Working with the room layout

The main graphical element of IT Advisor is the room layout in the center of the screen by default. It shows the floor layout of the room and, if enabled, the rack layout of the selected racks in the floor. You can open multiple locations and rooms in the floor or rack layout at the same time, allowing you to compare or drag equipment between them. Use File > Export > Layout as image to export an image of the floor or rack layout with the selected layout.   102239243_360038496813.png Floor Layout Use the floor layout to manage a room's floor equipment (view in different power, cooling, network, etc. overlays, and add, move, delete, or edit equipment properties). Use the room design toolbar zoom icons to control the zoom level or click the zoom icon in the top left corner of a rack: 102239130_360037995374.png If you select (highlight) a rack in the floor layout with the rack layout enabled, the rack will also be selected (highlighted) in the rack layout. If you double-click, the same thing happens and the properties for the selected rack shows. Clicking the pin icon in the floor layout "pins" the rack in the rack layout: 102239144_360038496813.png The icon appears in the top right corner when you move the cursor to a rack. Pinning a rack means the rack is frozen in the rack layout and continues to show there even when you select other racks in the floor layout. Clicking the pin icon again removes the "pin" and unfreezes the rack in the rack layout. Rack Layout Use the rack layout to manage the rack-mountable equipment of any room except store rooms (view, add, move, delete, or edit equipment properties). You can toggle the display of the rack layout using this icon in the room design toolbar: 102239124_360037995374.png You can view the racks from the front or rear. The flip icon toggles and flips the layout: 102239134_360038496813.png Overlays The selected layout overlay defines what information is shown on top of equipment in the layout. You can switch to see the layout with another overlay by selecting another tab at the bottom of the floor layout pane. In Window>Show Overlays, you can predefine overlays between which to switch. When you hover over equipment in the layout, tool tips display information relevant to the selected overlay. In Tools>Preferences>General>Tool Tips, you can predefine some of the tool tip information to show. Note Disable any irrelevant information to avoid big tool tips blocking your view of equipment while working in the layout. You must have a valid license for the add-on modules to see all overlays in your system.

Measured load The measured peak power reported by the devices through an external system integration during a period of 30 days (configurable). When using the power tool tip on servers, the measured data shown (if any) will be coming from the Data Center: IT Optimize and is not part of the measured load shown at rack level. The measured data at that level will be coming from associated rack PDUs discovered by Data Center Expert. Estimated load The load of all equipment in the rack even if the equipment has not been connected to a rack PDU (often the manufacturer's nameplate value), unless the equipment has been marked as not being connected (Power properties setting, Exclude rack's load from power calculations). If a server is connected to 2 UPS units, the estimated load on each UPS is 1/2 the total estimated load, and the remaining 1/2 is shown as failover load. In a typical scenario, it is expected that each server loads the 2 UPS units evenly, but in case one of them is turned off, the other one will have to carry the full load and the load "fails over" to that UPS. See also potential failover Load. Tip If the load seems very high, check that the estimated load on each server is realistic. If the load still seems very high, you can improve this by supplying more information, such as how the server is connected to the rack PDUs, or by supplying measured (peak) power data for all rack PDUs in the rack. If the load is red, it exceeds the supported load. See here for troubleshooting tips. Potential failover load The additional load in case the other power feed is turned off. For example, if the A-Feed UPS was turned off, then the B-Feed UPS has to carry the full load, and so should the Rack PDU breakers, etc. If the load is red, it exceeds the supported load. See here for troubleshooting tips. Redundancy The rack's redundancy level. Definition: The provision of multiple interchangeable components to perform a single function in order to cope with failures and errors, e.g. the setup of more power supplies to reduce the risk of failure of the entire system in case one of them fails. For information about configuring power connections, see here. N: No redundancy. N+1: One UPS with one redundant power module (also referred to as internal redundancy in the UPS Power properties page). If the UPS fails, there is no redundant UPS serving as backup, but if one of the power modules inside the UPS fails, the redundant module ensures that the UPS still has full capacity. In other words, the spare power is at least equal to the capacity of one system module. 2N: Two UPS where one serves as backup for the other in case one of them fails. One UPS is referred to as A feed and the other as B feed. 2N+1: This is a combination of N+1 and 2N for combined external and internal redundancy, both one redundant UPS and one redundant power module inside both UPS. DN: This is a combination of D (distribution redundancy) and N (above). For this type of redundancy, the power distribution is redundant but there is no redundancy on the UPS level. Therefore, you are still vulnerable to failure on the power supply. DN+1: This is a combination of D (distribution redundancy) and N+1 (above). For this type of redundancy, the power distribution is redundant and there is internal redundancy on the UPS level (one UPS with one redundant power module). Largest possible server The maximum load that a potential new server is allowed to add to the rack (without exceeding the allowed average power draw per phase). 102237347_360037995734.png

Cooler supply temperature Cooler supply temperature is a function of cooler capacity and its control algorithm; however, it can be written generally as a function of cooler return temperature and cooler airflow rate. The tool tip appears in the Cooling view when hovering over a cooling unit in the layout. Cooler return temperature Cooler return temperature is the result of the mixing of streams which originate at rack exhausts or from the ambient. The tool tip appears in the Cooling view when hovering over a cooling unit in the layout. Rack inlet temperature Rack inlet temperature is the result of the mixing of streams which originate at each cooler source or from the ambient. The tool tip appears in the Cooling view when hovering over a rack in the layout.

