Sun unveils new standards-based storage software

Computerworld - Sun Microsystems Inc. this week plans to introduce advances to its storage-area network (SAN) management software, including the first use of two standards that are the cornerstone of an industrywide effort to bridge the interoperability gap in multivendor SANs.
Sun's latest version of its StorEdge Enterprise Storage Manager software uses Common Information Model (CIM) and Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM), the two primary elements of the Storage Networking Industry Association's draft storage management specification, formerly known as Bluefin.
"I think this really puts the pressure on the vendor community in general, but also [on] our partners and competitors to begin developing storage software based on open standards," said Russ Fellows, strategic marketing manager for Sun's Network Storage Unit.
Fellows said Sun's new StorEdge Utilization Suite will allow disk-to-disk archiving and replication over long distances.
Sun also announced new products in its tape library line. It said its new StorEdge L25 and L100 tape libraries will offer high capacity in a smaller footprint for midrange applications.
StorEdge Enterprise Storage Manager suite offers topology reporting, network health monitoring, diagnostics and device monitoring under a centralized platform.
The new software, which starts at $15,000, is available for the Solaris Operating System and is accessible from Linux, HP-UX, and other hosts remotely in a Web-enabled environment. It can also perform array management for Hitachi Data Systems Inc.'s Lightning 9900 storage array.
Although Sun's decision to write its software to industry standards is a first, it will have little initial benefit because other vendors have yet to adopt the model, said Dianne McAdam, a storage analyst at Illuminata Inc. in Nashua, N.H.
"[But] CIM standards are important because customers will eventually benefit when we can manage everyone's devices using the same standard," McAdam said. "They're ahead of the game, but at least they're already going to be there when everyone else gets there."
Chuck Sears, manager of Research Computing for the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Science at Oregon State University, said in a statement that he chose Sun's Enterprise Storage Manager software because it supports "our complex environment and will decrease our total cost of ownership."

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