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Business Value |
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Reduce costs and optimize the availability and performance of distributed storage environments |
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| Q1. |
Most file-level SRM products only run on Windows. Does HP File System Viewer
support any other platforms? |
| A1. |
Yes. HP File System Viewer supports Windows platforms, including Windows NT,
Windows 2000, and Windows 2003, as well as the Sun Solaris operating environment. In the future, the
module will also support other UNIX operating systems and Linux. |
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| Q2. |
As our data demands and file systems have grown, we're finding that our current SRM
products are not scalable enough to handle the millions of files now common on a single volume. How
does HP File System Viewer address this? |
| A2. |
HP File System Viewer was designed by HP engineers who worked closely
with many of the first generation file-level SRM reporting tools, both as end users and software developers.
Their collective experience drove three innovations that make HP's second-generation file-level SRM
solution more scalable than any competing solution:
- Scalable distributed database - Other solutions use flat files or low-end databases
as staging repositories to store the results of each host's file scans. Due to the size limitations
inherent in these approaches, file scans of large volumes often result in hangs, crashes, or incomplete
results. HP File System Viewer uses a highly scalable distributed database with no size
limitations to stage the results of each host's file scans. This innovation enables you to successfully
scan even large volumes with millions of files.
- Efficient metadata collection and transfer - Other solutions store file details in
tabular formats, creating large files on each host that must then be dragged across the network for
processing each time a new report is requested. This inefficient approach consumes large amounts of
disk space on each scanned host, and greatly impacts network performance when reports are run.
HP File System Viewer stores file details as metadata and preserves file relationships
in binary trees. This innovation requires much less disk space on each scanned host, and dramatically
reduces the amount of data that needs to be transferred across the network.
- High performance reporting - Other solutions must re-visit the distributed
staging repositories on each host whenever a new detailed report is requested because file and
directory relationships aren't preserved or centrally stored. This approach often results in hangs,
crashes, or 2-3 day run times when reports on large volumes are requested. HP File System Viewer
preserves and centrally stores file and directory details and relationships, enabling you to
run new reports repeatedly against the centralized repository, without having to revisit the distributed
host staging repositories. This innovation enables you to successfully run reports on even your largest
volumes in hours instead of days.
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| Q3. |
Can HP File System Viewer scan NetApp® filers and remotely mounted
Network Attached Storage (NAS) volumes? |
| A3. |
Yes. HP File System Viewer scans NAS volumes from all supported host operating
systems to provide logical NAS capacity and user consumption management. For comprehensive physical NetApp
capacity, performance, and health management, HP offers HP NetApp Viewer for NAS. Together, the tightly
integrated modules offer complete topology, dependency, capacity, performance, event, and consumption
management for NetApp filers. |
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| Q4. |
For NAS volumes that are exported to more than one host, will HP File System Viewer
always scan those volumes repeatedly from each host? |
| A4. |
No. There is an option to selectively turn on/off scanning of specific volumes on each host
to avoid redundant scans and double counting of NAS volumes or other exported volumes that are mapped to multiple hosts. |
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| Q5. |
Why is it important to have a common solution for SAN/NAS management and file-level SRM? |
| A5. |
Having a unified platform for SAN/NAS management and file-level SRM offers clear business
benefits relative to separate point tools or loosely integrated suites:
- Cost savings - When you use separate or loosely integrated point products, you will need
separate licenses and maintenance agreements, you will need to purchase separate servers to host the solutions,
install separate agents on all managed hosts, manage separate databases, train your IT staff on separate user
interfaces, and allocate double the IT headcount to administer and maintain the solutions. HP's unified
SAN management and file-level SRM solutions run on the same host; leverage a single CIM-compliant database and
agent; deliver all capabilities through the same easy-to-use Web-based user interface; and leverage license keys
so you can add new modules without even having to install new software.
- Greater file server availability - Separate or loosely integrated point products do not
enable you to identify how SAN capacity, performance, or configuration impact the health of your file servers
and availability of your files. HP's unified SAN management and file-level SRM solution enables you to
visualize the impact of your SAN on file servers to prevent unwanted downtime. Plus, its ability to detect
the path from a file to a storage system and monitor the performance of every HBA, fabric switch, and storage
system port in the path accelerates root cause analysis of SAN-related file server performance problems.
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