to alerts and conditions reported by the solution and feed the results back into the system without engaging in swivel-chair management. Reporting and Alarming Reports are essential to identifying the status of the environment, identifying areas for improvement and achieving proof of compliance. Critical reports should be provided out of the box that identify critical IT health conditions across the infrastructure. For example, Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) ratings should be continuously calculated and reported to provide a key indicator of the level of computing energy efficiency in relation to total data center environmental costs. Alarms should also be provided to immediately alert administrators when conditions (such as power, temperature or performance spikes) exceed established thresholds. Organizations that engage in environmental certificate (REC) trading or are subjected to related regulatory compliance will also require periodic reporting of energy consumption and associated carbon generation. For the latter, a DCIM platform will need to record details on the source of energy (i.e. coal fired, solar, wind, etc.) at each supported facilities to calculate the resulting amount of total carbon emissions. 5

8 Deployment and Administration The single most critical element in the introduction of a DCIM platform is the ease in which asset data is collected and recorded. In The single most critical fact, EMA s general investigation of DCIM adoption indicated more element in the introduction than half of the attempts either stalled or failed due to an inability of a DCIM platform is the to rapidly collect sufficient infrastructure details to enable a holistic ease in which asset data modeling of the infrastructure. Essential to the simplification of an is collected and recorded. initial DCIM solution deployment are features for auto-detecting devices, automated data collection processes and direct integrations with data recording elements (e.g. intelligent sensors, racks, and PDUs). The process can be further eased by integrating the solution with devices that read barcodes and RFID chips which reduce the amount of necessary manual data entry. Visually modeling the collected data can also be a time consuming task if left to purely manual processes. An ideal solution will natively provide and continuously update a massive library of device images that can be selected and dropped into the data center graphical representation. Out-of-the-box graphical elements should include servers, racks, environmental equipment, PDUs and networking devices all of which should be pre-populated with details on the device dimensions, weight, power consumption, thermal requirements, indicator lights and cabling ports. Recognizing that it is not possible to provide pre-built representations of all data center devices, a facility should be natively included to easily build custom device graphics. The resulting visual model of the data center should provide an accurate representation of real-world IT infrastructure that intuitively displays status and conditions of the environment so administrators can rapidly respond to conditions and events. Vendors must also display a commitment to supporting the DCIM platform and the user community. Maintenance contracts should be offered that deliver responsive and continuously available live support as well as timely product updates. Vendors should offer professional services that are staffed with support professionals that are knowledgeable about their solution set and DCIM processes to assist customers with training, problem solving, environment optimization and the initial product deployment. Vendors should also engage the user community by hosting on-line forums and regular conferences or meetings to educate organizations on effective use of their platforms and on DCIM best practices. Cost Advantage Pricing models for a DCIM platform should be simple to understand and easy to calculate. Of the platforms EMA evaluated, nearly all offer fixed license pricing based on the number of supported endpoints (i.e. individual servers, devices, or racks). Similarly, maintenance costs are typically calculated as a percentage of the total license costs; however, some vendors offer the first year of maintenance for free. Naturally, any product comparison that is limited to just cost elements will favor solutions offered at with the lowest license fees. However, EMA recommends organizations perform price comparisons that recognize their unique enterprise requirements. Purchasing a low-cost solution may impede an organization from achieving long-term DCIM goals and purchasing a more comprehensive solution may not be cost-effective if the advanced features are never used. It is important to right-size a solution based on projected future requirements as well as existing goals. 6

