Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) Integration 1
The Struggle to Control Data Center Assets Environment in Flux Assets being introduced, moved, repaired, reconfigured retired Low Visibility Asset proliferation & fragmented data Asset data out of sync with configuration Labor intensive, manual reconciliation Inaccurate links between logical inventory and physical location Lack of Control Off-contract, fragmented procurement Ad-hoc processes for asset lifecycle management Virtualization Mobility High Asset Turnover Acquisitions Reorganizations Employee Turnover Frequent Changes Distributed Infrastructure
Why Traditional Approaches Fall Short Traditional asset management approaches: Still rely on manual processes and updates Can t find and track assets that are off the network Still generate a lot of paperwork Do not provide real-time information about your assets Can cause redundant and excessive IT asset purchases Generate unnecessary payments on retired or broken equipment Waste time and money locating missing assets Extends MTTR locating equipment that is not in its documented rack According to Gartner, enterprises that systematically manage the lifecycle of their IT assets will reduce their cost per asset by as much as 30% during the first year, and between 5-10 percent annually during the next five years. 3
Solution Components The combination of Fluensee AssetTrack, GDCM nlyte and BMC Remedy provide a closed loop system for physically tracking asset location, physical planning of assets and managing the asset lifecycle within the overall ITIL processes. Fluensee Uses RFID to provide real-time tracking and notification of IT asset movement, whether they are on- or off-network. GDCM Provides nlyte, a Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) solution for managing, modeling, visualizing and optimizing physical assets in the data center. BMC Software BMC Remedy Asset Management provides a comprehensive approach to IT asset lifecycle management, delivering proactive control and greater visibility into IT assets, from requisition to retirement. 4
DCIM Integration Features DCM integration provides automation to ensure accuracy for MAC initiatives in the data center Fluensee AssetTrack improves the reliability and accuracy of data within Remedy: Provides real-time identification of unexpected assets moves, discovery, and disappearance Associates assets to authorized personnel Gives accurate view of actual vs. expected asset location and alerts the appropriate personnel to resolve any discrepancies GDCM nlyte provides the central repository for DC assets and their interrelationships: Extends Remedy ITSM workflows into the data center Provides what-if scenarios for complex moves, adds and changes (MAC) Supports real-time power integration and reporting for tagged assets BMC Remedy Asset & Configuration Management enables IT to get control over the full lifecycle IT assets from purchase to retirement: Managed procurement, maintenance, retirement and other asset workflows Integrates and reconciles asset discovery data across multiple tools Built on Atrium CMDB - provides single source of truth for asset data across ITIL processes
Integrated Solution Capabilities Enables real-time discovery, location and tracking of IT assets Real-time monitoring/sensing of temperature and humidity within the data center True end-to-end IT asset lifecycle management planning, tracking and monitoring of equipment provisioning and moves Provides exception-based email alerts and incident management Ability to associate people and applications to IT assets Automates MAC (Move, ADD, Change) initiatives in the data center On-demand auditing capability Creates customized and ad hoc reports on asset location, status, history and more Assigns asset accountability and security controls Supports What If scenarios for capacity planning (Power, Cooling, Space) 6
Benefits This unified, real-time view of your data center will allow you to find and better manage your IT assets Reduce/eliminate labor necessary to locate lost or missing assets Automated, accurate reporting of assets for auditing, billing, compliance Improved equipment visibility and utilization avoid additional IT asset purchases Real-time asset locationing for improved break/fix service Single Version of Truth for data center asset configuration data Improved communication for data center support personnel Better capacity planning for power, cooling and space through modeling Reduced costs through optimization and employee efficiency improvements RFID and more automated, efficient IT asset management can reduce the labor required to manage IT assts by more than 80%.
DCIM Integration Example Add New Server Process
DCIM Add Server Process Flow BMC Remedy ITSM Service Request Location verified and updated in nlyte AssetTrack GDCM nlyte Workflow for Server Placement Remedy nlyte Actual placement with Fluensee RFID tag Virtual Server Placement in nlyte
BMC Remedy ITSM Initiates Server Add Add New Server Process Triggers nlyte Workflow BMC Service Desk BMC XXX BMC YYY
Task Handoff to nlyte Workflow ITIL-compatible nlyte workflow: Extends BMC workflow for DCspecific tasks Provides step-by-step direction for server move Built-in Form Builder
nlyte Floor planner selects best cabinet
New server is added in planned state Server marked as PLANNED
RFID Provides Real-Time View of New Server New server arrives Server sent to assigned rack Unique RFID tag assigned to server IT asset data into Fluensee AssetTrack RFID tag applied to server
AssetTrack and RFID Create the Real-Time Data Center Real-time discovery / monitoring of all tagged IT assets Accurate record of all asset movements -- did planned movement actually occur? Exception-based alerts when assets aren t in the right place Incident reporting (standard or ad hoc reports) Ability to schedule workflows and automatically update other systems Validation against service requests Audit reporting -- do we have the assets that we think we have and is that information accurate in all systems?
Server placed in rack, move captured by AssetTrack, updated in nlyte Server now marked ACTIVE
Server in right rack, nlyte & Remedy updated
Server in wrong rack triggers nlyte Exception Report
A Unified, Real-Time View of Your Data Center Fluensee provides leading RFID-enabled, real-time IT asset tracking and management solutions Global DataCenter Management (GDCM) is a leading software provider of Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) solutions BMC Software provides IT with Business Service Management (BSM) solutions to drive business value through better management of technology Together they provide a superior solution to managing Move, Add Change (MAC) initiatives in the data center 19