Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) Software

DCIM software provides a comprehensive overview of the data center, including the relationships between the building and its IT systems. It is used to maximize the efficiency of energy, equipment, and floor space usage. By optimizing data center capacities and resource usage, businesses can reduce costs and increase the overall performance of the IT infrastructure.

Managing a data center involves more than traditional aspects of space, power and cooling. Modern data centers contain software-centric elements that must also be managed, which increases the complexity and difficulty. A centralized view of all components and capacities in this hybrid infrastructure is needed to ensure optimal data center operation. FNT's professional software for Data Center Infrastructure Management is a tool that provides this view and centralizes documenting, planning, and managing all aspects of the data center. 

Highlights of FNT’s DCIM Software

FNT's Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software is a resource management and optimization tool that creates a complete overview of the data center’s entire system landscape. It streamlines processes and optimizes the use of building infrastructure (power, cooling, floor space), IT infrastructure (networks, servers, storage), connectivity (cables, patches) and services (software, applications). It stores this information as a digital twin that represents the entire data center environment. The digital twin data is kept up to date in a single, dynamically updating repository that can easily be integrated into key systems. 

The data center management solution additionally contains many modern management functions, from analysis and visualization to planning and process management. These can be used to run more efficient data center operations, improve data center infrastructure planning, and plan capacity for future growth. Additionally, 2D and 3D views of the rooms can be created to provide a visual overview of the physical space. 

From recording and monitoring live power consumption and temperature values to planning the entire data center, FNT DCIM software will keep your data center operating with maximum efficiency. 

 

Floor Space Management

Footprints, or graphical representations of entire data centers or zones within them, help to understand the real situation in a data center. Racks, floor tiles, cable trays and climate zones can be placed and arranged. Store floor plans of rooms as background images and lay grids of floor tiles on top.

Capacity Management

Utilization diagrams provide information on usage of air conditioning, power, and floor space by room or data center.

Zone Management

Real estate documentation of a data center is structured hierarchically, starting with the property and getting increasingly granular with the campus, building, floor, and room. The structure is configurable, and zones can be linked within or between hierarchical layers.

Cable and Patch Management

Encompasses all cabling, including back bone and patching inside the data center and between sites. Various display options show connections, including the graphical view inside cabinets. Signal tracing allows fast analysis of the entire signal chain from any selected port.

Lifecycle and Object Management

Record every change in the database throughout the lifecycle of an object. A History function documents a range of parameters for every CI, such as location, attributes, links, users, and type of change. This information can be evaluated for one or more CIs using comprehensive reporting functionality.

Power Management

Plan and manage power distributor systems, consisting of power distributors with the associated power buses and rails. Fuses are placed in the outgoing lines on the respective power rails and connected graphically with the corresponding terminal device.

Rack Elevation Management

Graphic representation of the rack enhanced with a photorealistic imagery, 2 and 3D representations of entire rooms, and a 3D footprint view provide fast and comprehensive overviews of current and planned conditions within the data center.

Advantages of FNT’s DCIM Software

A complete overview of the entire system landscape

A single system of record for all data center physical inventory, IT assets, and network resources that delivers full transparency into all system resources. All data is stored in an integrated data model that exposes it to planning processes and makes it available for analysis and reporting. Access to this data enables faster impact analysis, reduced fault repair times and reduces operating costs.

Optimize capacities and resource usage

Enhance space, power, and cooling for on-premise, edge locations, colocation space, and distributed IT/network rooms. Know what is being used and where to reclaim lost capacity and avoid stranded capacities.

Reduce MAC processes and track all changes

Gain access to comprehensive information relating to daily data center processes. Whether managing a live data center, consolidating multiple data centers, or setting up a new one, detailed space and capacity planning must be performed before any changes can be made. FNT supports managing all standard move, add, and changes for IT and facility assets.

Would you like to experience the FNT solution for Data Center Infrastructure Management Software (DCIM) live?

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FAQ: Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) Software

What is a CMDB?

A CMDB – or configuration management database – is a central database that contains all the data required for an organization to track and control its IT resources and services across the enterprise. It ensures that the organization knows how its technology assets are configured and how those items relate to one another, including information on the type and state of all configuration items (CIs). Every element of the IT infrastructure, whether hardware, network, software, or service, is a CI. 

CMDB software doesn’t just contain data on network components, applications, hardware, and services. It also shows all the relationships between the CIs, across all levels of the IT stack. This enables CMDB users to identify dependencies faster and more easily, whether they’re tracing faults, carrying out maintenance, planning upgrades, or taking part in an emergency simulation.  

It’s important to be aware that not every detail needs to be stored in the CMDB itself. In many cases, linking to adjacent systems, such as a network monitoring solution, is sufficient. 

