Lenovo's XClarity simplifies systems management with a single application that discovers, defines, and delivers infrastructure. It integrates with external IT applications through REST APIs and eliminates overlapping functionality. In contrast, Dell takes a more complicated approach with multiple components like Active System Manager, OpenManage Essentials, SupportAssist, and various other applications that have redundant functionality and do not integrate as seamlessly.

1. Lenovo XClarityTM & Dell Systems
Management
Just the Facts
2016 Lenovo. All rights reserved.
Mar-2016
Product Marketing

2. 2016 Lenovo. All rights reserved.
Lenovo Approach to Systems
Management

3. 32016 Lenovo. All rights reserved.
Lenovo XClarityTM Simplifies Systems Management
Mobile
App
HTML5 User
Interface
▪ Discover ▪ Define ▪ Deliver
IT Application Integration
XClarity Integrators and
REST APIs
Lenovo Infrastructure
Scripting
▪ Optimize Power
Deliver new systems in up to
75% less time1
Define and control physical
systems using intuitive software
Programmatically control
systems from your own IT apps
1. http://www.principledtechnologies.com/Lenovo/XClarity_Administrator_management_comparison_0615.pdf,
http://www.principledtechnologies.com/Lenovo/XClarity_Administrator_management_comparison_0915.pdf
FAST
AGILE
INTER-OPERABLE

4. 42016 Lenovo. All rights reserved.
Define and Control Physical Systems from External IT
Applications with XClarity Integrators and REST APIs
3rd Party ISV and Open Source IT Applications
Infrastructure Resource
Management Apps
Orchestration and
Automation Apps
IT Service
Management Apps
Pool of Managed Open Standards-
Based Lenovo Infrastructure
• No overlapping functionality with
external IT applications
REST APIs
XCLARITY INTEGRATORS

5. 52016 Lenovo. All rights reserved.
Pool of Managed Open Standards-
Based Lenovo Systems
vCenter
System Center
Virtual Machine
Mgr
vRealize
Automation*
vRealize
Orchestrator
vRealize Log
Insight
Resource
Manager
Service
Dynamics
Splunk
System Center
Configuration
Mgr
System Center
Operations Mgr
• PROVIDE DATA TO EXTERNAL IT APPS
• TAKE ACTION ON SYSTEMS
TRIGGERED BY EXTERNAL IT APPS
*Available soon
Integrators
for 3rd party
IT apps
KEY
Infrastructure
mgmt
Orchestration
& automation
IT service
mgmt
Virtual infrastructure
management
Cloud infrastructure
management
Orchestration and automation
management
Availability, performance, and
incident management
Change, configuration, and
release management
Business service level
management
Hardware infrastructure
management
IT APPLICATION CATEGORY
Extend Your IT Applications with XClarity Integrators
vRealize
Operations (Blue
Medora)

6. 2016 Lenovo. All rights reserved.
Dell Approaches to Systems
Management

7. 72016 Lenovo. All rights reserved.
Dell’s Multi-Pronged Approach to Systems Management
Dell Servers with
embedded iDRAC
Dell OpenManage
Essentials with Multiple
Components
Dell Active System
Manager Built From
Multiple Components
Single large, monolithic application
bolting together multiple components
• Combination of acquired and open source
tools that has changed over time
• Provides no integration with OpenManage
and overlaps with its functionality
• Overlaps with 3rd party and open source
workflow automation and scripting tools
Multiple systems management
components
• Based on Windows Server and SQL Server,
requires multiple installable components to
discover, monitor, update, configure, and
deploy operating systems
• No integration with Active System Manager
Option I Option IIvs.
Redundant functionality,
no integration, and no
migration path

8. 2016 Lenovo. All rights reserved.
Lenovo XClarityTM and
Dell Active System Manager

9. 92016 Lenovo. All rights reserved.
Dell Active System Manager is a Complicated
Monolithic Application with a Complicated History
?• Open Source Puppet workflow automation
is added to ASM
• Scalent systems management and
DynamicOps workflow tools are
combined to create Advanced
Infrastructure Manager (AIM)
• Dell acquired Scalent
• Dell acquired Gale Technologies
• VMware acquired DynamicOps
(vRealize Orchestrator)
• Dell announces acquisition of EMC
and VMware
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
1. Sources
• http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01/31/dell_active_system_manager_sap_hana/
• http://www.itcandor.com/dell-ciandis/
Active System Manager bolts together multiple tools with wide-
ranging functionality, and has constantly changed over time1
• DynamicOps tools are replaced by Gale
Technologies tools to create Active System Manager
(ASM), which replaces AIM
Acquisitions
ASM Components

