ITA: Capacity management

EcoStruxureIT · ‎2019-10-02

When talking about data center capacity, we talk about power, space or cooling capacity.

You may experience one or more of these typical power, space or cooling capacity issues in your data center (see screenshot).

When you have modelled the data center in IT Advisor, use the add-on capacity management module to design to solve these issues.

IT Advisor: Capacity makes daily tasks significantly easier for you by applying advanced calculations on your design. The asset provisioning functionality will guide you to obtain the optimum data center design, such as suggesting the best location for your next equipment because of the right amount of free space, cooling, power, and redundancy available.

Note: Using the Capacity module requires a preconfigured and valid power path, including an upstream connection to one of these power sources:

UPS
Input breaker on a PDU/Power Panel (assuming it is connected to the mains supply)

ITA_3_capacity_problems_1_360036714733.png

How does ITA know what the available capacity is?

The system calculates how much capacity is used to guide you on how much capacity is available. This happens automatically and you don't need to set anything up for the system to provide you with guidance, other than modelling your power equipment in the system, including correct breaker values, and a valid power path.

In addition to the power information available in each rack (physical breaker limits), the system relies on the enabled power capacity strategy for calculating estimated load. Again, you don't need to set anything up, and in most cases, you can go with the default settings. However, an option to change strategy is available if you want to explore other options.

Power information on equipment in the racks

The available capacity is defined by the physical breaker limits on the rack PDUs and receptacles in the racks, and upstream limitations (UPS capacity), or you can choose to introduce additional design limit configurations if you like to plan capacity based on custom predefined values on racks and rack PDUs.

Breaker size (derated capacity of the breakers in the power path)
UPS capacity (upstream limitation)
Design limits (on racks and rack PDUs)

Capacity strategies

See Understanding estimated load and how it is calculated

Where are the calculations used?

The system calculates power consumption for estimated load and reserves capacity for advanced setups, including failover load, PSU uncertainty, and distribution redundancy.

The tooltips provide an easy overview of power values relevant to your specific setup, showing the numbers and a graph (including phase balancing bars).

Examples of capacity calculations in various redundancy setups

These simple examples illustrate how the capacity is calculated in various redundancy setups.

Tooltip with capacity details

ITA_tooltip_capacity_details_360036714733.png

Capacity Management

Finding the best location for a new server

ITA: Capacity management

Related Forums

EcoStruxure IT forum

APC UPS Data Center & Enterprise Solutions Forum