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03 · UX Design

Equinix

SmartView data center infrastructure management

DCIM UX design from MVP to detailed system

Service
UX design / research
Scope
Dashboard, environmental, power, mechanical, electrical, alarms, alerts
Lead
Independent engagement

Equinix had a working MVP for SmartView, the DCIM tool that lets enterprise customers monitor server hardware remotely instead of on-site, but the product had no shared system to grow into.

The studio shaped the MVP into a modular section system covering environmental, power, mechanical, electrical, alarms, and alerts, with requirements mapping, sitemap, user flows, and full section-by-section visual design.

SmartView ships today as part of Equinix deployment support for global B2B customers.

Method · effort by phase

01
02
03
04

01 · Discovery

Joined mid-stream after MVP approval: re-mapped requirements visually, reviewed competitor DCIMs, and rebuilt documentation lost on handover.

02 · Define

Reconstructed user flows, built a persona grounded in existing research, and scoped support for direct customers and resellers.

03 · Ideate

Redesigned the dashboard and every section around a modular template sharing one grid, trend-first layout, and alarm-banner pattern.

04 · Detailed UI

Detailed visual design through the point where engineering took over build.

What the work surfaced

01

Uptime thinking, not UX thinking

The product is not something people come to use, it is something they check because something is wrong, so every section is built around alerting, real-time data, and off-site access.

02

MVP was approved, not validated

Baseline documentation had been lost on handover, so requirements were re-mapped visually and competitor DCIMs reviewed before a single screen was touched.

03

Customers wanted trends up front, tables underneath

Real-time trends moved front and center, tabbed tables moved beneath them, and reports sections were removed because the live trend already answered them.

04

Sections share a template, not just a style

Environmental, power, mechanical, and electrical all answer the same shape of question, encoded as one shared section template.

05

Modules pay off across the product

Treating each section as a module made later sections faster to design and faster to build, and the work compounded outside its own scope.

06

Alarms are the product, not a side panel

A smart banner persists across every section until cleared, and alarms get a first-class section with severity, assignee, and time-to-ack.

07

Two audiences, one product

Direct customers and resellers share the same template with scoping rather than forks, keeping the product legible without doubling the surface area.

08

Replaced grid propagated beyond SmartView

The grid system designed for SmartView replaced the prior Equinix product grid that earlier internal apps were built on.

The artifacts, as wireframes

Shipped interfaces stay confidential. The structure is the deliverable: these are the wireframes the way they went to engineering.

