Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson (NYSE: EMR) and the global leader in enabling Business-Critical Continuity™, has ntroduced Avocent Data Center Planner, a visual infrastructure planning and management software solution within Emerson Network Power’s strategic framework for data center optimization.

An upgrade to the former Avocent Mergepoint Infrastructure Explorer, Avocent Data Center Planner provides data center management with accurate and complete information about where devices and equipment are located, their current capacities and projected growth. New and enhanced features include the simplified interfaces and templates that enable efficient planning and execution of data center changes. This industry leading capability is unmatched in the market and improves operational metrics across the organization.

“In order to effectively manage the rapidly changing and complex data center environment, IT managers must take a holistic approach”, explained Blake Carlson, vice president of product management of the Avocent products and services business of Emerson Network Power. “Avocent Data Center Planner gives data center managers a system of record for the physical equipment in the data center (location, space, rack power, connectivity and network). This core capability is the basis for all other processes and functions within the solution and enables the efficient use resources and supports optimization of the data center infrastructure.”

Under constant pressure to control costs while maintaining efficiency and availability, Emerson Network Power’s latest data center infrastructure management solution enables IT users to improve energy efficiency through the visualization of data center growth. The unique rack timeline capabilities offer insight into exactly when and how rack capacity will be impacted by changes over time. Data center managers can know “at a glance” the current and future capacities within a rack.

Extending the global reach and breadth of Emerson Network Power’s data center infrastructure management solutions, Avocent Data Center Planner offers localization support for Japanese, Chinese, German, Russian and French.

Additional Avocent Data Center Planner benefits include:

• Planning: Users will benefit from a drag-and-drop interface, the ability to view multiple plans from a single screen and visibility into projects across departments, resulting in increased organization and the ability to view the impact of changes before they occur.
• Visualization: The customizable, user-friendly interface updates graphics as equipment is installed, decommissioned or moved within the infrastructure. The modeling capability also includes a rich device symbol library that includes all pertinent information from the manufacturer.
• Inventory: On-demand access to asset information enables the user to easily identify the assets that are in production and those that are on the move, while the single repository frees up resources and improves management efficiency by eliminating the need to conduct labor-intensive audits and update multiple spreadsheets.