As organizations increasingly adopt hosted data centers and edge compute locations, effective remote management strategies are more critical than ever. Today’s IT environments demand the ability to monitor power, environmental parameters, and access control at the cabinet level. Intelligent rack power distribution units (PDUs) form the backbone of these strategies, capturing essential data for integration into Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software.
DCIM software consolidates monitoring, reporting, and provisioning for all intelligent data center infrastructure equipment, enabling efficient management from a single platform.
Reducing Networking Costs with Secure Array® Technology
One challenge in deploying intelligent PDUs is the networking cost of assigning separate IP addresses to each unit. CPI eConnect® PDUs address this issue with Secure Array® IP Consolidation Technology, which allows:
- Up to 48 PDUs without integrated electronic locks or 32 with integrated locks to share a single primary IP address.
- An alternate IP address provides a redundant communication path in case of network disruptions.
This innovation reduces networking costs by up to 90%, making it a cost-effective solution for large-scale deployments.
Seamless Integration with DCIM Software
Information obtained from rack PDUs is normally pushed into DCIM applications using Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). CPI eConnect PDUs support the following SNMP versions:
There are three versions of SNMP, all of which are supported by eConnect PDUs:
- Version 1: Read-only access.
- Version 2c: Read and write capabilities.
- Version 3: Advanced security with customizable access levels.
Integration through SNMP utilizes a Management Information Base (MIB) – an ASCII file that contains collection of information related to the managed device organized in a hierarchical fashion.
The MIB file includes all the managed or controlled features of the product, each one of them having a unique identifier referred to as “Object Identifiers” (OIDs). An example of an OID specifically used to capture branch current information is shown below:
Legacy MIB Limitations
Previously, MIB files used a scalar approach where each PDU parameter required an individual Object Identifier (OID). This approach works well when every individual PDU on the network has its own IP address.
Using this approach in a Secure Array scenario, a MAC address had to be appended to each individual OID to be able to uniquely identify the specific PDU within the array from which data is being captured. This would make the OID extremely long and in some cases would exceed the limitations imposed within some MIB browsers. Dependency on the MAC address required amending all OIDs related to a PDU, if it had to be replaced.
The new eConnect PDU SNMP MIB utilizes a tabular approach:
The new eConnect PDU SNMP MIB introduces a streamlined tabular approach to data management, making it easier to capture and organize information for all PDUs within a Secure Array. Here's how it works:
- Single OID for Dataset Capture: A single OID is used to capture a particular dataset tied to all the PDUs within the Secure Array.
2. Table-Based Information Display: Obtaining information associated with a particular parameter for all PDU’s within the array requires viewing of all information in the table format as shown below:
The data is collected from the Primary PDU and it is organized into one or multiple rows, depending on the number of PDUs within the array. Each row in the table represents a single PDU in the array.
3. Eliminates MAC Address Dependency: This approach removes the dependency of the MAC address into the OIDs, enabling them to be used within a Secure Array scenario. The OID itself is significantly shorter, which allows use with all DCIM applications.
Advantages of the Tabular Approach
The tabular approach also helps consolidate information for all branches and outlets as well as information obtained from integrated environmental sensors or electronic locks within a single OID, making the overall MIB tree significantly shorter and easy to use.
Within a Secure Array table, each PDU within the array could have up to 12 rows of data to cover branches; 72 rows for outlets; 6 rows to cover line currents; 32 rows of data to cover temperature/humidity sensors and one row to cover integrated electronic lock information.
Key Takeaways
The combination of intelligent PDUs and DCIM software is essential for modern remote management strategies. By leveraging CPI eConnect Secure Array® IP Consolidation Technology and the new tabular SNMP MIB approach, organizations can:
- Minimize networking costs.
- Simplify integration with DCIM platforms.
- Optimize their remote management capabilities.
Learn more about Secure Array® IP Consolidation with our handy and explore how can elevate your DCIM integration.
