Tailored Solutions
Itron Automation of the Pittsburgh Operations Data Center
Customer
Itron, Inc., Spokane, Washington
Goal
Itron is a leading technology provider and source of knowledge to the energy and water industries for collecting, analyzing and applying critical data about electric, gas and water usage. Itron’s meter reading solutions integrate a broad array of meter modules, private and public radio and telephone-based communications systems and data management, storage and delivery applications. Duquesne Light Company (DLCo), the electric utility serving the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania metropolitan area, had contractually engaged Itron in a multi-year contract to provide electricity usage readings related to both consumer and commercial customers. Itron’s Pittsburgh Data Center was seeking to enhance operational efficiencies and minimize operating costs. Itron contracted Diverse Networks, Inc. (DNI) to help maximize the efficiency of the Automated Meter Reading Network (AMR) at its Pittsburgh Data Center. This effort consisted of two major areas, analyze and assist in the automation of the data center operations and procedures, and analyze and redesign the fixed network infrastructure.
Requirements
- Review and document the current data center processes and procedures
- Recommend changes to the processes and procedures that would improve the robustness of the data center operation
- Implement the recommended changes
Approach
DNI organized this portion of the project into three distinct phases:
Phase I: Data Gathering
- Interview management and development personnel at Itron-Spokane and Itron-Boise to gain an understanding of the AMR process
- Interview management and operations personnel at Itron-Pittsburgh to gain an understanding of the data center’s daily functions and procedures
- Obtain copies of existing documentation pertaining to daily operating procedures
- Obtain copies of documentation of the various systems that make up the Itron-Pittsburgh AMR network
Phase II: Data Analysis
- Document the data center’s current infrastructure, processes and operational procedures
- Provide recommendations for automating the numerous manual procedures required to run Itron’s Pittsburgh Data Center
Phase III: Reengineering (Automating the Operations Center)
- Implement the recommendations outlined in Phase II
Solution
The process involved analyzing the daily operations of Itron’s Pittsburgh Data Center and assisting in the design, development and implementation of automated procedures to replace the manual intensive environment of the data center. DNI accomplished this task by using the Tivoli Network Management solution, Perl scripting and Visual Basic executables. Tivoli was used to monitor the network status and initiate the automated tasks on either a timed or event driven basis. DNI’s software solutions were implemented on both UNIX and Windows NT operating systems running on Intel-based PC workstations, Compaq (Alpha) polling engines, and IBM (AIX) Oracle Servers. These tasks included the acquisition and processing of metered data, the monitoring of application status (activation, progress and completion), the transfer of information between Itron’s Pittsburgh office, Itron’s Spokane office, data system backup and the customer, Duquesne Light Co.