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News Release from: Storage Expo | Subject: Storage Expo 2006
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 23 August 2006
Do we need Storage Resource Management
software ?
Storage Resource Management (SRM) software and tools are available from different storage vendors and software development companies.
Storage Resource Management (SRM) software and tools are available from different storage vendors and software development companies They promise to be a single point of management for different storage hardware, switches and HBA's
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 11 Jul 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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They boast of easier management of storage and in-depth reporting on performance and capacity.
Many organisations have already procured such SRM software and many more are considering using one in an effort to try and manage storage infrastructures more effectively.
But is this software worthy of your investment? Will it live up to it's promise of easier storage management? How can you tell if it would make a difference to the management of your storage systems and in turn your business?.
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What can you expect from SRM software:.
Make no mistake! SRM software does provide you with additional information.
You can expect any good SRM software today to have the following features.
* A SAN topology - providing an end-to end view from your HBA ( and in some cases your database ) up to the LUNS of your storage system.
* Historic performance reporting of your storage systems.
* Tools to perform standard storage provisioning and related tasks on heterogeneous storage systems.
* Reports on capacity and utilisation of your storage systems Alerts.
All these features promise easier and simpler management of storage systems lowering your Total cost of ownership (TCO).
Though SRM software can provide additional information on your storage systems it can also bring with it a completely different set of problems.
One would have to consider the following before procuring SRM software.
Most SRM software has stringent requirements on minimum levels of firmware and microcode on HBA's, switches and storage systems.
One would have to ensure that you upgrade to those levels before you can manage your storage systems with this software.
A considerable amount of time would have to be spent on carefully planning for upgrades of such components in business critical systems.
The risk involved in upgrading critical components of your business systems could outweigh the benefits provided by this software.
Some legacy systems might not be supported by the management frame of your SRM software of choice.
Such systems would still have to be managed by native tools and information reporting from such legacy systems may not be possible.
This creates an information gap in many organisations.
Until the legacy systems are decommissioned clear global information cannot be generated.
Most organisations find that their employees and consultants are reluctant to use SRM software as they are used to the native tools provided by storage and switch vendors.
Such native tools have existed for a long time and storage administrators are comfortable using these rather than SRM software for storage provisioning and management.
There are added costs involved in training employees to increase their comfort levels on SRM software.
SRM tools are still a long way away from providing all the features that native tools for individual systems provide.
Though basic tasks of storage management can be accomplished using SRM software, there is still a need to use native tools for advanced configuration and changes.
Features such as in-box and out of box replication which are required for management of disaster recovery solutions still cannot be carried out on heterogeneous systems using a single point of interface.
For example, SRM software from one vendor might help in managing replication of their own systems but they still cannot effectively handle replication of storage systems from other vendors.
In order for SRM tools to provide configuration and performance data of host systems, a software agent must have to be installed on all systems connected to the SAN.
Such agents send periodic information to the SRM software.
Installing such agents across a big list of servers in production environment introduces additional complexity.
Many organisations face resistance from the system, database and network administrators in installing these agents.
Though SRM software has undeniable benefits, not every organisation will need it.
One would have to consider the issues listed above and make sure they can be overcome.
Needless to say the benefits provided by the SRM software should outweigh the problems posed by installing one.
SRM software could be very helpful in a single vendor environment where an SRM tool from the same vendor can provide a lot more information than native tools.
But it would still not make a drastic difference to the way your storage is managed, as skilled and trained consultants are still required to make effective use of the tools.
A dedicated team of mangers is still required to work on reports provided by the software and plan for capacity and performance optimisation.
In multi vendor environments this gets even trickier as there are various obstacles in firmware, microcode and interoperability.
But in either case if there is a need for a high level of reporting then SRM software can provide that information.
Investing in SRM software can help to generate valuable overall reports of your storage infrastructure in terms of capacity and utilisation but might not necessarily simplify the way storage systems are managed.
X-OR Technologies is exhibiting at Storage Expo 2006 the UK's largest and most important event dedicated to data storage, now in its 6th year, the show features a comprehensive FREE education programme, and over 90 exhibitors at the National Hall, Olympia, London from 18 - 19 October 2006.
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