Emerson Updates Avocent Capacity Planner

Emerson Network Power today introduced the Avocent Data Center Planner, an updated version of Avocent's software for infrastructure planning and management, previously known as the former Avocent Mergepoint Infrastructure Explorer. The Planner provides information about the location of devices and equipment within a data center, along with current capacity and growth trends.

With more and more companies running out of space, power or cooling, capacity forecasting is now a front-of-mind issue for data center managers and CIOs - and as a result, a growing focus for data center vendors seeking to help customers manage their equipment. This niche has been a focus of several Emerson acquisitions, including its deals for Aperture in 2008 and Avocent last year. Emerson (EMR) combined those units earlier this year.

New features for the Avocent software include simplified interfaces and templates, updated tools to visualize data growth and its impact on capacity, and localization support for Japanese, Chinese, German, Russian and French.

"In order to effectively manage the rapidly changing and complex data center environment, IT managers must take a holistic approach," said 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. 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."