DCE initial setup

The Data Center Expert desktop client is a stand-alone Java application that runs on systems that meet the following requirements:   A PC with a 1-GHz or better AMD/Intel processor running a 64 bit operating system: Microsoft® Windows® Server 2012 or 2016, Windows 10 or 11 At least 2 GB of RAM and 20 GB disk space Screen resolution should be set to at least 1024 x 768. Supported browsers: Edge; Mozilla® Firefox®; Google Chrome™ See Known issues in the release notes for details about support for Internet Explorer and Edge.   The sizing guide for the Data Center Expert server and VM is here.

Initial setup   The following actions should have been performed during the physical Data Center Expert server installation. Virtual machine setup requirements are here.   The server was physically installed. The server was connected to a power source. The public and private local area network (LAN) settings were defined at the server. Note: To verify that these settings are defined correctly, log in to the client and go to System > Server Administration Settings > Network Settings.   Log in to the Data Center Expert desktop client and configure the server to use all of the Data Center Expert server's functions and features to monitor and manage your company-wide physical infrastructure devices, and other APC, NetBotz, and 3rd-party devices on your networks.   You can also use a browser to launch to the IP address or hostname of the Data Center Expert Web Client, a real-time overview of active alarms and device details for that server on a computer, tablet, or mobile device.   Minimum setup requirements   There are a several actions you must take to configure the server to perform the most basic functions needed to monitor SNMP devices, Modbus devices, and NetBotz Appliances. If the Data Center Expert client is installed on your machine, go to step 3. Otherwise, do the following: Use a browser to launch to the IP address or hostname of the server. Log in to the Data Center Expert Web Client using the Administrator Username and Password and click Download Client in the upper right corner. Click I agree to accept the software license agreement, and follow the on-screen instructions to install the Data Center Expert client. Launch your client and log on at the Data Center Expert server using the Administrator Username and Password. Enter Data Center Expert licenses, if you want to start monitoring more than 25 devices, or to use the separately-licensed Surveillance feature. Otherwise, go to step 5. Select Server Administration Settings > License Keys in the System menu. Enter the license keys. Note: You can also enter the license numbers for other separately licensed features, in addition to Surveillance. Make sure the administrator credentials include the email address of the person you want notified when alarm conditions directly related to Data Center Expert server operations occur. Select Users and Device Group Access in the System menu. Select the Data Center Expert Administrator (apc, by default) in the User and User Group Details section of the Users tab, and click Edit User. Edit the E-Mail Address credential, if needed. Note: You can change the default Username and Password values, as well. Define the e-mail settings the Data Center Expert server will use to send e-mails to the administrator when alarm conditions related to the server operations occur. Select Server Administration Settings > E-mail Settings in the System menu. Define the Primary and Secondary tab settings, as needed. Enable the SOCKS server feature to enable communication with any devices you want to monitor on the private LAN, if necessary. Select Server Administration Settings > Server Access in the System menu. Enable the SOCKS Server option in the SOCKS Proxy tab. Add a remote NFS or Windows share repository the Data Center Expert server can use instead of the local repository. Select Server Administration Settings > Storage Settings in the System menu. Use the Repositories tab to add a remote repository. Use the Purge Settings tab to define the purge settings you want the repository to use. Define at least one NFS or Windows share location to be used for backup files of the Data Center Expert server configuration data, or its configuration and repositories data. Select Server Administration Settings in the System menu. Select Server Backup/Restore in the "Server Administration Settings" display. Identify the NFS or Windows share location at which backup files will be saved. Schedule how often those files will be created automatically. Note: By default, backup files will be created every Friday at 1:00 AM. Discover the SNMPv1, SNMPv3, Modbus devices, and NetBotz Appliances you want your server to monitor. Note: All four device types require their own discovery process, not only on the public LAN, but on the private LAN, as well. Select Add Devices in the Device menu, or click the green + icon in the Device View. Select which type of device you want to discover (SNMPv1, SNMPv3, NetBotz Appliance, or Modbus TCP), and click Next. Define the parameters to be used for the discovery