The SAN Advisor module is integrated with the rest of the ControlCenter suite according to EMC, will ship at the beginning of next month. It will take the place of EMC’s current SAN Architect software.
SAN Advisor steps up the usefulness of ControlCenter with an ability to interrogate and map existing SANs, check that the components used to build them are certified to work together, and validate and schedule proposed changes. EMC stressed the new software’s use of the company’s 130-page eLAB interoperability matrix, and best practice rules database.
EMC said that rivals to the new ControlCenter module include CA’s SAN Designer, or Anaro’s SANScreen software. But EMC of course stressed the differences between its software and those products, for example claiming that SAN Advisor can discover a wider range of SAN hardware and access a larger rules database than the CA tool.
Around 40% of all SAN downtime is the result of human error during the building and maintenance of complex storage area networks, according to Gartner.
SAN Advisor will complement EMC’s flagship SAN management module, which is called SAN Manager and automates tasks such as provisioning, LUN mapping and zoning. SAN Advisor will run standalone or in concert with other CC modules, and will carry a list price starting at $5,000.
