Patent ID: 8572220

Claim:
A method for configuring a network critical physical infrastructure (NCPI) device using a data center management appliance, the method comprising: gathering, by the data center management appliance, at least one device configuration from a first NCPI device via a network, the first NCPI device being of a first functional type that supplies either power or cooling to equipment in a data center; modifying the at least one device configuration; providing the modified at least one device configuration to the first NCPI device via the network; and providing the modified at least one device configuration to a second NCPI device via the network, the second NCPI device being of a second functional type that supplies either power or cooling to the equipment in the data center, the second functional type being different from the first functional type, wherein providing the modified at least one device configuration to the second NCPI device includes providing the modified at least one device configuration to a computer room air conditioner and providing the modified at least one device configuration to the first NCPI device includes providing the modified at least one device configuration to a uninterruptible power supply (UPS).