Storage Area Networks For Dummies®

Chapter 11. Approaches to SAN Management

Management refers to control. Whether the control is of people or things, management serves as a monitor and a focal point for subordinates. (And you thought your boss was around just to give you a hard time.) To make the analogy with your managers at work, their job is to make sure that you're doing something constructive instead of standing around the water cooler flapping your gums about last night's ball game. Also, managers look to see that the work you're doing is correct (at least, they're supposed to) and that the work going on is consistent with the goals of their managers.

Managers also devise new things for you to do. New projects and tasks come down the line, and your task is to get those projects and tasks accomplished. At the end of the day, your boss notes what you've accomplished for further review down the road. To manage effectively, a manager must understand what's going on within the organization — what's good and bad, what works, what needs improving, and where the wasted energy is.

SAN management covers many aspects, from physical-asset inventory to daily configuration changes to long-term historical reporting. Figure 11-1 shows an example of how delivering a SAN to your customers relates to the idea that you are using a layer of abstraction between the customers' needs and the physical components that deliver them, making both your job and your customers' jobs easier to accomplish.

Figure 11-1. SAN management, from nuts ...