process. Run the discovery process. Repeat steps a through d, as needed, to discover all the types of devices you want the Data Center Expert server to monitor (SNMPv1, SNMPv3, NetBotz Appliance, or Modbus TCP), on both the public and private LANs. Define any or all the alarm notifications you want available to the Data Center Expert server for any SNMPv1, SNMPv3, and Modbus devices discovered during step 9. Note: Additionally, each NetBotz Appliance has its own unique profiles it can use for alarm conditions at the devices it monitors (see step 13). The Data Center Expert server has a Default notification policy. Device alarms and communication link status thresholds for all monitored devices are included in the Default notification policy at device discovery. You must create at least one alarm action, and add it to the Default notification policy, or another notification policy you create, before the Data Center Expert server can generate alarm notifications for conditions that occur at monitored SNMP and Modbus devices. Select Manage Alarm Actions in the Alarm Configuration menu. Click Create to access the Alarm Action wizard. In the "Choose Alarm Action Type" display, select the type of alarm you want to create, and click Next. In the "Configure Alarm Action" display for the selected action, define the settings you want the action to use, and click Finish to exit the wizard. Add alarm actions to the Default notification policy. In the Alarm Configuration perspective, in the Notification Policies view, select the Default notification policy. Right-click and select Edit. Note: To create a new notification policy, right-click or use the Create Notification Policy icon. Click Add to configure the alarm actions to add to the notification policy. Click Manage Actions to create alarm actions, or modify or remove existing alarm actions on the Data Center Expert server. Note: You click Choose Thresholds to add user-created thresholds, for the device groups or devices selected, to the Default notification policy . Communication link status thresholds for monitored SNMP and Modbus devices are added to the Default notification policy at device discovery. Check-mark one or more actions to configure their notification options, check-mark the actions you want to add to the notification policy, and click OK. Create thresholds for sensor types supported by monitored devices. Select the sensor type on which you want to add a threshold from the Create Thresholds option in the Alarm Configuration menu. Alternatively, select a device group or device, and right-click to select the Create Thresholds option. In the "Select Threshold Type" display, select the threshold type you want to add, and click Next. In the "Select Sensors" display, select the sensor or sensors for which you want to add thresholds, and click Next. In the "Create Threshold" display, define the settings, and, if desired, click Threshold Scheduling to configure when the Data Center Expert server will generate notifications if the threshold becomes active. Click Next. In the "Select Notification Policies" display, select the notification policies to which you want to add the alarm threshold, and click Finish to exit the wizard. Define any or all the alert actions you want available to any NetBotz Appliances discovered during step 9, to associate with the alert profiles used for alert notifications. Each NetBotz Appliance has its own unique profiles it can use for alarm conditions at the devices it monitors. Note: An alert action must be available to the Data Center Expert server, and to each monitored NetBotz Appliance, for use with their alert profiles. Select Alert Actions, a NetBotz Appliance Configuration > Alert Settings option in the Device menu. In the "Select Alert Action Type" display, select an action. In the "Select Next Action" display, select Create a new alert action. In the "Select Next Action Devices" display, select the devices for which the action can be used. Define the action settings. In the "Choose Next Action" display, select Configure another alert action to repeat steps b through e, as needed, to finish defining all the alert actions for your Data Center Expert server and monitored NetBotz Appliances. Add at least one alert action to the one of the alert profiles used by each NetBotz Appliance for alert notifications. Note: The profiles at a NetBotz Appliance may have been defined already using its NetBotz Advanced View. You can edit it to make sure someone in your organization is notified when problems occur. Select Alert Profiles, a NetBotz Appliance Configuration > Alert Settings option in the Device menu. In the "Select Parent Device" display, select the parent device (the individual NetBotz Appliance) associated with the profile you want to configure. In the "Select Alert Profile" display, select the alert profile you wish to modify, and click Next. Configure the alert profile to include at least one of the alert actions available to the selected parent device. Repeat steps a through d to add at least one alert action to the alert profile used by each monitored NetBotz Appliance.  