What role do CMDB tools play?

Technology is constantly evolving, and it is expected that IT landscapes will always continue to become more complex as they are constantly growing. Maintaining an overview of the existing IT infrastructure and understanding critical dependencies is an essential need, as all new additions must be fit into and work with what’s already in place. 

A modern CMDB is an ideal tool because it goes beyond simply creating an repository of configuration items (CIs). It also captures important details about the single configuration items, including contract, license, and personnel data as well as the dependencies and relationships between CIs.  

This gives a complete picture of the entire IT landscape, which supports a simpler management at lower operating costs, shorter downtimes and more efficient audits and certification processes. Moreover, IT organizations benefit from more satisfied customers and better services by creating a more solid basis for standardization and optimization of their IT service processes. 

What requirements must a CMDB fulfill?

Requirements will vary depending on an organization’s needs. They will also vary depending on which parts of the infrastructure will be included, as each will have its own set of requirements. As a general rule, since enterprises use a wide range of applications and systems, the ability to integrate data into the CMDB from diverse tools via interfaces is an essential requirement. And if the infrastructure includes cloud environments, the CMDB must support hybrid infrastructures. 

Below is a list of other common requirements of a CMDB: 

  • be usable by any industry or sector 
  • support business-critical operations 
  • offer a variety of interfaces to a wide range of systems 
  • allow agile, flexible mapping of specific requirements 
  • be mappable both in the cloud and on-premises 
  • provide all relevant information for critical service processes 
  • supply up-to-date, accurate data 
Further Downloads

Would you like to know more about DCIM? Then you might be interested in the following:

Expert Paper
The Path to Sustainability and Carbon Neutrality in Data Center Infrastructure Management
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Intense pressure is being put on organizations to operate in a more sustainable manner by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. They must also demonstrate their progress by complying with stringent reporting requirements. Our new expert paper details how companies can tackle decarbonization through better infrastructure management, and how FNT's new solution add-on helps by documenting, analyzing and reporting on the carbon emissions of your customer's infrastructure.

White Paper
Digital Twins for Data Centers
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In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, data center operators are seeking ways to adapt and optimize their operations for increased efficiency, resilience, and security. A digital twin, a virtual counterpart of the physical data center, has emerged as a promising solution.

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Future-proof Cable Management with FNT Solutions
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In this third paper, we show how FNT specifically supports management of your data center cabling through a state-of-the-art software solution and decades of experience. After all, cable management is part of our DNA. Almost half of all DAX40 companies and more than 500 other major organizations around the world rely on our solutions to record, document, plan, and operate their critical cable infrastructures. Read on to discover how to future-proof the foundations of your digital transformation.

White Paper
Why You Need a Digital Twin of Your Data Centers
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Digital twins play a pivotal role in managing today’s modern data centers. From design to operation to maintenance, using a digital twin in your data center management can make a huge difference in your ability to provide a resilient infrastructure, optimize resource usage, scale as needed – to name just a few concerns. This paper explores in detail what digital twin-enhanced data center management looks like, the value a digital twin adds to data center management, and how it is uniquely capable of overcoming the complex challenges of our increasingly digital world.

Partner Solution Paper
Augmented Reality Brings your DCIM to the Next Level
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Increase the Efficiency of your Data Center Staff with AR-supported Infrastructure Management and Operations

What started in the 90s and was a vague vision of the future for most people back then, has now become part of our everyday lives. The possibilities that augmented reality (AR) offers us are extensive. Following this trend, the state-of-the-art technology is now also bringing innovations to data centers. Read all about the benefits of AR-driven DCIM in our brand new Partner Solution Paper and learn how the joint solution of FNT and Inceptum takes your DCIM to the next level!

White Paper
Structured cabling in Data Centers
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The nerve pathways of digital transformation

Few aspects of digital infrastructure are as undervalued as network cabling – yet few are as critical to the process. Cabling provides the essential foundation for all forms of connectivity, data communication, and digital value creation. At the same time, the cables themselves are largely invisible, with more and more IT services being consumed from the cloud via WLAN. The highly qualified teams that provide and operate the cabling also work behind the scenes. This is especially true of the cabling in data centers, which is often regarded as a black box.

White Paper
Cable Chaos in Data Centers
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How a paradigm shift can fix cable chaos

In our white paper titled The Nerve Pathways of Digital Transformation, we highlighted the strategic importance and value of data center cabling. The focus was on the challenges around managing data center cabling, the consequences of inadequate cable management, and the warning signs that urgent action is needed. In this white paper, we examine how to turn data center cable management into a technical and economic success factor. We present the necessary changes to the fundamental approach and the positive effects that result from this paradigm shift. This is accompanied by a look at the increasing importance of professionalization, the use of professional software, and the tangible benefits it delivers for data center managers

White Paper
The Sustainable Infrastructure
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Actions data center and network operators can take today for a more environmental-friendly tomorrow

Businesses concerned about sustainability are taking stock of their current situation, identifying areas to target for improvement, and formulating plans for how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There are many strategies that can be used, and not all of them are obvious. This paper is an enlightening look at a number of different actions businesses can take to minimize the impact they are having on the environment.

