Brightlayer DCIM vs openDCIM

Brightlayer DCIM monitors, manages, and controls data center power, space, cooling, and operational resources, including servers, UPSs, PDUs, and computer room air conditioners. Eaton describes it for enterprise, colocation, hyperscale, and edge environments. It tracks power use, space allocation, and cooling performance, with real-time data and automated alerts. Dashboards show near-real-time KPIs such as power usage effectiveness and capacity utilization. Users can create 2D and 3D visualizations, floor plans, rack elevations, charts, and reports. The software also tracks IT and OT assets through their lifecycle, including service history, warranty, and compliance. Eaton lists integrations with VMware, building management, asset management or CMDB, and service desk or ITSM systems. Its device library has more than 30,000 models from hundreds of manufacturers; custom models for unlisted devices are available using SNMP, Modbus, or BACnet with annual support. Deployment commonly uses a virtual-environment server, with traditional server and cloud options also listed. Pricing is on request through an Eaton reseller.

openDCIM is a free, web-based application for tracking data center inventory and managing physical infrastructure. Its stated goals include following assets across multiple rooms and managing space, power, and cooling. Custom image maps can show clickable cabinet zones with overlays for power, space, temperature, and weight capacity. The application maps power paths from devices through strips and panels to source feeds, and network links to devices classified as switches. It reports fault tolerance and can simulate the effect of a panel or source-feed outage. Integrations include intelligent power strips and UPS devices from APC, Geist Manufacturing, Liebert, and Server Technologies; OIDs can be updated for other manufacturers. Built on MySQL, it supports report building and exporting data to other applications. Multiple user-rights levels are available, with authentication through Apache or LDAP. It is GPL v3 software for on-premises use. Hosting requirements include Linux, Apache 2.x or higher with SSL, MySQL 5.x or higher, PHP 8.0 or higher, and a web-based client.