Enhance DCIM Monitoring with Calculated Points
Calculated data points in DCIM systems fill monitoring gaps left by vendor omissions, enable second-level alarm detection (such as rate-of-change alerts), and provide uniform data across disparate device types. When treated as first-class points with full history and trending, they significantly enhance data center visibility. Modius OpenData supports calculated points natively.
Some challenges subtract from your ability to manage your data center efficiently – such as missing “simple” values due to vendor choices, and lack of uniformity by nature of the gear type (like having volts and amps but not providing power). Devices may also lack complex values like total run-time or the ability to detect “second-level” issues.
There are industry standards for network monitoring protocols, and vendors have become very compatible in this regard. Still, there are no set standards that define the minimum set of values that should be supported on a given device type or a vendor may choose to not report all possible values in a model to help drive model value differentiation.
Alarms detect “first-level” issues – like passing a threshold. For example, if a temperature value exceeds a target of 80 degrees. Alarms based on advanced calculated points allow for the detection of second-level issues. For example, detecting if the difference from the previous reading (delta) was greater than the average delta for the past X changes. This enables an alarm indicating the rate of change has changed.
This allows you to create alarms that are triggered by events like a sharp rise or drop in temperature or a rapid drop in fuel level. This capability improves your ability to understand the behavior your infrastructure exhibits. This is an improvement over basic threshold alarms.
These are just a few examples. It is important to note that you must treat the calculated points equally to native device points so that they are recorded and trended over time.
Below is a list of the general issues solved by a solution that provides the ability to derive calculated values based on native values AND treats them like native points, providing history, alarming, and trending:
Fill in “Simple” Missing Values
A device may not provide a data point for a specific aspect of its state. In some cases, a calculated data point can fill in this gap. For example, if a device does not provide a native point for power, but does have native points for voltage and current, then a calculated point can be used to fill in the missing power value by calculating it from the other points.
Combine Devices to Get Uniform Access to Information
For example, a BCM (Branch Circuit Monitor) may not have a voltage tap. This may lower the cost of the selected model, but without a voltage tap, the BCM cannot show power and will only provide current. With a flexible DCIM (Data Center Infrastructure Management) solution you can aggregate points across physical devices. You can use an upstream device (like a UPS or PDU) as a point source for voltage. Combined with your BCM current values, you can provide power for each monitored circuit. Like the other examples here, these can be stored, trended, and used to define threshold alarms.
Create Complex Functional Values Missing on a Device, Like Value Accumulation
Some generators provide an ongoing value for total generator runtime, which is used to determine maintenance scheduling and the overall life of the device. This tracking ability is not provided by all vendors for all models.
A flexible calculated point architecture allows you to fill in this gap to achieve like-for-like data. A calculated point can accumulate run-time by incrementing a value coordinated over time, whenever the “generator is running” flag is true.
Likewise, if a power meter does not provide energy (accumulated power usage) you can simulate this value by tracking power usage as an average over a period (like an hour) and accumulate that value. The result is a close equivalent of an energy accumulation register.
Problem Detection – Change in Rate of Change
Another advantage of a flexible calculated point system is that as values change over time, you can, as the point and instant of collection, determine aspects – like changes in the rate of change of a value. If a value typically changes by “5 amps” or “3%” in each cycle suddenly changes by twice that value – it can be detected instantly, allowing this to trigger an instant alarm, rather than waiting for a post-mortem examination after an incident occurs.
The Takeaway
The ability to use calculated points adds up to a superior experience for the DCIM user. Modius OpenData supports this out of the box. The power of this flexibility is the ability to fill in data gaps left open by vendors. With Modius® OpenData®, you can monitor and report on all infrastructure hardware for true agnostic universal support. Ask us to demonstrate this capability for you!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are calculated data points in a DCIM system?
Answer: Calculated data points are derived values computed from one or more native device readings. They fill gaps where hardware vendors do not provide certain metrics natively. For example, if a device reports voltage and current but not power, a calculated point can derive power automatically. Modius OpenData treats these points identically to native device points.
Q: How do calculated points improve alarm capabilities?
Answer: Calculated points enable second-level alarms beyond simple threshold detection. They can identify rate-of-change anomalies, combine multiple device states into compound severity indicators, and detect subtle behavioral shifts that basic alarms miss. This provides earlier warning of developing issues.
Q: Can calculated points aggregate data across multiple devices?
Answer: Yes. A flexible DCIM solution can pull values from different physical devices and combine them. For instance, voltage from an upstream UPS can be paired with current readings from a Branch Circuit Monitor to calculate per-circuit power, even when the BCM lacks a voltage tap.
Q: What is value accumulation in DCIM monitoring?
Answer: Value accumulation tracks cumulative metrics over time, such as total generator runtime or energy consumption. When a device does not provide these natively, calculated points can simulate accumulation by incrementing values based on device state and time intervals.
Q: How does Modius OpenData handle calculated points compared to other DCIM platforms?
Answer: Many DCIM platforms treat calculated points as secondary data without full history or trending capability. OpenData treats calculated points as first-class citizens – they are stored, trended, and alarmed on identically to native device points, providing a complete and uniform monitoring experience across all infrastructure.
If you are looking for a next-generation DCIM solution that can help you gain higher efficiencies, consider Modius OpenData. OpenData provides integrated tools including machine learning capability to manage the assets and performance of colocation facilities, enterprise data centers, and critical infrastructure.
OpenData is a ready-to-deploy DCIM featuring an enterprise-class architecture that scales incredibly well. In addition, OpenData gives you real-time, normalized, actionable data accessible through a single sign-on and a single pane of glass.
We are passionate about helping clients run more profitable data centers and providing operators with the best possible view into a managed facility’s data. We have been delivering DCIM solutions since 2007. We are based in San Francisco and are proudly a Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB Certified). You can reach us at sales@modius.com or (888) 323.0066.