IBM upgrades storage software
Big Blue is improving the ability of its Tivoli management software to control storage systems, the company plans to announce next week.
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The new features are designed to make it easier for administrators to manage storage systems in corporate computing networks and for computers to manage the storage systems automatically, IBM said. The features come in Big Blue's new Storage Resource Manager product.
The automation springs from software enhancements made possible by Big Blue's acquisition of TrelliSoft, IBM said. Java-based software oversees storage resources, predicts future needs and takes appropriate actions to meet those needs.
Making storage systems easier to manage is a major focus at companies such as EMC, IBM, Network Appliance and Hewlett-Packard. Like IBM, Sun Microsystems has been buying companies to bolster its automation efforts.
Big Blue will increase the automation features in the future as part of its autonomic computing initiative, the company said. Upcoming features will let Tivoli automatically archive or delete data and expand the storage capacity allocated for a specific job.
Meanwhile, the current version of Storage Resource Manager can monitor the status of numerous storage systems, not just IBM's, and help administrators with "charge back," the process of billing different storage system users for how much capacity they use.
The ultimate goal is to let customers get more use out of their existing storage systems and to cut down on how many administrators are required to manage storage systems, said Jose Iglesias, director of Tivoli storage products.