The selected overlay defines what information is shown on top of the layout. You can switch to see the room layout in another overlay by selecting another overlay tab at the bottom of the room layout pane. In Window>Show Overlays, you can define which overlay tabs to enable. Association Map Color highlights are used in the floor and rack layouts to indicate components most likely representing the selected device in IT Advisor (IT Advisor: Capacity feature). This overlay is available when you are working with Planning>Device Association and color highlights appear when you select a device in Unassociated Devices if there are one or more potential matches for the device in IT Advisor. Dark Green: Perfect match. The identifying properties of the unassociated device match those of the proposed matching component in the layout. The software expects the match to be unique in the sense that an external item should match with only one piece of equipment in IT Advisor. When highlighting perfect matches, the software compares these properties: ITO asset and Data Center Expert device: IP to IT Advisor component: Port configuration or any custom property ITO asset and Data Center Expert device: Serial number to IT Advisor component: Any custom property Any external system device: Name to IT Advisor component: Label Light Green: Highly likely match. Some properties of the unassociated device match those of the proposed matching component in the layout. The software detects multiple candidates and cannot tell which is the best. However, you can use these highlights to narrow down the components and their location before doing a manual association. When highlighting highly likely matches, the software compares these properties: ITO asset and Data Center Expert device: Model to IT Advisor component: Model ITO asset: Genome to IT Advisor component: Genome Yellow: Likely match. The specified manufacturer of the unassociated ITO device (property) matches that of the proposed matching component in the layout. The software detects multiple candidates and cannot tell which is the best. However, even if there may be many servers of a specific make, you can use these highlights to narrow down the components and their location before doing a manual association. When highlighting likely matches, the software compares these properties: ITO asset: Manufacturer to IT Advisor component: Manufacturer Cooling The Cooling overlay gives you a good indication of the effectiveness of the active cooling configuration as well as a qualified estimation of the effect of changes in supply temperature, airflow, and number of cooling units and room-based cooling parameters. Equipment is colored to describe cooling as green: sufficient; yellow: partial; red: insufficient. The tooltip shows you important cooling indicators, such as a cooling unit's capacity (load in kW) and estimated return temperature. Floor Plenum This overlay of the data center floor layout shows plenum airflow velocities and perforated tile airflow rates. The tile airflow rate is indicated by tile color and is also shown in the pop-up box when the cursor is placed over a tile. Floor Plenum Pressure This overlay of the data center floor layout shows a color-coded overview of the pressure distribution for the type of data center layout that includes a raised floor environment, perforated tiles, and downflow CRACs. IT Optimize This overlay shows power utilization of the servers in a rack. Racks are colored to describe the utilization as: green: max amount of servers are utilized; yellow: max amount of servers could be consolidated; red: max amount of servers could be retired. The tooltip includes a graphical overview of the server utilization in a selected rack. (Data Center: IT Optimize feature) Network This overlay shows network capacity data for racks with network equipment, including total number of ports and remaining ports. Colors indicate the amount of ports in use: red: all; yellow: almost all. Note   The amount of ports shown in this overlay may not be the same as you see in the capacity overview shown in the global map overview. Whereas the floor layout Network overlay shows the amount of ports for racks with network equipment including patch panels, the global capacity overview shows network information represented as a percentage of the available network ports utilized by networking equipment, not including patch panels, in the location or room. Physical The physical capacity of racks and their contents is shown, such as available U space. The tooltip shows U and W bars on the racks to indicate the remaining U-space and weight capacity. The weight capacity bar shows how much the equipment placed in the rack layout weighs compared to the carrying capability of the floor or the rack depending on which is the highest. The bar indicators are divided into 3 sections 0-55% green, 56-85% yellow, 86-100% red. Note   The floor weight capability is measured in kg/m² or lb/sq.ft. The weight of the equipment is converted into the same unit to identify how much it would weigh per m² or lb/sq.ft, and the percentage of used weight capacity is shown. If alarms occur on associated equipment, alarm icons help you identify precisely where in the layout the alarms occur, for example on a specific UPS in the layout and what the severity of the alarm is. Power Power capacity data is provided on top of power consuming components that identifies in detail how much power the component is using. Color is used to identify the power connections between equipment. If the connections span different rooms, the item that is supplied with power from an item in another room will be marked with an icon to indicate the distance (white arrow on a blue background). The tooltip shows E and M bars on the UPS units to indicate the estimated and measured loads. The M bar only occurs when a device from an external system has been associated with the component in IT Advisor. Provisioning Map Color highlights are used in the racks to indicate what position is best suited for the selected equipment (IT Advisor: Capacity feature). This overlay is available when you are working with Planning>Asset Provisioning and the color highlights appear when you click Add to Best Rack. Green: Optimum location for the equipment Yellow: Not optimum but possible location (may result in stranded capacity) Red: Location violating your setup (may result in power overload) Co-lo The co-lo overlay shows information on space and rack count. See more here. Cooling Optimize This overlay shows the thermal influence of an individual cooling unit over the facility, as well as its influence on individual sensors. Go to the Cooling Optimize tab and right click a cooling unit in the layout. Select Show Influence to see the influence map. You can adjust the Influence Scale to get a higher level of detail and a better view of the influence of the cooling units. Go to Tools > Preferences > Cooling Optimize. The rack tool tip shows you the rack temperature on a scale of the high/low limit temperature set points. The CRAC tool tip tells you if the unit is controlled manually or automatically and if the unit is on/off. The small icon 102237512_360038496293.png on the CRAC indicates that the CRAC is controlled automatically. If the icon is blue, it is on, and if it is black, it is off.