9 Vendor Strength Consumers should always be aware of a vendor s stability and commitment to a platform prior to adoption of the solution in order to be sure of its long-term viability. A vendor that is financially strong with high revenue and vast equity is more likely to continue support for a management platform. Solution providers that invest heavily in research and development will also be assured of maintaining continual value in the platforms architecture and feature set. Strategic and channel partnerships also increase vendor relevance in the market space and customer loyalty extends visible credibility. Additionally, a vendor s vision and strategy for development, innovation and foresight of future requirements indicates whether a management solution will maintain optimal value in a dynamic marketplace. Evaluation Criteria Feature Eligibility In order for a product set to be credited with a feature or capability in EMA s evaluation, it was required to meet three strict criteria: The features needed to be generally available with the solution set at the time of the evaluation (i.e. by August 2012). Any features that were in beta testing or were scheduled to be included in later releases of the management suite were not eligible for consideration. All features needed to be self-contained within the included package sets. Any features not directly included in the evaluated package sets but available separately from the same vendor or thirdparty vendors for an additional cost were identified as available through direct integration and acknowledged in the Architecture and Integration evaluation. All reported features must be clearly documented in publically available resources (such as user manuals or technical papers) for verification. Financial Evaluation To enable product license cost comparisons that are as fair as can possibly be attained through analytical process, EMA developed three sample infrastructure models and asked vendors to provide price quotes for each. Price quotes needed to encompass all products, add-ons and modules necessary to achieve the functionality credited in all the other sections of the evaluation. Where possible, price quotes were verified through discussions with end users and other public sources. The three models used in EMA s evaluation were: Small Infrastructure Model: 100 racks consisting of: 3500 servers (35 servers per rack) cores (4 cores per server) 100 additional devices (i.e. switches, routers, storage, chillers, etc.) 50 additional data collection points (sensors, PDUs, etc.) Supported by 14 administrators (250 servers per administrator) 7

10 Large Infrastructure Model: 2000 racks consisting of: 70,000 servers (35 servers per rack) 280,000 cores (4 cores per server) 2000 additional devices (i.e. switches, routers, storage, chillers, etc.) 1000 additional data collection points (sensors, PDUs, etc.) Supported by 200 administrators (350 servers per administrator) Multi-Site Infrastructure Model: Supporting five large data centers and five small data centers based on the environment criteria established above. Costs for the highest level of maintenance were applied to price quotes supplied for each model and annualized over a period of ten years. Total costs for the solution licenses and ten years of maintenance were than calculated for each of the three models and empirically rated on a pricing scale (i.e. rated from 1 10 with a two decimal point level of accuracy). Ratings for all three models were then averaged to provide the final scoring reported in this evaluation. Notable Absences In addition to the solutions identified in this evaluation, a few other product sets were determined to achieve true DCIM functionality but were not reviewed by EMA. Here is the list of non-participating vendors and the reasons they were not included in this evaluation: CA EMA engaged CA for participation, but the vendor was unable to meet the deadline for completion of the detailed product survey. Lacking sufficient information, EMA was unable to perform an in-depth analysis of the vendor s DCIM product set. However, EMA believes CA did make an honest (though not timely) effort to participate. IBM EMA approached IBM for participation but was informed, IBM is currently making significant investments in (the DCIM) space and planning a solution that is an integral part of our strategy at the intersection of facility management (IWMS), IT asset management, and energy management. We intend to provide customers a solution based on the same platform and architecture as other Tivoli solutions. We will have to decline at this time to participate until our solution is completed. Schneider Electric Despite multiple attempts by EMA to contact the vendor, Schneider Electric was completely unresponsive to requests to provide product information. Lacking sufficient details, EMA was unable to perform an in-depth analysis of the vendor s DCIM platform and recommends caution in adopting solutions from a vendor that does not openly provide details about its products. 8

11 EMA RADAR TM for Data Center Infrastructure Management DCIM Market Overview Value in any solution can be clearly defined by comparing the strength of the platform with its cost effectiveness. The EMA DCIM Bubble Chart below provides graphical representations of evaluated industry leaders positioning in relation to both critical axes. The Product Strength axis combines evaluation scores for Functionality with Architecture & Integration. Cost Efficiency, on the other hand, is calculated by adding the scores achieved for Cost Advantage and Deployment & Administration. The size of each bubble indicates the Vendor Strength as identified in their individual reviews. 9