Once the minimum setup requirements are defined, you can begin to configure the server to use all of its features and functions. Create the device groups and subgroups, in the Device Groups view, that you can use to group monitored devices that are physically or logically associated with each other, for easier access to information about associated devices. Assign devices to the device groups by selecting Unassigned in the Device Groups view and dragging them from the Device View into your groups and subgroups. Add the local and remote users and user groups that you want to have access to the server, and define the monitoring and surveillance access that non-Administrators users and user groups will have at the exiting device groups, by selecting Users and Device Group Access in the System menu. Customize the Map View for a group selected in the Device Groups view, by using the and right-click options in the Map View. Define any new alert actions, alert thresholds, and alert profiles you want to use for the NetBotz Appliances the Data Center Expert server monitors, using the NetBotz Appliance Configuration > Alert Settings options in the Device menu. Create virtual sensors to view and monitor the average or total value of multiple numeric sensors of the same sensor type, using the options in the Virtual Sensors view. Define any new alarm actions, thresholds, and notification policies you want to use for the SNMP and Modbus devices the Data Center Expert server monitors, using the options in the Alarm Configuration menu. Define the remaining administration settings, as needed, using Server Administration Settings in the System menu. Configure the settings the Data Center Expert server uses to communicate with its monitored SNMP devices, as needed, using SNMP Device Communication Settings in the Device menu. Configure the settings the Data Center Expert server uses to communicate with its monitored Modbus devices, as needed, using Modbus Device Communication Settings in the Device menu. Configure settings the Data Center Expert server uses to communicate with its monitored NetBotz Appliances, as needed, using NetBotz Appliance Communication Settings in the Device menu. Define custom property keys that describe monitored devices using the Add Custom Property option in the Monitoring perspective or Custom Properties Editor view. Manage custom property keys using the Custom Properties Editor view or Manage Custom Property Keys option in the Device menu. License your surveillance cameras, if any, using the Thumbnails view. Note: A surveillance license must be entered in the License Keys section of the "Server Administration Settings" display. Configure the settings that affect how the surveillance equipment operates, using Surveillance Settings in the Device menu. Note: At least one camera must be defined as licensed to configure these settings. Define the settings for your Data Center Expert client, using Client Preferences in the File menu. Define how often you want the Data Center Expert server to check for firmware updates available from APC, using Schedule Update Checks in the Updates menu. Configure the settings the Data Center Expert server will use to log on to the web interface at the monitored devices, using the right-click Device Launch Settings option in either the Device View or Map View. Generate and manage graph or table-formatted reports for device sensors, using the Saved Reports view, or the right-click Generate Sensor History Report option in the Device Groups view, Device View, and Map View. Configure the Data Center Expert server to send SNMPv1traps and SNMPv3 informs to defined Network Management System consoles for alarms that occur at the monitored SNMP, Modbus, and NetBotz Appliances, and associated devices, using Network Management System Integration in the Alarm Configuration menu. Configure settings at one or more of the monitored APC SNMP devices, using APC SNMP Device Configuration in the Device menu. Select devices to enable for Modbus support, a separately licensed feature, using the Building Management Settings option in the System menu. Configure settings used to integrate the Data Center Expert server with PowerLogic™ ION Enterprise using the ION Enterprise Settings option in the System menu.

Advanced View Settings   Enable Launch Advanced View, a right-click option for NetBotz Appliances in the Device View and Map View.   You must browse to a local copy of Advanced View.  An attempt to use an earlier version will fail. You can download the latest version here.   Although you can use Advanced View independent of the Data Center Expert server to access NetBotz Appliances on a public network, there is no way to access the Advanced View interface at a NetBotz Appliance on a Data Center Expert server's private LAN except by using Launch Advanced View. This option allows access to the Advanced View interface at any monitored NetBotz Appliance, whether that appliance is on the Data Center Expert server's public or private LAN.   Only a Data Center Expert Administrators, or a user with the Data Center Expert Proxy role assigned, can use the Launch Advanced View option to access the Advanced View interface at a NetBotz Appliance on the private LAN.   In addition, before a Data Center Expert Administrator or Data Center Expert Proxy user can access any private-side device, SOCKS Proxy, a Server Access option for Server Administration Settings in the System menu, must be enabled.   Audio Settings   Select whether your client will play a sound when alerts occur. Play Sound when an Alert Occurs: Select to enable your client to play the sound for the Select Audio File selection. Select Provided Audio File: Select the sound you want your client to play from the drop-down list of files provided for the Data Center Expert client. Select Custom Audio File: Browse to the AIFF, AU, WAV, or MIDI formatted audio file you want your client to play.   Browser Settings   Select the web browser your client will use to connect to the web interface at a monitored device.   