Default Tools Description 102239130_360037995374.png Zooms in (Ctrl+). 102239170_360037995374.png Zooms out (Ctrl-). 102239157_360037995374.png Zooms to show full layout (Ctrl+Home). 102239124_360037995374.png Toggles rack layout to show or hide the rack layout next to the floor layout. 102237737_360037995374.png Exports layout as image file. 102237331_360037995374.png Toggles room design mode to show or hide the room design icons. 102239191_360037995374.png Enables default pointer cursor. 102237739_360037995374.png Enables marquee select cursor to multi-select by dragging a box around a selection. 102237744_360037995374.png Enables ruler cursor to drag a line to show a distance, for example to other equipment or a wall. Room Design Tools Description 102237741_360037995374.png Enables resize cursor to resize room elements, such as rows, blocks, gaps, containment systems and walls. 102237311_360037995374.png Enables the add corner cursor to add corner dots for creating new walls. To create a new wall, subsequently use the resize cursor to drag the new piece of wall between the dots into position. 102237309_360037995374.png Enables the pan tile cursor to change the starting point of the tile layout. 102237511_360037995374.png Enables the draw wall tool to create walls and split cages. Press and hold Shift to draw consecutive wall segments. 102237515_360037995374.png Enables the draw rectangular shape tool. Double-click a shape to create a cage. 102237306_360037995374.png Generates a row layout with the settings selected in the wizard. 102237434_360037995374.png Resets to default layout in the Power Path Layout. 102237431_360037995374.png Paint items that are connected to equipment in other rooms as solid in the Power Path Layout. Rack Design Tools Description 102237434_360037995374.png Enables the show network tool to show network connections in the rack view. 102237431_360037995374.png Enables the hide network tool to hide network connections in the rack view. 102237458_360037995374.png Enables the connection tool to create network connections by clicking the source and then the destination of the network connection.

If there is an issue with your power configuration, the system warns you by highlighting the problems in the tool tip. In this example, there is an issue with the potential failover load. There might be a problem even if there seems to still be power available. Follow the below instructions to troubleshoot. 102237237_360038496173.png To troubleshoot, enable the advanced power tool tip and see details about the phases and feeds. Select Tools>Preferences to access the Preferences dialog box. Select Advanced Power. Now, hover over the rack again and inspect the tool tip. The tool tip reveals why the configuration does not provide enough power in case of a failover. This is a 3 phase configuration and phase L1 on the A-Feed UPS would be overloaded in case of a failover. This causes an issue regardless of the available power on the other phases. If the estimated load would also be highlighted in red, there would be a similar issue with this value and the solution would be the same: to reconfigure the phase configuration. 102237345_360038496173.png

You can generate an inventory report that lists the contents of the selected item or items in the application. In addition to being available from Analytics > Reports, it can be generated for individual components and racks in Operations > Data Center by right-clicking a component or rack in the layout, and selecting Asset Inventory. The generated report displays in the Report View. You can now use the Report View toolbar to navigate the report pages on the screen (arrow icons), or to print or export the report to a file in any of the available formats (Export icon, down arrow for selection of format). 102239188_360038495913.png

You can export the layout to a file. Select File> Export> Layout as image to access the Export dialog or click this icon in the layout toolbar 102239182_360037994974.png. Select which room or rooms to export and which layout overlay to export. Select to omit cage, row, and customer specific data (suitable for co-lo environments). Select the required image file format and browse to identify the destination where you want the file to be saved, and click OK to execute the export and exit the dialog.