12 DCIM Value Leader: itracs With the most detailed and comprehensive visual modeling capabilities in the DCIM market, the itracs Converged Physical Infrastructure Management (CPIM ) software portfolio delivers holistic visibility into an entire IT ecosystem. Built on an open systems architecture, CPIM enables simplified integration with third-party management solutions and includes project management capabilities that can track deployment projects through every phase of an implementation. Awards itracs Best Visual Modeling The level of visual detail in the itracs CPIM 3D modeling platform coupled with point-and-click navigation simplifies the ability of organizations to rapidly identify conditions across the IT infrastructure. Space management, densities and asset utilization can be optimized using CPIM s in-context view of the spatial relationships and interdependencies that continuously change and evolve in physical infrastructure. itracs delivers a fully interactive 3D model of entire enterprise infrastructures from devices to racks to data centers to office buildings to industrial environments that are enhanced by several advanced features, such as enclosure pads, which allow the location of cabinets, racks, mainframes and other assets to be predefined within an environment. itracs visual imaging also provided detailed graphical representations of end-to-end network connectivity (from structured cabling to in-rack patching) and power connectivity (from the utility on the street down to every CPU in every device on every rack). EMA has determined that the robust modeling capabilities delivered by itracs warrant special recognition for achieving a holistic management DCIM platform that visually represents the complex web of interrelationships that exist in large physical ecosystems. 10

13 itracs Profile Introduction With more than 25 years of subject matter expertise in infrastructure management, itracs has been focused on improving the performance, agility and value of physical infrastructure as a strategic asset. Primarily targeting the needs of large enterprises, the vendor introduced the itracs Converged Physical Infrastructure Management (CPIM ) software portfolio in 2009, offering a consolidated, holistic approach to enabling informed decisionmaking support for managed physical infrastructures. Featuring an open systems architecture, predictive analytics and navigable 3D modeling of the entire physical ecosystem, CPIM has been designed to provide intelligence, visualizations and interconnectivity that cross boundaries between IT operations, facilities management, building management systems, and core business practices. 11

14 itracs at a Glance Founded: 1987 Name changed to itracs 2000 HQ Location: Locations Worldwide: Total Employees: ~250 Ownership: Vendor URL: Twitter: Oak Brook, IL Offices in U.S., U.K., and Dubai Private Architecture and Integration CPIM has been designed specifically to meet the needs of large, enterprise-class engagements with complex infrastructure challenges. The platform uses a systems management approach and is architected to scale out support to global infrastructure environments with millions of points of connectivity between hundreds of thousands of assets. Its single point of management is Web accessible and provides role-based access, granting users permissions to management capabilities specific to their job function. Multiple management dashboards can be accessed from a single interface, and multiple databases can be rolled-up into a single unified data repository. Managed assets and their interdependencies both physical and logical can be monitored and optimized either individually, in groups, or as a collective whole. The CPIM software suite offers an open systems architecture that includes the DCIM Open Exchange Framework. This is a technology component, inside the CPIM suite that allows for the open and seamless exchange of data bi-directionally between the CPIM environment and outside data sources and systems. With the DCIM Open Exchange Framework, itracs can send or receive any data point using open industry-standard interfaces and protocols. Agentless data collection is performed near real time (i.e. in less than two minutes from a change event) via SNMP, WMI, SOAP, REST, CMC, HTTPS/WS-MAN, OA SSH/CLI, and IMM SSH/CLI. Data can also be collected directly from embedded technologies, including Dell Remote Assistant Card (DRAC), HP Integrated Lights-Out (ilo), Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI), and Intel vpro. Each device and all of its interconnections and interdependencies within the physical ecosystem are visualized, understood and managed in itracs navigable 3D environment. itracs provides direct integration with a variety of third-party platforms including Intel Data Center Manager, CA Technologies ecometer, BMC Remedy, Automated Logic BMS, Lombardi, Liebert SiteScan, APC ISX and HP OpenView (legacy code base). Further integration is possible with the platform s APIs which enable access to the solution s management console, database, report engine and data collection processes. 12

15 itracs Data Center Visualization Functionality itracs CPIM provides a variety of capabilities designed to help manage the entire lifecycle of data center devices, including solutions for discovering, capturing, managing and storing asset details in a context-rich 3D model. Recorded device characteristics include asset model, dimensions, weight, physical location, age, financial details (e.g. cost and leasing), power connectivity, network connectivity, energy consumption, and the myriad of interrelationships and interdependencies with other devices in the data center. Power consumption details can be directly collected from endpoints, PDUs, UPSs, metering devices and all other assets that can communicate over IP networks using open, industrystandard interfaces and protocols. When directly monitored data is not available, performance benchmarks are stored in addition to manufacturer specifications, extending power data to all devices in the infrastructure. itracs PowerEye is an end-to-end energy efficiency strategy that has been integrated into the CPIM solution to enable visibility and management of the entire power chain, inclusive of all interdependencies, supporting the adoption of energy management best practices. The approach allows organizations to calculate the total power efficiency across the entire physical ecosystem and then take steps to optimize it. Collected infrastructure details feed directly into itracs interactive 3D visualizations with scalable views of devices, racks, data centers, facilities and geographical locations. Graphical views provide a complete visual representation of the physical ecosystem, including network cabling, power cabling, thermal conditions, energy consumption, device alarms, and can incorporate additional statistics like server performance, storage capacity, etc. Thousands of device representations are provided out of the box and custom device images can be created either directly on the platform or imported from third-party solutions (e.g. CAD). For management within the cabinet itself, itracs interactive 3D 13

