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Six Valuable Features Offered by DCIM Written by Nate Josephs Sr. Systems Engineer/Data Center Manager Prior to data center infrastructure management (DCIM), data center managers struggled to gather data center infrastructure data to understand existing capacity, view monitoring points, predict and proactively plan for future capacity needs, or integrate with existing systems. Data was collected from disparate sources, manually entered and was merely a snapshot in time soon to be outdated.  These struggles were eliminated by taking advantage of some valuable features DCIM offers.  The following is the first article in a series of three regarding DCIM.  In this article [...]

The most crucial stage of Asset Lifecycle Management is the installation. In most cases, assets need to be installed before they can be used. During the installation stage, the Design Team develops their capacity to support the implementation of selected assets. This team will then partner with project managers, external consultants, and intermediary teams to ensure they have the competencies to support and sustain installation at the employee level, as well as the facility level. Organization managers are often surprised at how much preparation and resources are needed during the installation stage. Companies will want to utilize Project Teams (such [...]

Four Ways to Improve IDF Closets for Edge Computing Written by Nate Josephs Sr. Systems Engineer/Data Center Manager IDF closets, also known as telecom or wiring closets, serve as connection points between voice/data carrier circuits entering a building and end user phones, personal computers, etc.  They contain racks, patch panels and some network gear.  Outages in IDF closets may only impact some internal employees vs. data centers where outages may directly impact customers. With a less critical role, maintenance, and operations standards for IDF closets is typically lower than for data centers. Edge computing is an IT service delivery model [...]

Procurement is generally driven by constraints. The third stage of asset lifecycle management is the procurement or acquisition of the asset. The procurement process involves finding and negotiating terms, as well as acquiring goods, services, or work from external sources.  Buying decisions are generally driven by constraints. To make the best purchasing decisions, you need to use a comprehensive, calculated plan, which is identified from the data you gather of all your assets within the planning and design stages. Accurate projections are made to justify the actual purchase.   Budget Procurement is the time when budgeting becomes even more critical. [...]

Engineers create a “design” that meets an organization’s business requirements. The design stage of asset lifecycle management is often overlooked. This stage typically requires the expertise of an engineer who thoroughly understands the pros and cons of various equipment options available in the market. This expertise enables engineers to create a design that meets an organization’s business requirements and specifications based on the intended use of the asset, uptime requirements, maintenance plans, installation, and operational requirements. Here’s what an engineer might accomplish during the design stage: Determine design requirements Develop scope of work/specifications Research equipment options that meet specifications Create [...]

Written by Nate Josephs Sr. Systems Engineer/Data Center Manager Most data centers are cleaned once or twice per year by contractors who specialize in thoroughly cleaning mission-critical spaces from “top to bottom”.  Cleaning from “top” may mean HEPA vacuuming and scrubbing above the lay-in ceiling plenum, cable tray and wiping down racks and server cabinets. “Bottom” typically means HEPA vacuuming and scrubbing floors and under raised floors.  These vendors often include before and after particulate testing which prove cleaning effectiveness with lower particulate counts after the cleaning is completed. Since data centers are only thoroughly cleaned annually, or semi-annually, how [...]

Asset lifecycle management begins with "planning". The first step in the planning process is to assess current resources and equipment conditions. This may be followed by verifying whether there are resources available for replacement. The asset's life cycle refers to the process of operating and maintaining the assets from installation to disposal. This practice involves calculation of future performance of an asset, or a group of assets, through asset analysis and maintenance strategies. Such assets in our industry include UPS systems, generators, cooling units, power distribution, software etc. An example of what a building manager might do during the planning [...]

Written by Nate Josephs Sr. Systems Engineer/Data Center Manager Standardized cable labeling is a key component of data center best practices.  Consistent cable labeling provides data center staff “at a glance” the location of cable termination points.  A clear understanding of cable connections is important when planning any moves, additions, or changes in the data center and significantly increases mean time to repair (MTTR) when troubleshooting connectivity issues. A variety of cable labeling standards exist within the IT industry.  One popular standard is to include both the source and destination device names on the label.  The problem with this standard is [...]

Press Release 2NSystems named APC by Schneider Electric 2020 Territory Partner of the Year Sixth annual awards program recognizes 2NSystems for excellence Honorees earned distinction for delivering Certainty in a Connected World Minneapolis – April 20th, 2021 – At 2NSystems, we are dedicated to ensuring our customers have the infrastructure in place to power the digital world. We’re proud to announce we’ve been selected as an APC by Schneider Electric 2020 Territory Partner of the Year, which recognizes our efforts to deliver simplified, powerful and integrated components and solutions for customers to help them achieve Certainty in a Connected World. [...]

Businesses that plan their migration in advance with the help of cloud experts are more likely to minimize disruption, cost, and downtime. Cloud migration is not as straightforward as one might think— you can’t simply transplant an application from legacy infrastructure to a cloud platform and be done with it. You may want to reduce infrastructure spending and open up space, but make sure to ask these five important questions before you start. 1. Is Full Cloud Migration Possible? It is a great idea in theory, getting rid of all that bulky equipment you’ve had sitting for 15 years or [...]