Populating DCIM software for my data center is really a pain
When your data center starts growing in size, you’re faced with the challenge of finally implementing DCIM software to document it. But buying DCIM software is just the beginning. You have to:
- import all DC data;
- remember to update information that is being changed during the time you populate information in DCIM software;
- be sure that the data is correct;
- ensure the change management process will be reflected in DCIM software.
With passive infrastructure you have no choice. You have to do the job manually or import data from whatever records you have (most likely spreadsheets).
Active equipment and logical resources are an equal challenge, but here you can really make a difference with discovery tools.
UMBOSS Automatic Discovery and Reconciliation Management module pushes you forward
UMBOSS is designed to run using reliable information. One of the most significant contributors to information reliability is its discovery of active equipment and logical resources.
The UMBOSS Automatic Discovery and Reconciliation Management (ADM) module scans and crawls through your network and data center, discovering and fetching inventory data of all devices. The fetched data are a perfect source of information for any DCIM solution.
For instance, ADM will discover all physical servers in your DC and provide data on vendor, PN, SN, chassis, modules, etc. If available, it will also fetch physical location tags. Once discovery is completed, ADM starts a reconciliation procedure to load the newly discovered data into the DCIM software.
ADM can integrate with any external DC resource management software and is tested against FNT Software’s solution FNT Data Center Management:
FNT DCIM solution video
Once the reconciliation process is initiated, ADM will automatically add items into FNT Data Center Management and place equipment based on location tags when available. Non-tagged devices can be positioned manually.
FNT Data Center Management provides formatted imports for passive infrastructure (rooms, racks, HVAC, patch panels, cabling, etc.) and thus allows for the fast import of undiscovered items.
ADM helps with sanity checks …
Even after the initial import of data into DCIM software, ADM will help periodically rediscover all active equipment and reconcile differences that escaped your standard change management procedures.
ADM brings real benefits