16 visualization allows users to better understand what is in each cabinet and its available space. Visual filters and reports can help users understand the level of fragmentation or lost U capacity through inappropriate spacing of assets within cabinets. With a what-if feature itracs calls Future View organizations can create visual models of current vs. future states so they can predict the performance of the environment or any elements within it and model the outcomes of operational changes or efficiency-driven refreshes. This what-if predictive modeling is conducted in the safety of itracs software to provide insight into affected performance, behavior and capacity requirements before the customer implements changes or new deployments. Reports can be generated to determine the status of assets, total energy consumption, usage-based environmental metering, billing/chargeback, thermal conditions, network/port utilization, power distribution mapping and network connectivity. In addition, the itracs platform can initiate automated processes including alerts, alarms and remote package/script deployment, which can be propagated to other event management systems (e.g. HP OpenView) via SOAP and REST. Deployment and Administration itracs offers a uniform deployment methodology designed to accelerate implementation, optimize data integrity, mitigate risk and contain costs over the lifecycle of the engagement. The company calls this standardized best practices methodology, the itracs Customer Value Lifecycle. It consists of four cycles Discover, Plan, Empower, Optimize. Each phase builds upon its predecessor with the purpose of providing increasing levels of business value to the user. With the combination of CPIM and the itracs Customer Value Lifecycle, the build-out of the infrastructure model can be streamlined. A variety of data center assets can be automatically detected, including servers, networking devices, storage devices, intelligent power distribution nodes, intelligent racks and any other device discoverable by SNMP and WMI. Asset details can be manually entered, imported from third-party solutions or automatically collected and are stored in a centralized data repository. This information is managed in the itracs environment and presented in a holistic view that makes it easy to locate and analyze any asset anywhere within the infrastructure. All assets can be grouped by user role, organization, physical location, network segment, power chain connectivity, asset configuration (e.g. make/model), maintenance, lease, warranty, device age, and virtually any other identifying data point that is collected and entered into the system. New devices can be pre-configured in the solution prior to deployment to help determine optimal implementations. Analytics are provided for historical trending, environment failover, endpoint usage, predicted capacity requirements and predicted environment changes, enabling the customer to leverage infrastructure data in vendor and supply management. Process management capabilities include workflows for optimizing capacity planning, change management, contingency planning and service management. For intelligent capacity planning, itracs provides support for tracking, reporting and planning against available usable floor space, slots/capacity for blade-based systems, network connectivity, power connectivity and other variables. Event management capabilities allow organizations to understand the impact of an outage by quickly presenting which assets may be affected by a change or failure event. In addition to devices with a direct relationship to a failure event, this also identifies assets which are dependent on the impacted infrastructure. For example, users can see which servers will lose access to storage, should a PDU fail in providing power to a storage array. 14

17 The itracs CustomerCare organization offers maintenance contracts that include 24x7x365 phone and support, product updates, and access to new device representations. Support requests can be initiated and administrators are granted access to a knowledgebase portal. The vendor also hosts on-line forms and periodic customer meetings to help educate users. itracs Rack-Level Visualization Cost Advantage itracs pricing model for the CPIM platform is based on a cost per floor-mounted asset basis. Floormounted assets are defined as any physical assets that are bolted to the floor (such as a rack, PDU, CRAC, etc.) and pricing for each is calculated based on four cost elements: a one-time site license fee, a one-time software license fee, an annual maintenance fee (calculated as a percent of purchase cost) and professional services costs (based on a statement of work scoped to meet enterprise needs). EMA s evaluation of the pricing models indicates the itracs solution is economically priced for the high level of functionality offered by the platform, particularly for large enterprises with broad DCIM requirements that will make effective use of the full holistic monitoring and management capabilities. 15

