On July 19, 2024, a major IT disaster struck when a CrowdStrike update caused widespread chaos. CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm, inadvertently pushed a faulty “sensor configuration update” for its Falcon Sensor software. This update caused 8.5 million Windows devices to crash. The impact was severe, affecting airlines, banking systems, and healthcare networks, and the recovery process was laborious, requiring manual intervention for impacted devices.

Network closets, often referred to as IDF closets or telecommunications closets, are small yet vital spaces that house important networking equipment, acting as the hubs that connect various parts of an organization's IT infrastructure. Despite their significance, network closets are often overlooked and undermanaged. Poorly managed network closets can result in network downtime, reduced efficiency, and increased maintenance costs.

Leveraging data to enable more informed data center power management is critical for maintaining uptime, increasing energy efficiency, increasing power capacity utilization, and reducing costs. Understanding which power metrics to monitor is the first step towards smarter data center operations.