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New rules-based software takes the sting out of storage resource management.
BY BOB VIOLINO
Storage is not to be left out of the automation wave sweeping through corporate networks.
One of the hottest developments in storage resource management is automated provisioning - software for easing the resource allocation process.
Storage provisioning is known as a time-consuming, repetitive and error-prone process. When additional storage is needed for an application, a storage administrator must determine the exact type and quality of storage required by the particular application, locate that type of storage within a storage-area network (SAID, and identify an appropriate path or paths between the storage device and the application.Adding storage to a highend array can take as many as 42 steps, each requiring analysis and testing,experts say. Fixing errors can be time-consuming and can result in data loss.
"Provisioning is one of the more painstaking tasks that does not have a huge amount of value," says Nancy Marrone, an analyst at Enterprise Storage Group." It can be a three- to four-day process, and sometimes takes up to three weeks - time that could be spent on more important tasks."
She says the exercise can be so exasperating that people often request more storage than is needed to avoid going through the provisioning process again right way. "You end up with an extremely inefficient use of existing resources," Marrone says.
By using automated software, you can streamline the process, saving time, reducing the over-provisioning of storage and cutting down on errors, Marrone says. Automated provisioning ensures that...