Digital twins, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) tools are playing an increasing role in data center design, construction and operations. They are helping data center managers envision how equipment will look and function in the data center, how to improve air and cooling flow and eliminate hot spots, how to improve the monitoring of data center operations and how to enhance maintenance and training activities.

Here are a few of the tools gaining traction:

Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) has been around for years. It is widely used in many data centers but hasn’t become universally used yet. That is changing due to two factors: the concept of data center digitalization is gaining ground, and IT is becoming more integrated with operational technology (OT) systems such as building management systems (BMS) and power management tools.

Serverfarm InCommand is one of several data center management-as-a-service (DMaaS) platforms harnessing DCIM to bridge the gap between IT and OT. Its software gathers data from a multitude of sensors and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered applications to monitor infrastructure, thereby aggregating data across devices and systems into one portal.

It can sift through thousands of alerts and provide aggregated insights to data center managers. For example, one data center was generating 90,000 alerts in a month. Serverfarm boiled this down to 108 alerts that required some form of human intervention.

But the gains available from tools like this take some groundwork. Take the case of a U.S. semiconductor manufacturer with a large data center that was reaching capacity. It drew up plans to add two new facilities to keep up with demand. Before commencing, it used the Serverfarm-managed DCIM service to review the existing state of its data center operations, as well as reviewing failover requirements, and ran several what-if capacity scenarios related to its expansion plans.

As part of the project, technicians inventoried 700 cabinets and 10,000 devices to create accurate records to upload into the InCommand portal. This was necessary to create a comprehensive digital record of the make, model and owner of all assets, as well as all power, cabling and location details for every system and piece of equipment. By doing this preparation work, it became possible to query and search all infrastructure elements for the first time.

Data center personnel could dynamically generate rack configurations, and simulate different power loads and thresholds to determine the best way to arrange equipment to maximize efficiency.

In this case, the rewards far outweighed the hassle. The company realized it could get along just fine with its existing facility if it reconfigured it and brought in newer, more dense and more energy-efficient equipment. Thus, it no longer needed new facilities to add capacity. This saved the business tens of millions of dollars in avoided construction costs.

“We’re injecting automation, efficiency and sustainability into every stage of the IT pipeline,” said Serverfarm CTO Ziv Catriel.

Digital twins are regularly uses in the energy, oil and gas sectors, where they provide a real-time virtual copy of power plants and refineries. Now digital twins are heading into the data center.

Companies such as Cadence, with its 6Sigma Digital Twin, provide 3D virtual replicas of data centers that simulate their physical behavior in power, cooling and IT systems and components. For example, managers can use the digital twin to simulate major planned changes to the data center to see how it works out, how it impacts costs and uncover any unforeseen challenges in the new approach — before a single piece of equipment is touched.

“We have taken steps to start planning IT migrations and some other initiatives like tech refreshes and high-density deployments with simulation,” said Christian Pastrana, former VP of data center planning at Citigroup. “We want to see how changes are going to perform first.”

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is becoming increasingly important as data center density increases, power bills soar and cooling demands rise.

CFD provides data center managers with a way to see how well their equipment is being cooled and isolate any hot spots or inefficient areas of air and cooling flow. It utilizes numerical analysis to analyze fluid mechanics and heat transfer as part of design validation, troubleshooting and commissioning.

Some data center managers use CFD to predict the effect of air distribution on thermal performance prior to construction. This enables them to reposition equipment and reconfigure flow lines in advance to achieve higher efficiency. The data center designer can also use CFD to model a variety of IT layouts to find the best option.

Augmented reality (AR) headsets, glasses and goggles can be used in data center design, the positioning of new equipment, monitoring operations, the care and maintenance of equipment, for remote management and for training and apprenticing staff.

AR glasses show in real time the piece of data center equipment being looked at as well as its specifications, any outstanding work orders and relevant metrics. Inceptum offers a product called Holoinventory, based on the Microsoft HoloLens 2 AR headset. It displays rack content without opening rack doors, tracks the connections between resources or ports and helps inexperienced technicians find the position of components and equipment. It integrates with DCIM software.

“Engineers and technicians can do accurate and efficient hands-free work as relevant information is visualized in HoloLens 2 without them having to write anything down or open a program in another location,” said Dawn Habijan, Inceptum content manager. “Such tools are needed due to the shortage of skilled technicians and data center experts.”

AR-enabled simulations can provide a realistic and immersive training experience, allowing technicians to practice and improve their skills without the risk of causing damage to the data center. During training, new techies in data centers can be guided step-by-step through complex maintenance procedures until they themselves possess the know-how to do it unassisted.

Another AR product, the XYZ Reality Atom headset and AR system, was created for data center construction and design. It displays 3D design models to an on-site viewer to verify compliance with construction documents. The software also incorporates health and safety risk assessments to help users avoid potential hazards.

From AI to AR, data centers are getting a technological boost with design and maintenance. Before a data center is even built, enterprises can use these tools to visualize how to make the most of a center’s construction to save money and achieve environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. After data centers are built, these tools continue to provide value for training, continued optimization and security.