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Ralph’s Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) features provide complete visibility into your physical infrastructure with graphical rack layouts, server room visualization, and detailed asset tracking.

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Overview

The DCIM module helps you:
  • Visualize data center layouts with interactive floor plans
  • Manage racks with front/back views and U-level positioning
  • Track connections, power, and network infrastructure
  • Plan capacity and optimize space utilization
  • Document physical infrastructure relationships

DC Visualization

Interactive floor plans with drag-and-drop rack placement and orientation controls

Rack Inspector

Detailed front and back rack views showing exact asset positioning

Server Rooms

Organize racks into server rooms with customizable grid layouts

Accessories

Track patch panels, PDUs, brushes, and other rack-mounted accessories

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Data Center Hierarchy

Ralph organizes physical infrastructure in a clear hierarchy: 
Data Center
└── Server Room
    └── Rack
        ├── Assets (positioned at U-levels)
        └── Accessories

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Data Centers

Top-level containers representing physical facilities:
  • Define grid size (columns and rows)
  • Visualize all server rooms and racks
  • Plan capacity and growth

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Server Rooms

Logical divisions within data centers:
  • Group related racks together
  • Track room-level infrastructure
  • Organize by function or network zones

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Racks

Physical rack units with detailed tracking:
  • Standard 42U or custom heights
  • Position on DC floor plan
  • Orientation (front-facing direction)
  • Visual status indicators

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DC Visualization

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Interactive Floor Plan

The DC visualization provides a bird’s-eye view of your infrastructure: View Mode
  • See all racks positioned on the floor
  • Color-coded status indicators
  • Click racks to open the inspector
  • Navigate between server rooms
Edit Mode
  • Drag racks to new positions
  • Rotate racks using the rotate button
  • Rename racks with the pencil icon
  • Add new racks with the plus cursor
  • Adjust grid size for expansion
Use Edit mode to quickly add multiple racks at once. Click on empty grid spaces to create racks, then configure each one individually.

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Rack Inspector

Click any rack to open the detailed inspector view:
  • Front View - See all front-mounted equipment
  • Back View - See all rear-mounted equipment
  • U-Level Display - Exact positioning from bottom to top
  • Asset Details - Click assets to edit or view details
  • Free Space - Identify available positions
The Rack Inspector shows both sides simultaneously, making it easy to plan cable management and identify rear-mounted equipment like PDUs.

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Asset Positioning

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U-Level Placement

Position assets precisely within racks:
  • Position - U-level from bottom (1-42)
  • Height - Number of U-levels the asset occupies
  • Orientation - Front, back, left, or right mounting
  • Depth - Full-depth or half-depth equipment
For rack-mounted accessories like PDUs or brushes that don’t occupy a full U, set the position to 0. This displays them separately without consuming rack space.

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Slots for Blade Systems

Blade chassis can contain multiple blade servers:
  • Chassis - Positioned at a specific U-level
  • Blades - Occupy numbered slots within the chassis
  • Slot Format - Numbers 1-16 with optional A/B suffix
  • Visualization - Blades shown within parent chassis
Define the number of slots in the Model settings using “layout of front/back size” fields.

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Rack Accessories

Track non-asset items mounted in racks:
  • Patch Panels - Fiber Channel or UTP
  • PDUs - Power distribution units
  • Brushes - Cable management
  • Organizers - Cable organizers
  • Power Sockets - Additional outlets
Accessories can be positioned at specific U-levels or marked as position 0 for general rack items.

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Network Configuration

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IP Address Management

Integrate physical assets with network infrastructure:
  • Assign IP addresses to data center assets
  • Link to network environments (production, management, etc.)
  • Track DNS records and hostnames
  • DHCP configuration integration

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Management Interfaces

Track out-of-band management:
  • Management IP - iLO, iDRAC, IPMI addresses
  • Management Username - Access credentials
  • KVM Switch - Physical console connections
  • Connection Type - SSH, HTTPS, VNC

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Configuration Management

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Configuration Path

Ralph integrates with configuration management tools like Puppet and Ansible:
  1. Define Configuration Modules - Hierarchical configuration groupings
  2. Create Configuration Classes - Specific configurations or playbooks
  3. Assign to Assets - Link configurations via the configuration_path field
  4. API Integration - Fetch configuration_path from Ralph API
  5. Apply Configs - Use in your CM tool automation
Configuration modules map directly to Puppet modules or Ansible playbooks. Use custom fields marked as “configuration variables” to pass parameters to your automation.
Example: Set configuration_path to ralph/www for a web server, then fetch variables via API: 
{
  "configuration_path": "ralph/www",
  "configuration_variables": {
    "monitoring": "zabbix",
    "backup_enabled": true
  }
}
See DCIM Configuration for detailed setup.

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Connections

Document physical and logical connections:
  • Ethernet Connections - Network cables between assets
  • Fiber Connections - Fiber optic links
  • Power Connections - PDU to asset power mapping
  • Connection Types - Document cable categories and speeds

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Capacity Planning

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Space Management

  • View available U-levels in each rack
  • Identify racks nearing capacity
  • Plan equipment moves and consolidation
  • Optimize rack space utilization

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Power Tracking

  • Record power consumption per asset
  • Calculate total rack power draw
  • Monitor PDU capacity
  • Plan power infrastructure upgrades

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Asset Details

Data center assets include all standard asset properties plus:
  • Position & Slot - Physical location in rack
  • Parent - Blade chassis or other parent device
  • Management IP - Out-of-band management interface
  • Firmware Version - BIOS/firmware tracking
  • Connections - Network and power links
  • Configuration Path - CM tool integration

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Best Practices

Start with Structure: Set up your Data Centers, Server Rooms, and Racks first. Then populate with assets. This makes visualization and reporting much more useful.
Use Consistent Naming: Adopt naming conventions for racks (e.g., DC1-R01, DC1-R02) to make them easy to locate and reference.
Document Connections: Record network and power connections as you deploy equipment. This documentation is invaluable during troubleshooting and maintenance.
Keep rack orientation consistent within each server room. This makes the DC visualization more intuitive and easier to navigate.

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Integration with Other Modules

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Assets

Data center assets are a specialized type of asset with location properties. All asset management features apply.

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Licenses

Assign software licenses to data center assets for compliance tracking.

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Supports

Link vendor support contracts to specific hardware for SLA management.

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Workflows

Use transitions to automate deployment, decommissioning, and rack changes.

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Reports

Generate capacity reports, power consumption summaries, and asset inventories by location.

Next Steps

Explore asset lifecycle automation with Workflows & Transitions

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