Use the Default OS Web Browser: Select to use the operating system default web browser to open a browser window external to the Data Center Expert client (the default). Use an Alternate Web Browser: Select to use an alternate web browser to open a browser window external to the Data Center Expert client. Test Browser: Click to verify that the selected browser can access the APC home page. Use the Internal Web Browser when Launching to Devices: Check to use the client web browser to open a browser in a view inside the Data Center Expert client (the default selection). Use this option, when you specify Device Launch Settings, to automatically log in to the web interface of devices that use basic authentication. See Device Launch Settings.   Client Language Settings   Select the language you want your client to use.   The selected language will be used for all options, displays, status messages, thresholds, and settings, with the exception of messages, such as emails, sent by the server, and identification information sent by monitored devices.   The default setting is Use OS Locale, which selects to use the language associated with your client's location, if that language is supported. Otherwise, English is the default Use OS Locale language. You can select the language the Data Center Expert server uses for its messages in System > Server Administration Settings > Time Settings > Server Locale.     Custom Property Settings   Select whether to show a popup option when a custom property is added, or to automatically add a column to the Device View for a newly created custom property.   The default settings allow a popup option to appear, and columns to be added to the Device View and "View Device Sensors" display for each new custom property key created.   When a custom property key is created using the Manage Custom Property Keys option in the Device menu, or the Add Custom Property option in the right-click menu of the Custom Property Editor, Device View, or Map View, a popup option appears, by default, to select whether to add the new custom property key to the Device View as a column.   You can uncheck the Show popup option when custom property key is added option, check-marked by default, to disable the popup option.   Additionally, a new column can be added to the Device View when each new custom property key is created. You can uncheck the Add a new column to the Device view for each new custom property key created option, checked by default, to prevent new columns from being created for every new custom property key.   To add, modify, or remove custom property keys, you use the Manage Custom Property Keys option in the Device menu.   To show columns for custom property keys in the Device View, you use the Configure Column icon in that view.   Device View Settings   Define the maximum number of devices that can be listed in the Device View at any one time, using the Total Devices Shown setting (500, by default), and select to have devices with active Critical, Error, and Failure alarms highlighted in red, using the Highlight Priority Alarms setting. Note: Only the Device View is affected by the Total Devices Shown and Highlight Priority Alarms settings.   The Total Devices Shown setting does not limit the number of devices the Data Center Expert server can monitor, only how many it can display in the Device View. For example, the server monitors 1000 devices, with 600 devices evenly distributed in six different device groups:   When All Devices is selected, only 500 devices will appear in the Device View. You can use the Search feature to narrow the list down to a specific set of devices. When Unassigned is selected, the 400 devices that are not yet assigned to any device group will be listed in the Device View. When any one of the six other device groups is selected, all the devices in that group will be listed in the Device View.

A menu bar immediately below the console title bar provides seven menus, with options that control or configure features and functions.   Menu Options File Change Server: closes the session, and accesses the "Data Center Expert Logon" display.   Reboot Server: reboots the Data Center Expert server. Note: When a reboot finishes, an e-mail is sent to the Data Center Expert Administrator users that include an e-mail address as part of their user credentials.   Shut Down Server: shuts down the Data Center Expert server.   Client Preferences: accesses settings specific to the Data Center Expert client you use.   Exit: closes the Data Center Expert client. Device Add Devices: accesses the "Device Discovery" wizard used by the Device discovery processes.   Create Virtual Sensor: accesses options to create a virtual sensor used to monitor the average or total value of multiple numeric sensors of the same sensor type.   SNMP Device Communication Settings: accesses options used to configure various functions for how the Data Center Expert server communicates with, and monitors, SNMP devices.   Modbus Device Communication Settings: accesses options used to configure various functions for how the Data Center Expert server communicates with, and monitors, Modbus devices. Note: Modbus support is a separately-licensed feature.   NetBotz Appliance Communication Settings: accesses options used to configure various functions for how the Data Center Expert server communicates with, and monitors, NetBotz Appliances.   NetBotz Appliance Configuration: accesses an Alert Settings option used to define the alert notifications generated by each monitored NetBotz Appliance, as well as options used to configure various functions at the monitored NetBotz Appliances.   APC SNMP Device Configuration: accesses settings used to select an APC SNMP device or saved configuration file, and use it to configure settings at the other APC SNMP Devices monitored by the Data Center Expert server.   Manage Custom Property Keys: accesses settings used to create, modify, or remove user-created property keys for monitored devices.   Surveillance Settings: accesses settings used to configure various functions for the surveillance devices at monitored NetBotz Appliances. Note: Surveillance support is a separately-licensed feature. Alarm Configuration Defines how the Data Center Expert server performs notifications when thresholds and device alarms are triggered for its monitored devices.   Create Thresholds: accesses options used to define the threshold alarms for devices monitored by the Data Center Expert server.   Create Notification Policy: accesses settings used to create a notification policy used by the Data Center Expert server to generate alarm notifications.   