Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) tools such as netTerrain, graphically display a complete inventory of a company’s physical/logical assets, rack & power management, cable, and data center floor location within a data center.  Using netTerrain, a data center manager can model any move, add or change equipment by creating sophisticated "what if" scenarios before implementing infrastructure changes that can dramatically impact IT system performance.

Gartner reports that DCIM has already been proven to reduce operating expenses by as much as 20% as well as reduce the time to deploy new servers by up to 50%. In today's tough economic climate this is a critical opportunity that every IT organization must implement.

Network World published an article that cited a Cassatt 2009 Data Center Survey, which reported some astonishing, yet realistic results:

• More than 75% of data center managers only have a general idea of the current dynamic usage profile of their servers.
• About 7% say they don't have a very good handle on what their servers are doing.
• At least 20% know what their servers were originally provisioned to do, but aren't certain that those servers are still performing those tasks.
• And 20% of survey respondents think that 10% to 30% of their servers are "orphans" (they are sitting idle, but doing nothing).

netTerrain - The DCIM Solution

Data center managers must now go beyond performance management of IT equipment and begin to manage their entire data center infrastructure.  After all, data center managers can't manage what they can't find. DCIM solutions, such as netTerrain, enable intelligent capacity planning that is not only more cost-effective but also offers a more efficient use of data center power and space.

Source: Network World