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Infrastructure Management & Monitoring for Business-Critical ContinuityTM

The Avocent IT Infrastructure Management Solution

I asked our IT staff to give me one reason why our new Avocent solution was so beneficial they gave me five 1) Saves time 2) Decreases response time 3) Lessens downtime 4) Reduces cable clutter 5) And meets our server density issues John Coutts, Network Operations Supervisor, Manitoba Hydro

Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson (NYSE:EMR), is the global leader in enabling Business-Critical Continuity from grid to chip for telecommunication networks, data centers, health care and industrial facilities. Emerson Network Power provides innovative solutions and expertise in areas including AC and DC power and precision cooling systems, embedded computing and power, integrated racks and enclosures, power switching and controls, infrastructure management and connectivity. All solutions are supported globally by local Emerson Network Power service technicians. Aperture and Avocent solutions from Emerson Network Power simplify data center infrastructure management by maximizing computing capacity and lowering costs while enabling the data center to operate at peak performance.

The Avocent solution consists of the following software and hardware products:
 SView3managementsoftwareprovides D centralized management of all rack appliances  SView3PowerManageraddspower D monitoringcapabilitytotheDSView3 software.  vocentDataCenterPlanneristhesystemof A record (authoritative source) for the physical equipment in the data center (location, space, rack power, connectivity and network). This core capability is the basis for all other processes and functions within the solution such as, data center visualization, capacity management; project planning, inventory management and equipment placement.  ergePointUnityKVMoverIPswitchfor M remote access to servers via their video/ keyboard/mouse interface  CS6000advancedconsoleserverforaccess A to network devices and other IT via their serial console ports  ergePointServiceProcessorManager M (SPM) for cost-effective and uniform monitoring and control of IPMI and numerous service processor and blade types  ackPowerDistributionUnits(PDU),for R switching and measuring power remotely

IT Infrastructure Management with Avocent

Data centers require high levels of IT security and availability.


Their requirements include:
Cost-effectivemanagement,includingthatofsubsidiaries/branches Therealizationofhighsystemavailability TheguaranteeofahighlevelofsecurityforvariousITplatforms and user groups TheadministrationofvariousITplatforms,applications and operating systems  ompliancewithcurrentandfuturelawsandregulations C Thoroughcostcontrolsystems  mplementinggreenpowermanagementstrategiestoreduce I energy consumption and environmental impact

Figure 1: How Avocent manages a data center

Avocent DSView 3 Management Software


AvocentDSView3ManagementSoftwareprovidesasecure,centralized,managementsolutionforall connected IT assets. It enables administrators to access IT devices from anywhere, carry out diagnoses and implement changes, regardless of the condition or status of the operating system or network. DSView3softwareoffersthefollowingadvantagesinthedatacenterandinthebranchoffices: Easier Administration:
DSView3softwareoffersasecure,browser-baseduser interface for central administration of the entire integrated IT, including the following technologies: Rack-mountedservers(withorwithout service processors) as well as blade servers and chassis VMwareVirtualInfrastructure, including vCenter Server, ESX Server and virtual machines CitrixXenServerandvirtualmachines Networkdevicessuchasswitches, routers, firewalls Storagesystems This can be done via the MergePoint UnityKVM-over-IPswitches, ACS Advanced Console Servers, RackPDUs,MergePointSPM. DSView3offersuser-definedviews, the option to create graphic reports, as well as tools for task automation and a complete overview of connected IT assets.

Figure 2: DSView 3 Software centralizes access to rack assets

IT Infrastructure Management with Avocent

Reliable Access:
The hub-and-spoke architecture allows for high availability and decentralized, consolidated and location-independent access. Thanks to the out-of-band functions the administrators can diagnose and fix problems, even when gateways, routers or other network areas are temporarily unavailable.

Easy Expansion:
Datacentersareconstantlyevolving.DSView3softwaremakes it easy to incorporate new technologies and already today provides anintegrationoptionforHPsoftware,VMware,Citrixandmore in addition to an API for own developments, and third party tools and systems.

