SAN management: A new view

Networking Technology Update This newsletter is sponsored by Nokia Make the most of your mobile gear Download our Free Executive Guide and learn how Network IT professionals are getting the most out of their mobile devices and improving mobile security. You'll also get the scoop on upcoming mobile tools and technologies and how they may impact your enterprise. Networking Technology Update, 05/21/07 SAN management: A new view IT professionals responsible for managing storage-area networks face a daunting challenge. Storage today is an integral element in the interconnected IT-service delivery chain, and applications are spread across multiple arrays, switches and servers, often from different vendors. In such heterogeneous environments, the old device-centric approach to SAN management is limited. More comprehensive, vendor-neutral tools are needed that complement traditional storage resource management (SRM) tools. VoIP: Lessons from Early Adopters Experts say VoIP isn't a magic wand that will solve all of an organization's communications challenges right out of the box. Learn why VoIP may not produce expected savings and productivity gains, and other lessons from early adopters. Click Here to Watch This need was highlighted in a recent Gartner "Magic Quadrant" report on SRM and SAN-management software that noted: "Consolidation in the storage management market has resulted in suites of products that, while providing a large number of features, still lack specific capabilities that customers need." It goes on to say, "Keeping critical applications running requires consistent data access. This puts pressure on IT and storage administrators to ensure capacity availability, quick recovery and proactive infrastructure management." A new class of SAN-management tools is emerging to address the challenge of assuring application performance in mixed storage environments. These tools focus on managing SANs' application-level performance, not just device-level performance. This lets IT departments manage SANs according to applications' service level and allocate storage resources appropriately based on how critical each application is. For more on this story, please click here.

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Contact the author: Yahalom is chief scientist at Onaro. He can be reached at Raphael.Yahalom@onaro.com. This newsletter is sponsored by Nokia Make the most of your mobile gear Download our Free Executive Guide and learn how Network IT professionals are getting the most out of their mobile devices and improving mobile security. You'll also get the scoop on upcoming mobile tools and technologies and how they may impact your enterprise. BONUS FEATURE IT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details. PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered to your inbox each day. Extend your knowledge with a print subscription to the Network World newsweekly, Apply here today. International subscribers, click here. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here. This message was sent to: networking.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription. Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007