Multi-Vendor Storage Dashboard for Standardized Data Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data storage management systems fail to provide a unified interface for managing heterogeneous vendor data storage systems, leading to increased costs and time delays due to the need for specialized personnel to interpret varying data formats and lack of automated configuration changes.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for monitoring and managing heterogeneous vendor data storage systems using a management server with Data Collection Scripts, Business Logic Scripts, and Graphical User Interfaces, which convert vendor-specific data into standardized formats for display and allow configuration changes through a common interface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple custom vendor solutions are used to access vendor-specific storage parameters, then each vendor system can be accessed with its native capabilities, but the system complexity increases and cannot work with other vendor hardware
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal dashboard interface that can access and display storage parameters from multiple different vendor systems through a single unified platform. The dashboard uses standardized data collection methods to retrieve vendor-specific parameters (deduplication, compression, unused space, used space, free space, subscribed space) from heterogeneous storage systems and presents them in a consistent format, eliminating the need for separate custom solutions for each vendor while maintaining full functionality across all vendor hardware
Solution Approach 2:
The dashboard serves as an intermediary layer between the entity and multiple vendor storage systems. It collects vendor-specific storage parameters through standardized interfaces, transforms and normalizes the data, and presents it in a unified manner. This intermediary approach allows the system to work with multiple vendors without requiring the entity to implement separate custom solutions for each vendor, thereby reducing system complexity while maintaining broad vendor compatibility
2Measurement precision
If specialized personnel are used to interpret varying data formats from different vendors, then accurate interpretation of vendor-specific parameters is achieved, but labor costs increase and response time decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The dashboard implements self-service functionality by automatically collecting, interpreting, and normalizing vendor-specific storage parameters without requiring specialized human intervention. The system uses standardized data collection scripts and transformation logic to accurately interpret various vendor data formats (deduplication ratios, compression rates, space utilization metrics) and present them in a unified format, thereby maintaining high interpretation accuracy while eliminating the need for specialized personnel and significantly improving response time
3Adaptability or versatility
If manual configuration changes are made across multiple vendor systems, then each system can be customized according to specific needs, but time delays increase and automation is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The dashboard provides a universal configuration interface that can apply settings across multiple vendor storage systems simultaneously. Through this single unified platform, users can configure storage parameters, adjust performance settings, and manage resource allocation across heterogeneous vendor hardware without needing to access each vendor system separately, thereby maintaining full configuration flexibility while enabling automated changes across all connected systems
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for monitoring and managing heterogeneous vendor storage systems may include performing, by a management system, operations including: sending instructions to a vendor storage system among the heterogeneous vendor storage systems to cause the vendor storage system to generate a vendor answer file on the vendor storage system, sending instructions to the vendor storage system to copy vendor data from the generated vendor answer file to volatile memory of the management system, tracking and logging events associated with the copying of the vendor data, validating the copied vendor data based on the logged events, determining standardized reporting data from the validated vendor data in the volatile memory of the management system, saving the standardized reporting data in a data structure formatted for the heterogeneous vendor storage systems, receiving a user query regarding the saved standardized reporting data, and displaying the saved standardized reporting data in a user interface.