One of our esteemed customers is LCL who operates several datacenters in Belgium. They wrote a blog on their DCIM system which you can find here. For those who don’t understand Dutch we made a translation down here:
A good DCIM, the all-seeing eye of LCL
LCL has relatively large data centers at 3 locations. For data centers of this scale, good management of the infrastructure is crucial for a reliable, smooth and organized operation. We use sophisticated software for DCIM, developed specifically for LCL. This includes our accurate floor plans and the electrical diagrams for each data room. We work together with Perf-IT for this. Their application brings all our hardware together in a single DCIM system. For example, cooling systems from different brands can be seamlessly integrated into the system.
What is mainly being watched by the DCIM?
It’s about checking all important parameters in a data center: the temperature, power consumption, capacity and efficiency. At LCL, one system controls all these factors. In this way, employees can monitor its proper functioning day and night at a glance. This central, comprehensive approach makes all information much clearer than when you have to consult different systems. In the event of a warning or problem, the application also immediately gives an indication of the cause. The urgency of the alert becomes immediately apparent, even remotely. As for temperature for example, we see the values in the various halls and the impact thereof for each customer. In addition, the redundancy is closely monitored. Everything must be able to work redundantly in terms of temperature, but also in terms of electricity. Capacity management has become much simpler, both for the data center in general and for the individual customer. For example, when a customer consumes 80% of his available capacity, a warning may appear.
For us, and for our customers.
Thanks to our DCIM system, our customers enjoy extensive and clear reporting. This way they are informed in detail about the information about their server (s). Thanks to our extensive analyzes, we can also inform them well in advance of evolutions that are best addressed. When the power consumption becomes too high it can, for example, cause the redundancy to be too low. In that case we contact them preventively and indicate what the possible solutions are for this. A good DCIM system is bearing fruit not only for our customers, but also for LCL.
Keep our DC lean, mean and green.
The “Power Usage Efficiency” (PUE) is closely monitored: after all, the ratio between customer consumption and infrastructure load is as close as possible to 1. This way we avoid unnecessary costs. On the other hand, it helps us to work more efficiently and sustainably. The cooling for one has already been fine-tuned. Our energy consumption decreased significantly by setting the temperature control in the server rooms differently and by adjusting the rotation speed of the fans of the air-conditioning outdoor units.
Accurate invoicing.
The DCIM application is also linked to invoicing, which means that the consumption per customer is thoroughly documented and calculations are done automatically.After almost 2 years, the DCIM project at LCL is almost finished. The project took a lot of time because it was tackled site by site. Moreover, many analyzes preceded: every power board and every flow meter was checked, just to name a few.
State of the art user interace
The customized user interface required a large investment, but we think it was more than worth it. In the future we will also have a mobile DCIM app. It ebnables our employees to consult all the information via their mobile phone. That is something to look forward to!
