Sunbird DCIM Case Study: Transforming Multi-Data Center Operations at a Leading U.S. Research University

Transforming Multi-Data Center Operations with Sunbird DCIM

Problem: Scaling Data Centers for the AI Era

As artificial intelligence research surged, this U.S. research university faced an unprecedented demand for compute capacity. With five to six data centers housing over 360 cabinets, the facilities were nearing their physical and power limits.

Key challenges included:

• High-density requirements for AI workloads, with cabinets reaching 50–70 kW.

• Limited visibility into assets, power consumption, and thermal conditions.

• Manual reporting processes that slowed executive decision-making.

• Fragmented collaboration between IT leadership, operations staff, and research teams.

• Grant accountability, requiring detailed reporting to justify multi-million-dollar infrastructure investments.

The university needed a solution that could provide real-time, holistic visibility across its infrastructure while supporting future high-density deployments.

Solution: Sunbird DCIM as a Digital Twin

The university adopted Sunbird’s DCIM platform to consolidate management of assets, power, environment, and capacity planning.

Core components of the solution included:

• 3D thermal mapping for proactive identification of hot spots and overcooling.

• Digital twin visualization of racks and equipment for real-time decision-making.

• Automated management reporting through Sunbird’s dcTrack module.

• Integrations with VMware, Microsoft Teams, LDAP/AD, Grouper, and ServiceNow to centralize authentication, ticketing, and system alerts.

• Door lock integrations (CPI, Server Technology) for secure cabinet access.

The platform was scaled to serve as the “single pane of glass” for leadership, data center operations, and researchers alike.

Methodology: Integrating Technology and Processes

Implementation followed a structured methodology:

1. Assessment and Modeling

   • Existing data centers were mapped into Sunbird, providing a visual inventory of cabinets and assets.

   • Sensors for temperature and power were integrated to feed live data into thermal maps and dashboards.

2. High-Density Simulation

   • The team used Sunbird’s modeling tools to evaluate AI-era cabinet densities (50–70 kW).

   • Simulations allowed teams to test placement strategies for heavy equipment, ensuring safe deployment within existing infrastructure.

3. Process Automation

   • Reporting processes were automated, replacing spreadsheets with real-time dashboards.

   • ServiceNow integration enabled automated ticket creation and escalation.

   • Microsoft Teams served as the operational heartbeat, displaying alarms and events for collaboration.

4. Stakeholder Enablement

   • Access to Sunbird was expanded beyond IT ops to include researchers and grant administrators.

   • Leadership dashboards gave executives direct visibility into ROI and resource utilization.

Results: Multi-Million-Dollar ROI and Sustainable Growth

The implementation delivered transformative outcomes:

• Financial Impact: By enabling grant justification and infrastructure optimization, the university reported multi-million-dollar returns on investment.

• Operational Efficiency: Automated reporting through dcTrack reduced administrative workload and gave executives real-time access to performance data.

• Improved Capacity Management: Aging server reports drove VM migration, freeing capacity and reducing hardware overhead.

• High-Density Readiness: The university successfully planned for next-gen workloads, ensuring safe deployment of 50–70 kW cabinets.

• Enhanced Collaboration: Sunbird dashboards served as a central hub for executives, IT staff, and researchers, fostering transparency.

• Proactive Risk Management: 3D thermal maps and audible alarms provided early warnings for environmental risks, reducing downtime.

Customer Perspective

“As we fill up in the AI revolution, knowing what’s going on down to the cabinet level lets me understand where I can put stuff… we’re now looking at 50, 60, and 70 kW cabinets.”

“We’ve got an operations center that literally has it up on a big video wall, and we have audible and visual alarms that we depend on.”

“In higher education, we look at ROI as: how many grants can I earn because I’ve got something? We’ve seen multi-million-dollar returns….”

Conclusion

Through Sunbird DCIM, the university achieved a future-proof digital twin environment, enabling high-density AI workloads, financial accountability, and operational efficiency. This case exemplifies how academic institutions can leverage data center modeling and simulation tools to align infrastructure with cutting-edge research demands while maintaining fiscal responsibility.

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