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Policy-based Storage Management
The concept of policy-based storage management has been under various forms of development for years and the need continues to gain momentum as the storage management gap is growing. The concept of policy-based storage management involves end-users defining policies and rules that allow the system to take over the mounting list of storage management tasks that were previously performed manually. Policies essentially separate the logical view of data from the physical view of data. This separation enables a storage management system to become pro-active, versus re-active, making decisions and taking actions based on the policies. The logical view is concerned with what the data looks like and what services are required to meet the business requirements for that data or application. The physical view is concerned with where the data resides within a tiered storage hierarchy. SRM products were expected to bridge the gap from reactive to pro-active tools but have yet to make that happen.
Classification rules establish links between business requirements and service levels. Determining policies requires both time and agreements among multiple parties. Agreement on performance requirements, RTO, RPO, business criticality, retention periods and the level of data security, remote site storage, default options and compliance considerations is needed to define effective storage management policies.
Non-mainframe systems now require the same highly functional data classification and policy engine that the mainframe has enjoyed since the late 1980s but it's not clear when they will arrive. At this point, non-mainframe users must choose from several alternative and semi-proprietary products from a variety of companies that don't always work easily together, adding to the overall effort and management challenge. Nonetheless, the demand for a universal policy-based storage management is paramount. Though not a near-term likelihood, expect that this challenge will ultimately be met and the company that does it will become the clear leader in storage management for many years.
Source: Horison Information Strategies: Storage Navigator
© 2005 Horison
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