Manage Alarm Actions: accesses settings used to create, modify, and delete alarm actions from the Data Center Expert server.   Network Management System Integration: accesses settings used to enable the Data Center Expert server to send SNMPv1/SNMPv3 traps to defined Network Management System consoles for alarms that occur at the monitored SNMP, Modbus, and NetBotz Appliances, and associated devices. Reports Provides options used to generate Sensor History reports and Snapshot reports, and manage the export configurations that are used to export reports on a scheduled basis.   Generate Sensor History Report: accesses the "Report Criteria" display used to generate Sensor History and Custom Sensor History reports.   Snapshot Reports: generates the selected snapshot report for the device groups specified.   Manage Export Scheduling: accesses the display used to schedule when reports will be automatically exported. Updates Provides options used to update the Data Center Expert server and its monitored NetBotz Appliances and SNMP devices.   Apply Firmware Updates: accesses the "Select Device Update" display used to download firmware updates to monitored NetBotz Appliances or SNMP devices.   Apply Server Updates: accesses the "Apply Server Update" display used to update the Data Center Expert server.   Schedule Update Checks: accesses settings used to schedule when the Data Center Expert server will check for available APC device firmware updates. System Server Administration Settings: accesses options used to configure a wide range of Data Center Expert server functions.   Users and Device Group Access: accesses the "Users and Device Group Access" display used to manage the users, the Monitoring and Surveillance access those users have to the device groups, and the authentication servers that provide remote access to the Data Center Expert server.   Building Management Settings: accesses settings used to configure the MODBUS TCP Output Module support that allows a Building Management System to monitor status for the devices managed by the Data Center Expert server. Note: MODBUS TCP Output Module support is a separately-licensed feature. Window Provides a Restore Default Screen Layout: option that restores the selected perspective to its default views and layout, and five categories of options that access views of the same name that are used in the Monitoring, Surveillance, and Alarm Configuration perspectives.   Alarms: Active Alarms and Alarm History Alarm Configuration: Navigation, Notification Policies, Threshold Alarm Configurations, and Device Alarm Configurations Device: Device Groups, Device View, Map View, Virtual Sensors, Saved Discoveries, Custom Properties Editor, Device Configuration Status, and Firmware Update Status. Surveillance: Thumbnails only Help Provides options used to access the help, and information about the application.   EcoStruxure IT Help Center: Provides access to the most up-to-date Data Center Expert documentation online.    Help Contents: Opens the help in a separate window with the top item in the table of contents selected.   Search Help: Opens the search function in the Help view.   Dynamic Help: Opens the Help view with information about the view selected in the Monitoring, Surveillance, Alarm Configuration, or Reports perspective.   About EcoStruxure IT Data Center Expert: Opens the display that provides software version and build numbers and whether FIPS mode is active or inactive on the client and server, the MAC address and serial number of the Data Center Expert server if available, and copyright information.   Click the Copy button to easily capture the version information, and the MAC address and serial number.   A unique serial number is generated for the Data Center Expert virtual appliance at startup. It is displayed in this view. The serial number for a Data Center Expert hardware server appears only on its serial number sticker.   Please have the software version and build numbers, and the Data Center Expert server MAC address and serial number available when contacting APC support.  

You can use Data Center Expert and EcoStruxure IT Gateway in parallel to monitor SNMP and NetBotz devices. You connect only the Gateway to EcoStruxure IT.   EcoStruxure IT Expert requires that you connect a Gateway. You cannot connect to IT Expert using DCE. Note: New connections to EcoStruxure IT from the DCE EcoStruxure IT menu are no longer allowed after November 2020. More...   How to connect to EcoStruxure IT to use DCE and Gateway in parallel   You can use Data Center Expert and EcoStruxure IT in parallel to monitor SNMP and NetBotz devices.  Note: Dual monitoring Modbus devices is not recommended because it may cause some devices to fail. Some Modbus devices do not support polling from monitoring agents.   You will need:   Data Center Expert server monitoring devices EcoStruxure IT Gateway to monitor some or all your SNMP and NetBotz devices in parallel with your DCE server Note: To monitor SNMP and NetBotz devices on the DCE private LAN in the Gateway, the server running the Gateway must have an additional network adapter on the same subnet as the DCE private LAN. EcoStruxure IT app for Android or iPhone   Instructions   Go to https://app.ecostruxureit.com/manage. Click Sign up and create an account for your organization. If you already have an EcoStruxure IT account, log in. Click the link to download and install the Gateway to connect your on-premise devices to the EcoStruxure cloud. System requirements Log in to the Gateway. Go to https://localhost/gateway/index.html  on any computer with network access to the server. Follow the setup wizard to specify device credentials and file transfer settings, and discover the SNMP and NetBotz devices you want to monitor using the Gateway in parallel with DCE. Learn more about installing the EcoStruxure IT Gateway Click Register Gateway and follow the on-screen instructions to connect your Gateway server to EcoStruxure IT.   EcoStruxure IT app   Download the EcoStruxure IT app and log in using the code your received on your phone. The EcoStruxure IT app is available for iOS and Android in these countries.    Get the app in Google Play Store Google_Play_Badge-200x70_360039288413.png   Get the app on iTunes downloadonapp-200x62_360039288413.png