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IT Infrastructure Management Tools
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Best Practices for Implementation

Physical IT infrastructure resources and assets form the basis for all IT services and are thus fundamental for business success. Managing cables, servers, and switches has always been a complex challenge but digital transformation and its consequences now make deployment of specialist tools a prerequisite for efficient management. Many rollouts of such tools fail for various reasons, e. g., the strategy, choice of tool, goals, or data collection. The result is that solutions are either not used at all or not used effectively. In this white paper, we discuss the most common issues encountered when implementing IT infrastructure management tools and how to avoid them.

White Paper
Rethinking DCIM
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Guide to understanding Top-Down DCIM and why it matters

Data centers are essential for the success of any modern business. Accordingly, their performance and availability are increasingly moving up the agenda of customers and senior management alike. But it is no longer enough to simply use space, power, and cooling as metrics. Given digital transformation and the central role of IT in an organization’s ability to deliver, data centers need to provide maximum support for business transactions. Traditional tools for data center infrastructure management (DCIM) have reached their limits. What is needed are integrated tools, standards, and data models that enable seamless, efficient management of IT infrastructure from top to bottom. This white paper looks at the differences between tool generations, what characterizes modern DCIM solutions, and why managing isolated solutions soon runs up against functional limits. The core question is: How can I future-proof my data center?

White Paper
DCIM Software Replacement
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How to Evaluate and Transition to a New Solution

Whatever the motivating factor, every organization will at some point need to replace their DCIM software. Whether by choice or by force, there is a way to approach the process that will minimize the effort required and maximize the benefit not only to your data center, but to your organization overall.

This guide is full of useful information that can facilitate the process. It details what to look for in a replacement solution and best practices for how to migrate. It also lays out the justifications you’ll need to garner management support for the change initiative.

White Paper
Future-Proof Your Data Center Through Integration
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How to leverage the full potential of management tools and process with smart integration

In this white paper, we’ll discuss how to drive growth and automate processes through smart integration. Combining a data center infrastructure management (DCIM) solution with other business-critical systems will simplify and unify operational processes and allow you to achieve high-caliber data center management.

White Paper
The Future of Data Center Infrastructure Management
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A Data Center´s Guide for Managing Hybrid Resources

The pandemic has heightened the need for digital transformation and is accelerating its mainstream adoption to support remote workforces, increased bandwidth, IoT, and virtualization. To ensure success in the aftermath of COVID-19 and remain competitive in a digital world, businesses must also understand how infrastructure management is evolving. In this white paper, we’ll discuss why today’s modern data centers need hybrid digital infrastructure management for greater visibility into digital infrastructure and to support increased mobility.

White Paper
How Smart Integrations Enhance Data Center Management
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Taking data center automation to new levels with a combined FNT/ABB solution

Managing data centers is complicated. It involves multiple tools, a combination of manual and automated processes that aren’t always in sync, and data that isn’t always available when needed. A single solution simply cannot handle the complexity of a modern data center. Integrating best-in-class tools is the key to increasing efficiency and productivity across all departments. It makes sure all are working together in an integrated way and not operating in silos. Read our new white paper to learn how FNT together with ABB have made data center management more efficient just by working together.

White Paper
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A Guide for Operating Remote Sites

Current predictions by various experts indicate a rapid growth of edge computing. Many companies have now recognized the advantages of the edge and are in various stages of implementing their own edge strategies. This white paper discusses how organizations can keep track of and efficiently manage their geographically dispersed sites.

Success Story
Federal Employment Agency
Success Story - The IT system house of the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit, BA) uses DCIM Software from FNT
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The IT system house of the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit, BA) is responsible for the operation of fail-safe data centers at the headquarters in Nuremberg as well as for the IT infrastructure in the 1,800 real estates. To increase the efficiency of the own organization for the DC planning and administration tasks, the IT system house migrated to the FNT Command resource management solution.

Webinar

Data Center Management
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In this webinar, ABB and FNT Software show how enterprises and colocation providers are employing integrated tools and processes to achieve high-caliber data center management. The focus will be on how to combine monitoring and control of facilities with IT asset management and capacity planning, and the big benefits that can be  realized as a result.


FNT Software Americas
Contact: Justin Menoche

FNT Software APAC
Contact: Prislyn Peck

FNT Software Europe
Contact: Claudio David