Emerson Makes DCIM Integration Easier With RESTful APIs

Emerson Network Power has made it easier to integrate its data center infrastructure management software suite Trellis with other applications by adding RESTful APIs (application programming interfaces). REST APIs are popular with developers who build web services because they don’t consume a lot of resources.

Using the APIs, the suite, called Trellis, can be integrated with things like IT management and accounting software, or mobile platforms. They can also be used to customize workflows that include DCIM.

Integration with as many different systems used by data center operators as possible is crucial to using DCIM software effectively, but not all DCIM suppliers provide RESTful APIs for their tools.

One traditional approach among vendors has been to simply partner with one another and integrate specific solutions in specific ways. While it provides the assurance that comes from knowing that the vendors behind the products have integrated them and tested the integration, it does not leave much room for customization by the user’s own developers.

Schneider Electric, Emerson’s biggest competitor in the space, has only recently started to transition web services for its StruxureWare Data Center Operation software to a RESTful API from the more heavy-weight alternative called SOAP. Another major player, iTRACS (owned by CommScope) has devised an Open Exchange Framework for piping data between its DCIM software and other systems instead of using a common API.

Raritan, Geist, and Device42 are examples of DCIM vendors that do provide RESTful APIs.

“The value of DCIM depends on its ability to aggregate large amounts of real-time data from all areas of the data center,” Jennifer Koppy, research director at IDC, said in a statement. “API’s that enable the interoperation of functions between many different sources of data and management solutions are essential to a successful DCIM implementation.”

Emerson has made other enhancements to Trellis as well. In the change-planning area of functionality, users can now see their data center capacity at different points in time, which can help them understand the rate at which their resource utilization grows and make more informed capacity planning decisions.

Finally, the company has added more canned reports, including reports for connections, status, and power consumption.

Correction: A previous version of the article erroneously stated that Geist did not provide a RESTful API for its DCIM software. It does, an the article has been corrected accordingly. Data Center Knowledge regrets the error.