DCIM integration with SDN (Cisco ACI)

The allure of the novel technology, and the key to its widespread adoption, is easily understood given it affords users the ability to make changes to a network through software code rather than having to reconfigure multiple devices and enables the flow of traffic to be visualised and managed from a central console.

Indeed, in little more than a decade SDN has justified its early hype and promises of improved control, customisation, flexibility and security to become a multi-billion-dollar market that is being fought for by a host of blue chip big-hitters.

For those in the data center business, the alternative approach to networking, which uses software-based controllers or application programming interfaces to communicate with underlying hardware infrastructure, offers a significant springboard to automating operations.

SDN’s sliced bread, however, becomes a far tastier proposition for technical teams when it is complemented by a healthy dollop of DCIM (Data Center Infrastructure Management).

Through the combination of the two tools, it is possible to dramatically downgrade the burden placed on a data center’s specialist engineers and reduce the operational “go live” time associated with the provision of new or extended services by avoiding networking workload bottleneck. 

Once fully integrated, an effective DCIM can use a series of profiling methods to identify SDN switches and ports related to work orders, flag them as configurable and make them available for set-up. 

With the analysis of available assets already taken care of, technicians need only to submit a dynamic form – selecting from the curated possibilities offered by the SDN, such as required tenant, app and speed, and its configured policies – and the DCIM solution will take care of the rest, leaving the port automatically ready for use.

Similarly, in instances when a tasking is generated from an external system, a fit-for-purpose DCIM will translate the ticket adhering to pre-defined parameters and automatically plan port configurations, which then only need to be checked and accepted by a technician for processing. 

The blending of the technologies can be applied to both the provisioning of new servers and connectivity and the retirement of hardware. For the latter, the integrated solution ensures the relevant switch port is returned to its default state and made immediately ready for use by other equipment.

Of course, satisfying the data center industry’s appetite for advanced levels of automation is dependent on selecting the right innovative ingredients and – thanks to a succession of failed or ineffective deployments – the DCIM concept has developed something of a Marmite-like reputation; polarising opinions among data center operators.

Fortunately, the automation experts at RiT Tech have developed a far more palatable product in XpedITe.

The Universal Intelligent Infrastructure Management (UIIM) tool drives efficiencies and reduces cost of ownership by capturing the role of a data center’s every asset and its inter-dependencies to afford users a real-time, 360-degree view of their operations.

The solution – which is powered by advanced algorithms – can plan installations and forecast risks, automate ongoing processes and operational workflows as well as manage the lifecycle of equipment and resource utilisation.

It does so by integrating with and interrogating the myriad sources of operational information available for analysis across a facility’s grey and white space, with SDN among its many informants. 

And this is why RiT Tech represents a premium choice – the company specialises in getting tech talking and, rather than simply selling and installing a solution, it oversees its integration, customisation and implementation.

SDN may well be networking’s sliced bread, but XpedITe boasts the technical wizardry to transform it into the toast of your business.