10. 102016 Lenovo. All rights reserved.
Dell Active System Manager Represents an Investment
in Legacy Approaches to Data Center Automation
Workflow
Orchestration
• Emphasis is on simplifying
a small number of well-
defined tasks for hardware
infrastructure
Systems
Management
• Emphasis is on
flexibility to map a wide
range of labor-intensive
data center actions and
tasks into broader
automation routines
• Discover systems
• Define and configure systems
• Update systems
• Install hypervisor and OS
• Monitor and handle events
Dell Active System
ManagerREST APIs
• Discover systems
• Define and configure systems
• Update systems
• Install hypervisor and OS
• Monitor and handle events
Modern Approach to Data Center Automation
Deploy small, specialized IT applications that are loosely
coupled to increase agility and stability
Emphasis on bigger is better and complexity
Legacy Approach to Data Center Automation
Creating a single, large, monolithic IT application by
bolting together wide-ranging functions from multiple tools
increases risk of instability

11. 112016 Lenovo. All rights reserved.
Dell Active System Manager Overlaps with Existing
Data Center Orchestration Applications
VMware Cloud
Software Stack
vRealize Automation
vRealize Orchestrator
vCenter
vSphere
• Packaged with vCenter
at no additional cost1
• Easily integrates with
vRealize software and
vCenter
OpenStack Cloud
Software Stack
Horizon
Heat, Ironic, or
Scripting Apps
Nova
KVM
1. https://www.vmware.com/products/vrealize-orchestrator/pricing.html
• Open source or ISV-
hardened software
Dell Active System Manager
Overlaps with Existing Orchestration
Apps, Increasing Both Complexity
and Cost

12. 122016 Lenovo. All rights reserved.
Lenovo XClarity and Your Orchestration Application
Simplify End-to-End Workflows
Accelerate data center agility and reduce risk
• Faster and simpler Day 1 provisioning of cloud resources
• Infrastructure provisioning self-service
• End-to-end provisioning workflow automation
Workflow Orchestration
Application
• App and virtual infrastructure
specific actions
• Lenovo hardware-specific
actions
New Clusters with
Lenovo
InfrastructureREST API
Calls
Provisioning
Tasks
Virtual resource workflows and task execution
Simplified Systems
Management
Loosely
Coupled
Simplified Workflow
Automation

13. 2016 Lenovo. All rights reserved.
Lenovo XClarityTM and
Dell OpenManage Essentials

14. 142016 Lenovo. All rights reserved.
Dell OpenManage Essentials is a Complicated Array of
Multiple Dell and 3rd Party Software Components
Dell OpenManage
Essentials
Single software application
Auto-discovery
Inventory tracking
Fault handling & Call Home
Identify & apply firmware
updates
Configure systems
Install hypervisors & OS
Scale to manage 560
servers
1 Virtual
Appliance
Automates
Provisioning
and
Management for
up to 560
Servers
All the above plus an
additional Windows
Server and external
SQL Server
OME, SupportAssist,
Repository Manager,
and Windows Server
OME Server
Configuration
Manager license on
each managed
server, deployment
file share on each
server, and License
Manager
Multiple Software
Components

15. 152016 Lenovo. All rights reserved.
XClarity Administrator and Dell OME Components
Lenovo XClarity
XClarity Administrator
Virtual Appliance
• Configuration patterns
• Firmware updates with compliance
policies
• OS and hypervisor installation
• Monitoring with call home and
events handling
• Auto-discovery
1. http://topics-cdn.dell.com/pdf/dell-ome-v2.0.1_User's%20Guide_en-us.pdf
Dell OpenManage Essentials for
discovery, monitoring, updates
Dell SupportAssist
for call home
Dell Repository Manager for
firmware updates
Dell License Manager for
configuration & OS install
SQL Server
for scalability
Windows ServerWindows Server
Server Configuration Management
license on each server’s iDRAC for
configuration & OS install
Dell OME1
Deployment file share on each server for
configuration & OS install

16. 2016 Lenovo. All rights reserved.
Summary

17. 172016 Lenovo. All rights reserved.
The Difference is Clear
No overlap with your existing external IT applications
 
Single application for hardware lifecycle management

Singular, simplified approach to data center management


Extend existing investment in apps without rip and replace
 

Dell
Active System Manager &
OpenManage Essentials with
Multiple Components
With Your Existing IT
Applications

18. 18
Useful Links
Product Web Page and Resources:
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/systems/softwar
e/systems-management/xclarity/
Data Sheet:
http://www.lenovo.com/images/products/syste
m-x/pdfs/datasheets/xclarity_ds.pdf
lenovo.com
For more
information
contact your
Lenovo sales
representative
Demonstration videos:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLQcI
fVNrqzca0EnOs1IP5NoUDF3gxydv
Product Guides:
https://lenovopress.com/software/manageme
nt/xclarity
2016 Lenovo. All rights reserved.