EQX.WIRE.01 · DashboardAccount rows with section cards · reconstructed for illustrationEQUINIXCUSTOMER PORTALAll ▾Hello, Edwin ▾33Products & Services ▾Operations ▾Network Management ▾Reports ▾Administration ▾Support ▾IBX SMARTVIEWAccount:Equinix (1)▾DashboardAlerts10Alarms16Reports05Notifications02Sort By:Severity ▾IBX Data Refreshed every: 15 secondsAccount: Equinix (1)IBX: DC116 Alarms ▾5 Alerts ▾Environmental19.5 °C53.8%All Zones▾Power Draw⚡130.1%All Cages▾Mechanical▣NormalResiliency as designedElectrical⚡AlarmResiliency as designedAccount: Equinix (1)IBX: DC25 Alerts ▾Top-level dashboard groups every IBX by account; each row shows four section statuses at a glance
EQX.WIRE.01 · Dashboard · account rows grouped by IBX, section cards per row
EQX.WIRE.02 · EnvironmentalTemp + humidity front, trend underneath · reconstructed for illustrationEQUINIXCUSTOMER PORTALAll ▾Hello, Edwin ▾33Products & Services ▾Operations ▾Network Management ▾Reports ▾Administration ▾Support ▾IBX SMARTVIEWAccount:Equinix (1)▾DashboardAlerts10Alarms16Reports05Notifications02SmartView Dashboard›XX1 ▾EnvironmentalPower DrawMechanicalElectricalOutside: 19.5 °C53.8%Add SensorsTemperature29 °CHumidity13%Zone SelectionXX1:101:hall:12Past 24 Hours29°CAvg Temp22°CMin Temp29°CMax Temp13%Avg Humidity10%Min Humidity30%Max HumidityPast 7 Days29°CAvg Temp22°CMin Temp29°CMax Temp13%Avg Humidity10%Min Humidity30%Max HumidityPast 30 Days29°CAvg Temp22°CMin Temp29°CMax Temp13%Avg Humidity10%Min Humidity30%Max HumidityGraph TitleCreate Trouble TicketCreate AlertTemperatureHumidityAssets:5 Selected (Max 5) ▾DuringChoose a Date Range ▾19.7519.519.25JulyAugx label, y labelXX10000XX1:Colo.XX1_00_000000_0000XX1:301:ColoArea3:46Trend moved up front; the old table now sits under as the asset picker and export surface
EQX.WIRE.02 · Environmental · temp and humidity up front, trend underneath
EQX.WIRE.03 · Power DrawCurrent draw, period stats, trend, cages table · reconstructed for illustrationEQUINIXCUSTOMER PORTALAll ▾Hello, Edwin ▾33Products & Services ▾Operations ▾Network Management ▾Reports ▾Administration ▾Support ▾IBX SMARTVIEWAccount:Equinix (1)▾DashboardAlerts10Alarms16Reports05Notifications02SmartView Dashboard›XX1 ▾EnvironmentalPower DrawMechanicalElectricalCurrent Power Draw⚡9.3%89.2 / 958.2 kVAS/5▾Past 24 Hours9.3%Avg Draw6.2%Min Draw10.2%Max DrawPast 7 Days9.3%Avg Draw6.2%Min Draw10.2%Max DrawPast 30 Days9.3%Avg Draw6.2%Min Draw10.2%Max DrawGraph TitleCreate Trouble TicketCreate AlertTemperatureHumidityAssets:5 Selected (Max 5) ▾JulyAugx label, y labelXX10000CustomerWarningCagesCage ID ▾Primary Draw ▾Redundant C ▾Total Conne ▾Contractual ▾% Used ▾Close ▴XX1:010:RE:CMNo DataNo Data0.00No DataNo DataClose ▴XX1:010:RE:CMNo DataNo Data0.00No DataNo DataClose ▴XX1:010:RE:CMNo DataNo Data0.00No DataNo DataClose ▴XX1:010:RE:CMNo DataNo Data0.00No DataNo DataClose ▴Power draw mirrors environmental: current card, period stats, trend, cage detail table at the bottom
EQX.WIRE.03 · Power draw · current, period stats, trend, cage detail table
EQX.WIRE.04 · AlertsFiltered table, active row highlighted · reconstructed for illustrationEQUINIXCUSTOMER PORTALAll ▾Hello, Edwin ▾33Products & Services ▾Operations ▾Network Management ▾Reports ▾Administration ▾Support ▾IBX SMARTVIEWAccount:Equinix (1)▾DashboardAlerts10Alarms16Reports05Notifications02Filter By:IBX(s) ▾Section ▾Asset Type ▾Triggered ▾Active ▾Clear FiltersIBX▾Section▾Asset Type▾Triggered▾▸CH2MechanicalAir Handling09-05-2019▸CH2MechanicalFire, Smoke Detection08-18-2019▸CH2MechanicalFire, Smoke Detection03-29-2019▸CH3ElectricalGenerator07-11-2019▸CH3ElectricalPDU04-01-2019▸CH3ElectricalPDU09-20-2019▸XX1ElectricalPDU06-09-2019▸XX1ElectricalPDU05-23-2019▸CH3ElectricalPDU07-23-2019▸CH3ElectricalPDUToday▸CH2MechanicalFire, Smoke Detection08-18-2019▸CH2MechanicalFire, Smoke Detection03-29-2019▸CH3ElectricalGenerator07-11-2019▸CH3ElectricalPDU04-01-2019▸CH3ElectricalPDU09-20-2019▸XX1ElectricalPDU06-09-2019▸XX1ElectricalPDU05-23-2019▸CH3ElectricalPDU07-23-2019Showing:20 ▾Entries of 16Previous123Next
EQX.WIRE.04 · Alarms · filtered table grouped by IBX and section

Delivered

  • Requirements re-mapping after baseline docs lost on handover
  • Competitor DCIM review
  • Sitemap across seven primary sections with admin-gated leaves
  • User flows for direct customer and reseller views
  • Persona grounded in existing research
  • Redesigned dashboard with modular section tiles
  • Environmental section · real-time trend front, table underneath
  • Power section · draw summary, trend, PDU breakdown table
  • Mechanical section · CRAC and chiller monitoring
  • Electrical section · feeds and switchgear monitoring
  • Alarms section with severity, assignee, time-to-ack surface
  • Alerts routing with on-call roster and escalation
  • Persistent smart banner across every section
  • Shared grid system replacing the prior Equinix product grid

Outcome

SmartView redesigned from MVP into a modular DCIM product.

A full redesign shipped across every major section of SmartView, with a shared module system that replaced prior Equinix grids. SmartView remains live as part of Equinix deployment support today.

Scope
MVP shaped into full DCIM product
Pattern
Modular section system
Surface
Web
Output
Design handed to engineering