QuickSpecs

Tape storage
Within a fibre channel SAN, any disk storage (whether
it’s an external disk array or internal to the server) can be
backed up directly to a tape library. This provides a fast
and dedicated pathway for data backup, and frees the
corporate LAN to perform its primary functions with
greater efficiency.
Due to their lower network speed, IP SANs should
preferably pass data traffic through a backup server to a
direct-attached tape library. Tape-based backup can be
combined with disk-based backup—e.g., via a virtual
library system (VLS)—to improve recovery processes and
optimize slow server backups.
Benefit of a SAN:
Reduces your backup window and simplifies recovery
with central management.
Management software
Although it is often overlooked, the management software
is perhaps the most important part of any SAN. It helps
you configure and enhance individual components for the
best setup. It can then monitor the entire SAN area for
performance bottlenecks and areas of potential failure.
Storage management software also automates time-
consuming tasks such as data backup, and may provide
usage statistics that enable consumption-based allocation
of IT costs. In addition, virtualization functionality lets
you manage all available storage as one virtual pool,
regardless of where it’s located.
Benefit of a SAN:
Enhances efficiency helping you manage your consolidated
storage from one location.
HP Storage Essentials (SE) is the first open, standards-based
modular suite of storage products designed to integrate
into the HP unified server-storage-management platform,
HP Systems Insight Manager (SIM). SE also leverages
HP-SIM’s integration with HP OpenView software.
By designing SE in a manner that incorporates tight and
seamless integration into HP Systems Insight Manager
and HP OpenView products, customers can utilize an
essential building block on the path to creating a compre-
hensive unified infrastructure-management environment
that is critical to developing a truly Adaptive Enterprise.
Integration with System Insight Manager greatly simplifies
and enhances a customer’s HP Storage Essentials’ usability.
The integration results in a single-sign-on mechanism for
server and storage management, thus greatly reducing the
effort around the task of security management. Since the
integration is at the architecture level, the customer only
manages a single server for hosting Storage Essentials
and SIM.
Benefit of a SAN:
HP Storage Essentials delivers integrated heterogeneous
functionality for network (DAS, SAN, NAS) management,
storage resource management, provisioning and applica-
tion infrastructure monitoring. The suite consists of HP
Storage Essentials Enterprise Edition and a portfolio of
value added plug-ins. The architecture and interfaces are
built on industry standards.
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