We operate a number of NT file servers and are facing very rapid
growth in data volumes. I am looking for the names of the Top Software
Packages which would help with the management of data on our servers.
Specifically, the package should :
- identify old files (based on file Access or Create, Modify dates)
- provide ability to backup the above files to Tape or CD
- identify space used and large files by user and drive mapping
- ideally, provide facilities for implementing disk space Quotas for
users on NT platform
- provide comprehensive analysis and reporting on disk usage by
server, Drive and directory

We have had a lot of difficulty in finding a suitable Server product.
We are currently investigating Veritas Storage central but what other
products should we look at ? Who are the market leaders in this space
(excuse the pun!) ?
Thanks for your help,

Regards,

Pat Rowan

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Request for Question Clarification by aht-ga on 13 Aug 2003 22:30 PDT

For an answer, are you specifically looking for a list of alternate
packages that deliver all of the above requirements, and in addition a
discussion on who the market leaders are for storage and quota
management software?

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Clarification of Question by ithead-ga on 14 Aug 2003 03:30 PDT

To clarify, we are hoping to get a single (lowish cost if possible)
product which will provide the Disk Space analysis/management in
addition to providing tools to implement Quotas. We have started
looking at Veritas Storage central which provides (i) disk space
analysis - very good, (ii) quota implementation in NT environment,
(iii) very good policy manager e.g. control over what file types can
be loaded onto the server such as MPEG, alerts based on utilisation of
logical drive mappings etc.

The main issue I see with Storagecentral is that although it does
allow you to backup subsets of files based on analysis reports, it
does not keep the full access path - this is essential to enable easy
restoration if a user requests a file to be restored at a later stage.

All I need in a response is the names of the other main products in
this storage management space which will do some or all of the above
and any comments you have on the relative merits of each. From a
comment posted to the question, Tivoli and HP Openview are mentioned.
Are there any others we should look at ?

ithead-ga:

I will approach this Answer from the perspective that you are already
familiar with the pros and cons of Veritas StorageCentral.

First, a comment about StorageCentral. Veritas only recently acquired
Precise Software, the previous developer of StorageCentral. I fully
expect that future versions of StorageCentral will overcome the
limitation you noticed with regards to the ability to easily and fully
recover a backed-up file to its original location. For all other
aspects, StorageCentral is best-in-class (ie. ease of use for quota
and storage policy management) and is the most appropriate for
businesses small or large.

--------

IBM's Tivoli Storage Manager and Tivoli Storage Resource Manager
applications are enterprise-grade solutions that work best in a large,
multi-location environment. An additional module, Tivoli Storage
Manager For Space Management, works with the first two to provide
coordinated quota and backup management for a multi-server,
multi-platform, multi-OS environment. These applications used to be
developed and marketed by TrelliSoft, before IBM bought the company in
2002. This is really only an option for a large enterprise with
sophisticated file server architecture, and the level of complexity
for configuring and using the applications reflects this.

http://www-3.ibm.com/software/tivoli/solutions/storage/products.html

--------

HP's OpenView suite is similar to IBM's Tivoli suite, both in function
as well as complexity. OpenView is highly integrated with HP's file
servers and computing appliances, and is primarily an option only if
you have deployed HP PCs, servers, and devices as your corporate
standard.

http://www.openview.hp.com/solutions/storm/index.html

--------

Fujitsu's Softek Storage Manager is a new entrant into the
enterprise-grade storage management solution space. It offers many of
the same capabilities for load-leveling, reporting, and policies-based
management as Tivoli and OpenView. It provides integration with
Veritas NetBackup for backup requirements. In the reviews published
since this product first hit the market in July 2002, Softek has
received many accolades.

http://www.softek.fujitsu.com/en/products/storagemanager/

--------

Northern is/was Precise Software's main competitor prior to Precise's
acquisition by Veritas. Their Storage Suite includes a quota
management module, a storage reporting module, a self-serve user
portal for retrieving reports and running usage queries, and an
automation utility to help automate backups. What it does not include
is a backup utility, meaning that you would need to still purchase a
compatible backup solution. The quota management module won
Windows/.NET magazine's Readers' Choice award for the quota management
category. This would be the next best choice after StorageCentral, as
long as you already have a backup utility that you are happy with.

http://www.northern.net/northernstoragesuite/

--------

MonoSphere's sole product is a storage management solution that
basically turns your entire server farm into one big storage resource.
The dedicated Management Server analyses how your data is stored, and
will automatically move underused data to storage devices that can be
less costly, such as ATA/IDE hard drives. However, it too does not
have native support for tape or CD backup.

http://www.monosphere.com/index.html

--------

I have not included any EMC, Legato, or BMC solutions. This is due to
EMC's acquisition of Legato that going on right now, and their
purchase of BMC's storage management solutions earlier this year. The
degree of consolidation and migration required for these solutions is
too high for an organization getting into storage resource management
for the first time.

In summary, the package you are already reveiwing, Veritas'
StorageCentral, is the best all-round, single program solution for
your storage resource management requirements. It is highly likely
that Veritas will revise the backup module in StorageCentral to
conform to the performance expectations set by the other Veritas
backup solutions such as NetBackup, allowing you to overcome the
problem of StorageCentral not backing up the full context of the file
including its location.

An alternative to consider, is Northern's Storage Suite, used in
conjunction with a best-in-class backup utility such as Veritas'
NetBackup.

Please feel free to request any clarification you need to this answer.
Additional resources you can turn to for news and advice on storage
resource management include:

INFOSTOR magazine: http://is.pennnet.com/home.cfm

Intelligent Enterprise magazine:
http://www.intelligententerprise.com/info_centers/storage/



Regards,

aht-ga

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Clarification of Answer by aht-ga on 14 Aug 2003 12:26 PDT

One more point that I neglected to include in my earlier post. There
is an extremely high level of corporate consolidation going on in the
storage space these days, as demonstrated by the EMC acquisitions. For
this reason, you are best advised to go with either Veritas, the
leader in the storage space, or a software supplier that is closely
tied to a hardware manufacturer such as IBM, HP, or Fujitsu.

Regards,

aht-ga

Excellent, thorough answer. Will be logging more questions soon !

Depending on the number of file servers and the size of your
organization, you can also take a look at IBM's Tivoli Storage
Manager, and HP's OpenView Storage Manager. Both are intended for
enterprise installations.