Network Attached Storage:
Enabling Storage Service Management
SANscreen is a key element to delivering Network Attached storage as a service in many global 2000 corporations. By providing a service centric view to both the storage team and the other embers of the infrastructure group, SANscreen dramatically increases service levels and decreases cost for the organization. Specific uses of SANscreen and SANscreen data include inventory and configuration management, provisioning, chargeback, root cause analysis and IT ticketing.
Inventory and Configuration Information For Network Attached Storage
SANscreen’s agentless approach of gathering inventory data makes a rich set of service level information available to a variety of external systems. SANscreen easily discovers hosts, generic HBA, tape, Network Attached Storage arrays and switches. Discovery takes between three and 24 hours for the first installation and then occurs in real time. Asset tracking, ticketing and other systems can take advantage of SANscreen’s inventory information through an API. For corporations with deployed SRM systems, the typical penetration rate of SRM agents to hosts is about 54% – leaving about 46% of the server assets undiscovered by the system. With its global
Network Attached Storage Provisioning and Operations
Each application in a datacenter receives levels of storage services from the SAN. These services are expressed across the dimensions of network attached storage access, path redundancy, replication and backup, and performance. SANscreen transforms the device and configuration information into a service centric view of the environment.
SANscreen also sets policies around these services and reports violations when the correct service policies are not delivered to the application. Infrastructure management tools such as server provisioning and system management applications gain visibility into all the services delivered to the applications under their management – enabling these tools to see relevant and actionable network attached storage service information for all their applications. This not only accelerate server provisioning but makes storage a transparent function.
SANscreen provides a view showing which applications are receiving what network attached storage services and which devices these services are using. This information is easily sent into chargeback systems for automated financial accounting.
IT Change and Ticket Management For Network Attached Storage:
SANscreen’s planning capability enables storage administrators to plan and simulate changes to the SAN. Once the change plan is approved, SANscreen tracks the changes as they occur. By using SANscreen, these change plans can be integrated into an IT ticketing system. In addition, policy violations in the SAN can automatically open a ticket.
Network Attached Storage today is a black hole to the rest of the infrastructure team. SANscreen provides a service centric view that provides actionable information to the balance of the IT infrastructure team. Using this information in day to day operations improves service levels, reduces costs and decreases time to provision applications.
