Symantec Veritas CommandCentral 5.1 Getting Started Manual page 16

16 Getting started with the CommandCentral family
About Veritas CommandCentral Storage
Responding to this problem, some enterprises have implemented storage area
networks (SANs) in which storage is placed on its own dedicated network. This
dedicated network can improve efficiency and reliability by effectively separating
traffic on the storage network from traffic on the main user network.
Storage virtualization
CommandCentral Storage is a valuable asset for enterprises that have implemented
storage virtualization—the process of taking multiple physical storage devices
and combining them into logical (virtual) storage devices that are allocated to
applications and users at will.
Storage virtualization helps ease management by building a layer of abstraction
above the physical storage; however, your administrators still need to penetrate
that layer in order to view and manage the physical storage. CommandCentral
Storage collects detailed information about how physical storage is apportioned
and used, and it provides a graphical user interface for presenting the information
to the administrator.
Although virtualization is not a new concept, CommandCentral Storage now
enables you to take advantage of storage virtualization services over the entire
storage network, across all types of storage hardware and server platforms. You
also gain storage resource management capabilities such as hardware discovery,
visualization, reporting, and a central administration point for your storage
network.
Storage administrator requirements
Because both storage resources and IT personnel vary widely from enterprise to
enterprise, the job of storage administrator is often filled by people with various
skill sets and work backgrounds: mainframe operators, traditional network
administrators, system administrators, and others in the IT industry.
In a utility computing environment, the storage administrator usually works
closely with network administrators and others whose responsibilities range
across the entire IT department. Nevertheless, the storage administrator needs
to know details about how storage is apportioned and used on both the logical
and physical levels. He or she is also responsible for providing overall guidance
on how the storage network is used and on the direction it will take in the future.
Here are some examples of other tasks a storage administrator typically performs:
Manage storage resources—for example allocating storage to hosts and the
applications that run on them, and defining logical groups for easier
management
Test new vendors' hardware and integrate it into the storage network