The demands placed on data centres in the current day and age are growing by the minute. The increased need for new applications has meant that data centres require more space and more power than ever before. This is actually the case for rooms that aren’t even full. This problem is enhanced even further because of IT asset nameplates’ power consumption. IT asset nameplates tend to overstate power consumptions levels for networking equipment, storage devices and of course services. So, how do data centres combat this difficult problem? Well, it all lies within capacity management and using power consumption information to manage effectively.

https://pixabay.com/photos/server-cloud-development-business-1235959/

Capacity planning in the data centre revolves around making sure that you have the physical space and the computing power to accommodate all of your business’s needs. This doesn’t only relate to changes in layout and hardware but also having more efficient software created for your company. Internet of Things software development can ease the pressure on your data centre. This relates to both now and in the future as well. This article will now reveal some of the top tips for highly successful capacity planning…

• Know your company – This is a point that sounds obvious, yet many people overlook it and do not value the significance of it either. You need to talk to the different departments and build relationships with the management of each department as well. This ensures that your capacity management is effective and if any nasty surprises occur whereby there has been a fault in the system and much more power has been used than expected for example, you will be the first person called and there will be no nasty surprises. After all, you need to react quickly in order to determine what impact this unexpected instance may have had on your capacity plan. Also, you may assume an application reacts one way, but you don’t actually know how it does unless you go to the business and look at how the workers use the application.

• Shadow business processes in workloads – You need to be able to breakout the different resource usage whether it be server, network, print, scan or anything else. Then break it up into the different types of business work – such as order or fulfilment. This allows you to express your results in business terms. This is how you can make a proper determination as to whether the cost of infrastructure is worth the cost savings you are making as a result.

• Processes and procedures – Last but not least, you need to be able to take the same data and same growth and apply it to your processes and procedures and get the same answer every time. This is imperative in order to maintain your credibility. If you do not check again and come up with the same answer then you can have easily made an error without realising it. The repercussions of failing to be thorough can be vast.

Data centre capacity management is imperative in the current day and age. This is something that takes a lot of precision, analytical excellence and a lot of skill. Use the tips that have been provided in this article to ensure your planning is a success. Don’t dive right in without knowing your business properly otherwise your management plan will be based on assumptions rather than realities.

About the Author: Garlak Theodorakis

My name is Garlak Theodorakis, I am graphic designer with almost 10 year experience in the field. Founded Tooft.com in january 2010 with idea to share my knowledge with the world.