Figure 3: DSView 3 audit log for security

Higher Security:
DSView3softwaresupportsseamlessintegrationwithexisting security policies, offers various authentication mechanisms and encrypts the entire data traffic. Detailed activity protocols enable reliable audits, which not only help to resolve problems, but also to ensure compliance with guidelines and legal regulations. The remote management function minimizes physical access to the IT and therefore also security risks.

Figure 4: DSView 3 Available appliance list

Avocent DSView 3 Power Manager


TheDSView3PowerManageraddspowermonitoringcapabilitytothesolution.Thisadditiongives companies the ability to monitor and measure the power consumption and the costs and trends of a single server or of a complete data center in real time.
It makes it considerably easier to plan performance and cooling capacity and offers a consolidated display as well as remote and individual power control for every connected IT device. Preventive alerts from power and environment sensors allow the administrators to use the performance capacity more efficiently and ensure better availability of IT systems. Corresponding reports enable the power costs to be assigned to business areas and departments, and activities to be identified which can be carried out outside of peak times. The more balanced power consumption achieved generates cost savings by reducing cooling requirements.

Figure 5: Power Manager list of available data centers

Figure 6: Comparison report of two data centers

IT Infrastructure Management with Avocent

The Avocent Data Center Planner


The Avocent Data Center Planner provides a user-friendly way to plan, document, optimize and visualize the data center infrastructure.
A device library covering several thousand devices, with all relevant manufacturer information, enables efficient resource management for heat emission/cooling, power capacity, weight, space and network. The central, dynamic representation of these resources helps data centers to operate more efficiently. Sophisticated modeling and predictive analysis capabilities (i.e. what if scenarios) are easily created using a drag and drop interface. Data Center Planners intuitive interface provides visibility into projects across organizational departments. The project planning features help organizations stay organized and see the impact of changes before they occur allowing them to prioritizing activities and reduce the risk associated with changes. Information exchange capabilities to other enterprise systems, such as real-time monitoring, asset management, change management and universal configuration management. The Data Center Planner bridges the gap between the requirements of the data centers IT and facilities specialists. The latter need corresponding documentation to build up and manage energy supply, cooling and space.

DESIG PLAN

DOCU

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ER CENT DATASSETS A
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IT managers are under constant pressure to control and/or reduce costs. To effectively manage the physical infrastructure, organizations need a fully integrated solution that (at a minimum) tracks the physical infrastructure configuration, manages projects and calculates current capacity. Avocent Data Center Planner brings increased discipline and maturity to data center management and establishes the foundation for data center optimization, which represents the pinnacle of data center management.

Figure 7: Detailed insight into rack details and rack timeline

Figure 8: Detailed floorplan view and visualization of capacities

MergePoint Unity KVM over IP switches


MergePointUnityswitchesofferITpersonnelanenterpriseKVM-over-IPsolutionforremoteaccess andadministrationofservers.MergePointUnityswitchesenableBIOS-levelcontrolandsupportanexternal modem when the network is unavailable.
Administrators can control every connected device from anywhere they like, as if they were actually on site even when the server itself can no longer communicate over the network. As a result, the response time and outage duration are shortened, thereby improving IT management efficiency and IT availability. WithVirtualMedia,localstoragemediacanbeassigned to a remote server for data transfer, application patches and operating system patches. In a similar way, a local SmartCard reading device can be made available to the remote server and therefore be used for authentication at the server. For simple server access and control, the switches provide an integrated On-Board Web Interface (OBWI) which is compatible with numerous web browsers. ViatheDSView3ManagementSoftwaretheKVMswitches and connected servers can be centrally managed.

Figure 9: MergePoint Unity Switch

IT Infrastructure Management with Avocent

ACS Advanced Console Servers


ACS advanced console servers provide secure and reliable remote access to serial management ports available on servers and other IT network devices (routers, switches, firewalls etc.), rather than being dependent on their network connections. Datalogging not only enables the speedy diagnosis of problems, it also helps ensure compliance with important legal regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In addition, it can be used for automatic error detection and alerts, allowing problems to be resolved even faster.

