This morning I came across a very helpful article about things to consider before choosing a data center monitoring solution.  Because there are so many different components to consider, it can be really complicated to prioritize and negotiate how to monitor the physical aspects of a data center.

Considerations include:

-First of all, figure out exactly what needs to be monitored and have that list ready before talking to vendors.

-Think of the cost. While monitoring is clearly going to be expensive, downtime can be absolutely catastrophic.  Also, you don't have to choose the priciest monitoring solution.

-Don't just use alarms.  Without a solution that provides a visual of your data center, problems are harder to pinpoint.

photo by James Cridland under flickr creative commons license

-Look for architecture which will expand with you.  It's important not to end up limited by your space, or limited by a monitoring solution which won't be successful in multiple data centers.

-Try to choose a monitoring solution which is not specific to devices from only one manufacturer - it should be able to incorporate all your devices.

-Look into whether you need a hardware solution or a software solution.

-Don't waste time figuring out alarms by yourself - make sure your solution provides intelligent alarm processing.

-You may run into trouble with monitoring solutions if you have devices using different protocols.  Watch out for this.

-See if you can do a trial installation before investing in whatever monitoring solution you are thinking of choosing.

For more information, see the full article from Data Center Journal here.

-Elizabeth English