No one will be better informed than a Canadian web hosting service provider to detail the way today’s data centers can really ramp up operating costs. There’s a whole host of reasons for that, but nearly every one of them is contained in those centers’ digital architecture, and their sensors and instrumentation specifically. Making correct analyses of where inefficient operation is occurring is often beyond the means of even the most digitally savvy of us, but certainly not for the smart folks at Intel.
Intel’s Data Center Manager helps data center operators lower costs and extend infrastructure life spans by automating data collection and presenting insights into ideal operating conditions and configurations. It involves identify and monitoring as many individual data points, so when there’s a problematic inefficiency, users are able to know exactly where it is.
One of the common issues DCM data reveals is a need to increase the temperature in datacenters and thus minimize cooling costs. This shouldn’t come as a surprise entirely, given the ever-increasing workload these data centers face and the according way they will tend to run hot as a result. There are more data points than ever, and so by extracting that data and looking at it from a more objective perspective, you can be confident in choosing to turn up the temperature as a means of lowering your air conditioning costs.
From there, the DCM team can set threshold levels and implement algorithms to try to predict temperatures and to alert datacenter operators of potential problems.
Just one example of how Intel’s DCM is super effective in helping to manage and keep a Data Center cost controlled. Here’s more:
Languages to Communicate Across OEMs
All hardware manufacturers follow the Intelligent Platform Management Interface, or IPMI, specifications to report performance metrics independently of the hardware’s CPU, firmware, or operating system. Each brand customizes their IPMI feed slightly to differentiate their products, and that’s to be expected.
DCM provides a simplified data feed to infrastructure and application performance managers to interpret or to connect with a facilities management interface. The out-of-band solution has its own discovery mechanism to locate network devices and languages, and if a new language surfaces that’s unrecognizable, it’s added to the library. Intel reports that updating and maintaining this library is a priority.
Virtual Gateway with Remote Diagnostics and Troubleshooting
Off the success of DCM, Intel asked the development team if they could access any other useful information. By running a remote session, they found they could access logs and BIOS data to monitor system health metrics. DCM’s companion product is called Virtual Gateway (click here to see Intel's product detailing) and it features a set of APIs that let datacenter operators tap into those resources with a keyboard-video-mouse (KVM) interface. Intel’s logic here is in the understanding that not many data center operators will want to add more hardware unless it’s absolutely necessary, and Virtual Gateway allows them to avoid that scenario.
Lastly, it’s good to know that all data center hardware built after 2007 will have at least some degree of compatibility with Intel’s Data Center Manager, and that includes many already-installed / long-serving components from are not made by Intel.
No matter what business you’re in, you want to keep operating costs reasonable and for those of us in the web hosting business this is an extremely valuable tool that allows us to pass on the benefits of efficient data center operation along to customers in the form of lower service rates. Here at 4GoodHosting, we’re always on the prowl for any such resource that allows us to do what we do even better day in and out and provide you with best web hosting services at the best prices!
