SNIA Sets Stage for Breakthrough Storage Management Demo

The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) is setting the stage for a breakthrough demonstration of a multi-vendor Storage Area Network (SAN) that will be managed using CIM/WBEM technology.

Fourteen SNIA member companies gathered last week at the SNIA Technology Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. to conduct the first of a series of collaborative “plugfests” to begin testing for the demonstration.

The demonstration, named “CIM-SAN-1,” will debut this October at the Storage Networking World (SNW) conference in Orlando, Fla. as part of the SNW Interoperability Lab. CIM-SAN-1 will be the first public demonstration of a SAN being completely managed through CIM (Common Information Model)/ WBEM (Web-based Enterprise Management) technology, a storage management standard developed by the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF). HBAs, switches, routers, arrays, tape libraries, and management software will be integrated throughout the WBEM architecture.

“CIM-SAN-1 is an opportunity to demonstrate the SNIA’s ability to rally vendor members to work toward the goal of simplifying storage management for users,” said Brad Stamas, chairman of the SNIA. “This initiative also combines the efforts of many SNIA entities, including various Technical Work Groups, the Technology Center, and the Interoperability Committee.”

Users of storage networks consistently rank the management of multi-vendor storage networks as one of their top concerns. The SNIA has dedicated its resources to gathering customer requirements for storage management and developing the CIM/WBEM technology as the common interface to support these requirements. SNIA members demonstrated the interoperability of early CIM/WBEM products at SNW in April and also showcased a panel of executives from major vendor companies who voiced their commitment to improving storage management for users over the next year.

Companies that participated in the plugfest included: AppIQ, BMC Software, Brocade, Computer Associates, Crossroads Systems, Inc., Hitachi Data Systems, HP, IBM Corporation, LSI Logic Storage Systems, Prisa Networks, QLogic, Quantum Corporation, Sun Microsystems, and VERITAS Software.

The SNIA Technology Center is hosting this and additional plugfests leading up to the CIM-SAN-1 demonstration at SNW. The next plugfest and final pre-staging for the demo will be held in mid-September and mid-October respectively. The plugfests enable storage vendors to conduct interoperability testing of their products as part of the demonstration.

“The Technology Center is an ideal venue for industry collaborative work that solves core customer concerns. We are a catalyst to drive faster time-to-market for industry technical advances such as the CIM/WBEM technology,” said Thomas Conroy, director of the SNIA Technology Center.

CIM-SAN-1 is expected to include elements of the Bluefin specification, which introduces new technology for security, locking, and discovery for SAN management. The Bluefin draft specification is currently being evaluated by the SNIA for integration into its technical development activities.