Ben Grimes, CTO, Avocent give six tips to save time and money and generally improve upon and be more successful at choosing the best rack and equipment setup for their data centres

1. Consider Out-of-Band Remote Access for Improved Hardware Management
When deciding in-the-rack equipment set up, consider a system based on out-of-band technologies for improved remote management of IT assets.  Out-of-band technologies were first utilised to ensure reliability by providing access to IT assets along an alternate route, so failed equipment could be restored quickly and easily.  Today’s out-of-band systems optimise IT assets to boost productivity, performance and security, while easing infrastructure management issues across complex heterogeneous networks by bringing together technology elements systematically.  The out-of-band infrastructure provides secure alternate paths into the production infrastructure so that disconnected assets can be reconnected and subsequently returned to normal operation.  This infrastructure includes serial console servers, KVM switches, intelligent power distribution units, service processor managers, and blade managers.  The Avocent solution is the only solution that ties management of the infrastructure together in a single interface, through Avocent DSView 3 management software.

2. Investigate and Utilise Service Processor Management for More Complete Server Management
Service processors and technology inside servers provide granular information about the health status of the server and provide a mechanism for remote powering cycling of the server.  Examples of server health status’ include temperature, fan speed and voltage.  Leveraging this technology inside servers allows IT organisations to streamline data centre management and reduce operational costs because it enables proactive monitoring and maintenance of server health, and allows faster troubleshooting and problem resolution to ensure all servers are up and running 24/7.  The Avocent MergePoint Service Processor Managers allow auto discovery of service processors in most servers, and streamline service processor management.

3. Implement Three-Phase Power for More Efficient Power Distribution to IT Assets
As rack and server densities increase, substantially more power is required.  Three-phase power provides a long-term solution for this problem because it can support growing power requirements as data centres become more densely populated.  Three-phase power distribution devices are designed to accept a single three-phase input voltage then convert it to three single, split-phase power circuits.  This is far more cost effective than running numerous single-phase circuits because an entire data centre rack can be powered with a single circuit, or two circuits for redundancy.  Avocent has a variety of power management devices that enable remote power control and system management within data centres that utilise or plan to use more than 5kW of power within server racks.

4. Power Equipment with Intelligent PDUs for Remote On/Off for Quick Recovery of Equipment
For quick recovery of equipment, access to secure remote power on/off is necessary for improved control of servers and network gear.  Intelligent power distribution units (IPDUs) can provide integrated console and power management as well as independent control of each power port, versus powering off an entire power strip.  Avocent offers a family of IPDUs that enable remote power control.

5. Utilise Energy Measurement Tools for Improved Understanding of Capacity, Consumption, and Cost
Whether cutting costs or going green, companies need the ability to monitor and measure IT energy consumption, costs and trends across all levels of data centres and remote locations: at the device level, the rack level, within a row of racks or the entire room.  Access to information that details gives IT administrators, facilities departments and the company the right data to analyse costs and develop a cost-reduction action plan.  The Avocent DSView 3 Power Manager captures real-time energy consumption and load capacity, stores historical data, and calculates energy costs for improved operational efficiency and effectiveness.

6. Add Centralised Management Software as the Over-Arching Tool for IT Asset Management
Data centres require secure centralised management for all physical and virtualised assets to allow administrators to remotely diagnose and modify any managed device, regardless of the health or status of the operating system or network connection.  The goal should be to find software that can integrate with new technologies and provide a consistent interface to lessen the complexity of managing the environment.  The Avocent DSView 3 Management Software enables a holistic view of network assets – physical or virtualised – and is designed to support multi-vendor, multi-platform IT environments and is easy to use with customised views per user, graphical report building and task automation tools.