Data Center Management

Definition

Data center management is the management subactivity consisting of the cohesive collection of all tasks that are primarily performed to administer or lead one or more related data centers in order to fulfill their mission and to achieve their objectives.

Goals

The typical goals of the data center management subactivity are to ensure that the:

• Stakeholder’s relevant needs and expectations are met or exceeded.
• Mission and objectives of the data center(s) are met.

Objectives

The typical objectives of the data center management subactivity are to ensure that its:

• Stages, producers, work units, and work products are properly planned.
• Scope is properly managed.
• Schedule is properly managed.
• Resources, both human and physical, are properly managed (e.g., adequately staffed with trained personnel).
• Costs are properly managed.
• Communication is properly managed (e.g., the data center’s status is reported to its stakeholders).
• Relationships between organizations are properly managed.
• Work products are properly delivered.

Examples

Typical examples of the data center management subactivity include:

• Management of a single data center.
• Management of a set of related data centers.

Preconditions

The data center management subactivity typically may begin when the following conditions hold:

• At least one data center has been implemented.
• The data center management team is:
  • Initially staffed.
  • Adequately trained in data center management.

Completion Criteria

The data center management subactivity is typically complete when the following conditions hold:

• The data center has been retired.

Tasks

The data center management subactivity typically consists of the following teams performing the following tasks in an iterative, incremental, parallel, and time-boxed manner:

• Data Center Management Team, which performs:
  • Communications Management
  • Cost Management
  • Delivery Management
  • Management Planning
  • Personnel Management
  • Relationship Management
  • Resource Management
  • Schedule Management
  • Scope Management
• Metrics Team, which performs aspects of:
  • Schedule Management (productivity and size estimation, time and effort estimation)
  • Communications Management (metrics communication)

Environments

The data center management subactivity is typically performed using the following environment(s) and associated tools:

• Management Environment:
  • Management Tools
  • Documentation Tools
  • Configuration Management Tools

Work Products

The data center management subactivity typically results in the production of all or part of the following work products in the management work product set:

• Data Center Contract
• Data Center Statement of Work
• Data Center Management Plan
• Data Center Documentation Plan
• Data Center Work Breakdown Structure
• Data Center Organization Chart
• Data Center Job Descriptions
• Data Center Team Schedule
• Data Center Management Team Schedule
• Data Center Budget
• Data Center Status Report

Phases

The data center management subactivity tasks are typically performed during the following phases:

Guidelines

• The data center management subactivity is documented using the typical configuration for large data centers. It is intended to be configured (i.e., instantiated, extended, and tailored) to meet the needs of specific data centers.
• The preconditions of this activity should be the union of the preconditions of its constituent tasks.
• The completion criteria for this activity should be the union of the postconditions of its constituent tasks.