Need to control the data center? Use console management
By Donna DonnawitzAugust 3, 2012
Controlling the data center is now harder than ever. A recent Data Center Knowledge report explained that many IT managers are tearing out their hair trying to deal with business executives pushing them to reduce the data center's power consumption while also using less staff to improve overall efficiency. At the same time, IT has to deal with cables that come unplugged and take hours to track down, regional power outages and similar issues that impact day-to-day activities.
Managing this balance of everyday maintenance and strategic growth is extremely difficult, especially in an era when efficiency is key. The news source explained this push for efficiency is leading to major equipment upgrades being made on a fairly regular basis. In fact, systems are changing so quickly that it can be extremely difficult for engineers to keep up with everything they need to learn to maintain hardware effectively.
Because of this, data center infrastructure management systems are becoming essential. However, the news source, citing a Forrester study, said the DCIM industry has major gaps because solutions are designed for a diverse range of specific purposes, leaving some areas uncovered.
To illustrate this, Data Center Knowledge said that some DCIM suites are focused on supporting certain third-party hardware, but are not capable of working with other systems. This could leave major areas of the data center untouched by the solution.
As a result, DCIM needs to be accompanied with a broader approach to maintaining the data center. The report explained that taking control of the data center is about finding a way to align facility, software and hardware systems under a single platform that allows for streamlined operations, creating more time for strategic elements of developing the facility.
One way to improve day-to-day data center maintenance to give IT more time to focus on tactical goals is to implement console management systems. A console server can be used to establish a system that enables engineers to remotely manage a data center. This can be done through a central computer, such as having a device in the office that manages remote facilities, or through smartphones, tablets and other remote tools that control the data center from any location with a connection to the web. These two options can also be combined, giving IT the ability to adjust the data center for peak efficiency anytime, anywhere.
Perle’s wide range of 1 to 48 port Perle Console Servers provide data center managers and network administrators with secure remote management of any device with a serial console port. Plus, they are the only truly fault tolerant Console Servers on the market with the advanced security functionality needed to easily perform secure remote data center management and out-of-band management of IT assets from anywhere in the world.
Managing this balance of everyday maintenance and strategic growth is extremely difficult, especially in an era when efficiency is key. The news source explained this push for efficiency is leading to major equipment upgrades being made on a fairly regular basis. In fact, systems are changing so quickly that it can be extremely difficult for engineers to keep up with everything they need to learn to maintain hardware effectively.
Because of this, data center infrastructure management systems are becoming essential. However, the news source, citing a Forrester study, said the DCIM industry has major gaps because solutions are designed for a diverse range of specific purposes, leaving some areas uncovered.
To illustrate this, Data Center Knowledge said that some DCIM suites are focused on supporting certain third-party hardware, but are not capable of working with other systems. This could leave major areas of the data center untouched by the solution.
As a result, DCIM needs to be accompanied with a broader approach to maintaining the data center. The report explained that taking control of the data center is about finding a way to align facility, software and hardware systems under a single platform that allows for streamlined operations, creating more time for strategic elements of developing the facility.
One way to improve day-to-day data center maintenance to give IT more time to focus on tactical goals is to implement console management systems. A console server can be used to establish a system that enables engineers to remotely manage a data center. This can be done through a central computer, such as having a device in the office that manages remote facilities, or through smartphones, tablets and other remote tools that control the data center from any location with a connection to the web. These two options can also be combined, giving IT the ability to adjust the data center for peak efficiency anytime, anywhere.
Perle’s wide range of 1 to 48 port Perle Console Servers provide data center managers and network administrators with secure remote management of any device with a serial console port. Plus, they are the only truly fault tolerant Console Servers on the market with the advanced security functionality needed to easily perform secure remote data center management and out-of-band management of IT assets from anywhere in the world.
