Today, we rolled out several new features that are all different aspects of the same concept: aggregate data in group views in Granola Enterprise. Specifically, we’ve added four new pieces of data:
- System check-in count per data point
- Active systems per data point
- Active monitors per data point
- Maximum power per data point
Since we actually rolled the data collection out a couple weeks ago, there should already be some data for existing users to play with. Of course, if you’re not a user yet, sign up now.
In this post, I’ll take a look at what the new data is and how it’s presented, and in a later post I’ll take a look at a few things you can do with it.
System check-in count
Since the early days of Granola Enterprise, we have displayed the number of systems that are checking in, in several places. This data is helpful because it shows the full scale of the installation over all time, but it falls short when trying to examine the new data points provided by the historical data in the charts because it fails to take into account how many systems were actually checking in at that moment.
The system check-in count does just that: it keeps a running tally of how many systems have checked in for each time sample, setting up a meaningful reference point against which to examine other aggregate data (more on that below). You can find the system check-in count in the tooltip when you hover over any point after the data aggregation was rolled out on May 3, 2012.
Active systems
The active systems count collects a running total of all the systems that were awake (i.e., not asleep or off) in a given time sample. This can be used both to identify areas for improvement in your IT power management and to evaluate the effectiveness of existing power management tools. Because any time spent awake in a time interval is counted, this number may lead the actual power consumption slightly if, for example, a system spent the last minute of the fifteen minute period on.
Of course, this data is only useful in the context of the system check-in count. You can find the two together at the bottom of the chart tooltip for data points that have this value.
Active displays
The active displays count collects a running total of all systems which had a monitor powered on in a given time sample. In addition to the above-mentioned benefits of finding areas for improvement and evaluating current policies, this also gives a rough estimate of user presence for desktop and laptop systems at any given moment.
You can find the active displays at the bottom of the chart tooltip for data points that have this value.
Maximum power
Maximum power represents the aggregate maximum power consumption for all machines (systems + monitors + CPUs) checked in for a given time sample. Anything below this line but above your power consumption is realized savings from power management.
Unlike the other aggregate data, total power exists both as a visible line on the chart and as text data in the tooltip. You can compare the total power and the maximum power within the tooltip.
We hope that the new data will help you to better understand your power consumption. When you’re ready for more detailed information, think about buying Granola Enterprise Insight. It’ll let you group your systems and really drill down to locate sources of inefficiency, such as systems that are on when they shouldn’t be. And as always, if you have any comments, bugs, or suggestions please contact us at support miserware com.
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