Its Enhanced Security Framework provides security profiles and gives IT managers the option of creating customer-specific security profiles in order to ensure compliance with existing security guidelines in the network. The ACS console servers use high-performance authentication technologies, including RADIUS,TACACS+,LDAPandOne-TimePassword(OTP). This ensures that only authorized users gain access to the company resources. The ACS console servers are available as modelswith4,8,16,32and48portsandonlytakeuponerack unit. They help maximize the productivity of IT resources, are scalableduetointegrationwiththeDSView3Management Software, and reduce operating costs.

TheACS6000seriesofmodernconsoleserversoffersimproved security and expanded functions, such as automatic host name detection for easy identification of servers, routers, switches or user-defined access levels for secure administration. AdditionalcardbusandUSBinterfacesprovidevarious expansion options. They therefore help optimize the productivity of IT resources whilst at the same time providing scalability and operating cost reductions.

Figure 10: ACS 6000 Advanced Console Server

MergePoint Service Processor Manager (SPM)


The MergePoint SPM uses a range of manufacturer-specific, inherent service processors for secure, rationalised and consolidated remote server management.
Depending on the server, the supported functions include secureconsoleaccessviaSerialoverLAN(SoL),KVM, VirtualMedial,switchingtheserveron/offincluding graceful shutdown, server hardware monitoring (sensors) as well as access to the service processors own user interface and console. MergePoint SPMs not only make it easier to use the service processors functions, they also supplement its functionality with additional functions such as data logging, which provides additional security and audit options. MergePoint SPMs offer increased security through encryption, diverse server-based authentication and authorization, and simplify the use of service processors through IPMI provisioning and autodiscovery of service processors. SMASH, Web Services for Management and CIMOM provide a uniform command line/web interface for the simple and interoperable administration of servers from different manufacturers with script and automation functions. By bringing several service processors together on one network connection with one IP address, the SPM can also save considerable investment and operating costs. InconnectionwiththeDSView3Software,Avocentallows service processors to be incorporated into a totally consolidated out-of-band solution.

Figure 10: MergePoint Service Processor Manager (SPM)

IT Infrastructure Management with Avocent

Rack Power Distribution Units


Dependingonthemodel,AvocentPMRackPowerDistributionUnits(PDUs)allowtheoverallpowerofthe PDUorofeachindividualpowersockettobemeasuredandeachindividualpowersockettobecontrolled. This enables the person in charge of IT to control, measure, manage and reduce the ever growing energy consumption of their equipment. Thresholds can also be set, allowing data centers to recognize problems early enough for the downtimes caused by system overloading to be kept to an absolute minimum.
With the switchable models, connected devices can be switched on and off remotely at any time which is important for every lights-out data center, to be able to perform a reset at any time. Withmodelsupto22kWandC13aswellasC19powersockets, forsingleand3phase,theAvocentPMPDUsarealsoidealfor the high rack performance densities often needed today. AvocentPMPDUsofferprecisepowermonitoringinrealtime for all connected devices via the On-board Web Interface, DSView3softwareorlocallyviaadigitalLEDdisplay.

Figure 11: Avocent PM Rack Power Distribution Units (PDUs)

The Next Step


Would you like more information on our solution?
CHECKOUT AvocentProductUpdates www.avocent.com/updates.aspx DOWNLOAD LatestWhitePaper www.avocent.com/whitepapers.aspx Avocent Deutschland GmbH Lehrer-Wirth-Str. 4 81829 Munich Germany Phone: +49-89 42004 202 Fax: +49-89 42004-217 Avocent Switzerland Saegematte 580 CH-5053 Staffelbach Switzerland Phone: +41 (0)848 90 99 90 Fax: +41 (0)848 90 99 90

Emerson Network Power. The global leader in enabling Business-Critical ContinuityTM. AC Power Connectivity DC Power Embedded Computing Embedded Power Infrastructure Management & Monitoring Outside Plant Power Switching & Controls Precision Cooling

EmersonNetworkPower.com Racks & Integrated Cabinets Services Surge Protection

Emerson,Business-CriticalContinuityandEmersonNetworkPoweraretrademarksofEmersonElectricCo.oroneofitsaffiliatedcompanies.2010EmersonElectricCo. 0111-EMEA-INFMGMT-BRO

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