The Trellis™ platform is designed as a complete data center infrastructure management (DCIM) solution.

Emerson Network Power has announced the global availability of the first four software applications in the Trellis™ platform. Working with the previously released Avocent Universal Management Gateway, the Trellis software applications deliver real-time infrastructure optimization that enables up to 70% improved operational efficiency and 25% improved energy efficiency.

These efficiencies can be realized because, for the first time, data center managers have all the management capabilities they need in one solution and one location, eliminating duplicate processes and the need to link together disparate, proprietary systems before a complete picture of IT and facilities devices and performance can be gained.   

Emerson Network Power’s expertise in all aspects of critical infrastructure makes it possible for the Trellis platform to operate intelligently – fully accounting for and building a communications bridge between IT and facilities equipment, processes and operations. Data center managers now have a solution that supports the way they work instead of having to manage around the information gaps between IT and facilities systems. By giving them real-time visibility into the entire data center’s performance, rather than segmented parts, the Trellis platform enables smarter, faster decisions that maximize data center availability, efficiency, and capacity.

In addition, because the intelligence-gathering appliance and software applications share the underlying platform, the applications build on one another, allowing capabilities to be added rapidly to adapt to change and prepare for the future. This means investment in the Trellis platform will go farther than with any other DCIM solution currently available, and total cost of ownership will be lower.

Several Emerson Network Power customers, including Infosys, have tested the Trellis platform. “Infosys is committed to building environmentally sustainable solutions for our clients’ enterprises,” said Ankush Patel, Infosys vice president of sustainability. “With our deep experience in sustainability and data centers, we see the need for systems that excel in both energy efficiency and performance. The Emerson Network Power Trellis platform is installed in our Bangalore data center as part of the Trellis Early Adopters Program. It shows great promise in being able to continuously monitor critical systems and predict potential issues in a cost- and energy- efficient manner.”

Regarding functionality, “The Trellis platform is going to be a comprehensive and powerful system,” said Andy Lawrence, research vice president for Datacenter Technology at 451 Research. “The system design and architecture, all based on real-time data, are unlike anything on the market today, and should be both flexible and highly scalable.”

“One of the more impressive features of the Trellis platform is that it has been designed and engineered with ease of use and simplicity in mind – the designers have paid a lot of attention to how datacenter personnel work. The information required to manage the data center is presented in context of the operation, which should be intuitive and increase productivity,” added Lawrence.

Trellis software applications now available are:

• Trellis Inventory Manager – provides data center management with the foundation for an accurate and complete model of its data centers globally, the knowledge of where devices and equipment are located, the relationship between these components, and what resources are being used by data center equipment.
• Trellis Site Manager – reports the health of the infrastructure including environmental conditions to data center personnel, enabling them to recognize and resolve conditions that impact infrastructure availability and system performance.
• Trellis Change Planner – works together with Trellis Inventory Manager to ensure that accurate and consistent information is utilized. Assures that installs, moves and decommissions of equipment are planned, tracked and communicated to team members in a consistent manner. This minimizes the impact of changes on the quality of services delivered and streamlines operations.
• Trellis Energy Insight – calculates total data center energy consumption, electrical costs and power usage effectiveness (PUE)/data center infrastructure efficiency (DCiE) value. Having this information at their fingertips allows data center managers to understand how infrastructure changes impact energy efficiency and, subsequently, the bottom line.

This first release includes capabilities in four of the core components in the 451 Group’s DCIM Capability definition, providing data center operators with a strong DCIM foundation.

“TheTrellis platform ends compartmental decision-making so data center professionals can optimize every aspect of their critical infrastructure operations,” said Steve Hassell, president of the Avocent business of Emerson Network Power. “The result is a new level of data center performance that makes it possible to achieve the high availability, operational efficiency and the agility to meet business demands.”