GEMS Storage Resource Manager (SRM)

Enterprise Storage Management

GEMS Storage Resource Manager (SRM) provides web-based automated enterprise-wide reporting for online storage capacity, consumption and availability. SRM software uses agent-based technology and a standard web browser interface. It automatically monitors all disks, RAID systems, partitions, directories, and files in NT, UNIX and Linux environments. It then correlates the data into a Microsoft SQL Server database.

Browse this link for the GEMS Storage Resource Manager Key Features/Benefits Matrix


Features & Benefits

Comprehensive Coverage

    Manages an entire network’s storage resources rather than those of a specific server or application


Information Reporting

    Knowledge reports, historical planning and trending information


Cost-Effectiveness

    Saves money through maximizing storage ROI and increased productivity

    Analyzes and optimizes all storage processes and resources

    Reduces capital expenditures in storage; shrinks the size of nightly backups


Simplifies Existing Storage Environments

    Provides alerts, reports, policies and historical information

    Establishes policies for reasonable disk space consumption on file servers


Intelligent Operation

    Prevents "out of space crashes" and identifies storage performance bottlenecks on file servers

    Provides information on whether or not backup jobs are truly succeeding


Efficient and Dependable

    Facilitates efficient inventory of storage resources


Details

GEMS Storage Resource Manager (SRM) is a solution that uses agent-based technology and a standard web browser interface to provide automated enterprise-wide reporting for on-line storage capacity, consumption and availability. GEMS SRM automatically monitors all disks, RAID systems, partitions, directories, and files in NT, UNIX and Linux environments, saving valuable IT staff time. It issues alerts when critical administrator-set thresholds are crossed. GEMS SRM provides the knowledge reports and historical planning and trending information needed to save money, maximize storage ROI, and increase productivity. GEMS SRM helps administrators intelligently manage complex on-line storage resources and perform proactive, preventative maintenance to avoid costly downtime.

By deploying GEMS SRM with other software products, IT organizations can manage a storage environment with a comprehensive set of tools that addresses the problems associated with the growth and complexity of enterprise storage environments. GEMS SRM differs from other management tools in two important respects. First, GEMS SRM provides the ability to manage an entire network’s storage resources rather than those of a specific server or application. Second, the application manages more than just a process such as backup or archive. GEMS SRM focuses on analyzing, configuring and optimizing all storage processes and resources. By simplifying the existing storage environment, customers can more easily deploy Storage Area Networks (SANs) and Network Attached Storage (NAS) solutions with confidence.

GEMS SRM works by automatically scanning the enterprise storage environment, collecting hundreds of data points on capacity, consumption, availability and configuration. This information, stored in a Microsoft SQL Server database, provides the alerts, reports, policies and historical information that enable IT to efficiently detect and solve application and storage-related problems.

GEMS SRM Additional Key Features:

    Prevents "out of space crashes" that bring down file and print servers, and other critical application servers

    Determines which users and applications are using existing storage capacity, and whether the use is justified

    Identifies storage performance bottlenecks on file servers to maximize performance and ensure application availability

    Determines the status of distributed file server backups, and provides the information to know whether or not backup jobs are truly succeeding

    Establishes policies for reasonable disk space consumption on file servers

    Reduces capital expenditures in storage, shrinks the size of nightly backups, and increases recovery performance by identifying never-accessed files, duplicate files, and inappropriate data files that can be deleted or archived

    Facilitates efficient inventory of the increasing number of storage resources - disks, RAID systems, volumes, partitions, home directories, project share points, files - that hard-to-replace IT administrators spend hours a day manually surveying

    Allows IT to implement disk space chargeback for file servers among the departments that use them

    Assists in forecast for future storage capacity needs with precision, and helps IT obtain easy justification for all disk, tape, and storage management software purchases

    Predicts the size of nightly file server backups such that nightly incremental and full backups always finish within the allotted backup window

    Ensures accurate implementation of strategic IT projects such as SAN, backup/recovery, server consolidation, and data migration

GEMS SRM Key Reports:

    Current Capacity: monitors free and used disk space network-wide or by host, partition or directory

    User Consumption: tracks disk space used in home directories, network-wide by files owned, or by group for disk space chargeback

    Capacity Planning: charts storage growth rates network-wide or by host partition or directory

    Largest Files, Largest Directories and Stale Files: identifies capacity that can be quickly reclaimed

    Backup Sizing: predicts size of incremental and full backups network-wide, by host and partition

    Vulnerable Files: pinpoints files that are not being backed up on Windows NT/2000 systems

    File Activity: highlights unbalanced file servers

    Resource Inventory: detects all changes to storage topology