What Is Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S)?

Is there anything more frustrating than managing a storage area network (SAN) that includes multiple devices from multiple vendors? If you're like us, the answer is a resounding "YES!" and it's not just because it's hard to get used to new systems and processes. It's also because SANs are complicated and often require customized solutions that don't work well with other networks or devices. Luckily, SMI-S is here to save your bacon! SMI-S stands for "Storage Management Initiative Specification." It's one of the standards for managing your data devices within an enterprise area network encompassing multiple devices from different vendors. Web-Based Enterprise Management standards defined by the Distributed Management Task Force.SMI-S is a protocol for sharing information about storage devices, making communication possible for different systems. When you think of "interoperability," you probably think of people and animals working together, but that's not what SMI-S does. It's an acronym for the Storage Management Initiative Specification. This protocol for sharing information about storage devices makes communication possible for different systems.SMI-S aims to provide broad interoperability among heterogeneous (widely dissimilar) storage vendors' designs. If you're unfamiliar with SMI-S, it's a standard data storage component in a SAN. Its platform is independent and extensible, so it can easily add new devices to the SAN. Where managers can also access and control all aspects of a network remotely. Some might think that sounds like a dream come true, but we're not going to lie this is a complicated system. It's not something you can plug in and go—there are many different ways to set up your SMI-S environment, depending on what kind of applications you use and what type of equipment you have available. If you want to know more about making this work for your business or organization, feel free to reach out!