18 Vendor Strength As a privately held company, itracs does not publish publically available financial and revenue details. However, the vendor has reported to EMA that the company is profitable, financially sound, and demonstrating significant year-over-year revenue growth. The company also disclosed that 33% of its numerous CPIM customers are Global 500/Fortune 500 organizations. itracs has developed technology partnerships with several innovation leaders, including Intel and CA Technologies, and is continually seeking collaborative relationships that will further extend the CPIM platform s value to its customers. itracs vision is based on the belief that the DCIM vendors that are best positioned for success are the ones that can deliver quantifiable business value to their customer that is, the ones delivering the best combination of functionality and cost. The vendor believes its interdisciplinary expertise in interconnectivity and visualization is strategic to the enterprise s ability to optimize the efficiency, agility and availability of physical infrastructure as well as the ability of the infrastructure to deliver value back to the business in a timely fashion (i.e. improved time-to-value). itracs forward-looking strategy is to continue enhancing the platform with automation focused on meeting evolving converged infrastructure requirements in three key areas convergence of IT, facilities, and building management systems; convergence of physical and logical layers; and convergence of technology, business process and people. EMA DCIM Radar Award: Best Visual Modeling Of particular note in itracs broad support for DCIM practices is the solution s impressive 3D modeling capabilities. The level of visual detail coupled with point-and-click navigation simplifies the ability of organizations to rapidly identify conditions across the IT infrastructure. Space management, densities, and asset utilization can be optimized using CPIM s in-context view of the spatial relationships and interdependencies that continuously change and evolve in physical infrastructure. itracs delivers a fully interactive 3D model of entire enterprise infrastructures from devices to racks to data centers to office buildings to industrial environments that are enhanced by several advanced features, such as enclosure pads which allow the location of cabinets, racks, mainframes and other assets to be predefined within an environment. itracs visual imaging also provided detailed graphical representations of end-to-end network connectivity (from structured cabling to in-rack patching) and power connectivity (from the utility on the street down to every CPU in every device on every rack). EMA has determined that the robust modeling capabilities delivered by itracs warrant special recognition for achieving a holistic management DCIM platform that visually represents the complex web of interrelationships that exist in large physical ecosystems. 16

19 Strengths and Limitations itracs DCIM strengths are: Outstanding visual modeling Presenting holistic views of the entire physical ecosystem, including detailed server and rack representations, networking and power connectivity. Future views allow hypothetical visual models to be created to proactively identify how changes and additions will affect infrastructure performance and efficiency before those changes are made. Project management capabilities The quick and easy identification of capacity requirements coupled with the ability to track deployment projects through every phase of an implementation directly links the platform s broad data collection and analytics features with service management processes. Integration The open system architecture of the CPIM platform simplifies integration with a variety of third-party management solutions (i.e. security suites, BMS systems, CMDBs, etc.) using open industry-standard interfaces and protocols. itracs DCIM limitations are: Virtualization support No automated mapping of virtual infrastructures or direct integrations with virtualization platforms. Server power management The solution cannot directly and gracefully power down servers during periods of non-use. However, power distribution nodes can be shutdown to hard power off any attached devices. Also, full power management can be achieved with Intel DCM and other third-party integrations. About Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. Founded in 1996, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) is a leading industry analyst firm that provides deep insight across the full spectrum of IT and data management technologies. EMA analysts leverage a unique combination of practical experience, insight into industry best practices, and in-depth knowledge of current and planned vendor solutions to help its clients achieve their goals. Learn more about EMA research, analysis, and consulting services for enterprise line of business users, IT professionals and IT vendors at or blogs.enterprisemanagement.com. You can also follow EMA on Twitter or Facebook. This report in whole or in part may not be duplicated, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or retransmitted without prior written permission of Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. All opinions and estimates herein constitute our judgement as of this date and are subject to change without notice. Product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. EMA and Enterprise Management Associates are trademarks of Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. in the United States and other countries. EMA, ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES, and the mobius symbol are registered trademarks or common-law trademarks of Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. Corporate Headquarters: 1995 North 57th Court, Suite 120 Boulder, CO Phone: Fax: iTRACS-Summary