Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) used Storage Networking World in Cannes this week to demonstrate interoperability of its storage subsystems and management tools with those of other vendors.
"Central to our vision is the fact that our software manages not only our own systems, but also acts as a central management framework for heterogeneous systems," says Roger Turner, director of midrange products, HDS Europe, Middle East and Africa. "In addition, our devices can be managed either by our own tools or those of other vendors."
HDS`s open systems and solutions framework, known as TrueNorth, entails an emphasis on open standards, namely common information model (CIM) and simple object access protocol (SOAP), a collaborative business model (with other hardware and software vendors), and the creation of a single storage management architecture, or HiCommand.
Having developed this initiative in close cooperation with the Storage Networking Industry Association, "HDS recognises that customers, for whatever reason, may want to run their own specific collection of systems, and so we strive to be as open as possible," says Turner.
He adds that other vendors have also embraced open standards like CIM, SOAP and XML, which is advantageous for all vendors concerned, as well as the customer seeking to get the most out of their systems.
"Basically, the object of the iLab interoperability demonstration was to show how our devices and device management tools work together with other XML- and CIM-based tools," he says. "We have launched our own tuning management tools already, and later on this year, we will launch protection management tools as well, to compete with other vendors.
"In the future, our policy-based management tools, which are a layer above device management tools, will allow the user to automatically set a sequence of policy-based management rules in motion, in any heterogeneous environment."
TrueNorth at a glance
At the heart of the TrueNorth initiative are the HiCommand Management Framework software suite and the Hitachi Freedom Storage product range.
HiCommand manages complex storage environments, and is based on industry standards like CIM, which addresses device managers and SOAP, rather than devices. "By providing an open set of application programming interfaces, HiCommand allows other applications to plug-and-play, allowing customers the freedom of choice between software management tools out there," says Turner.
The Freedom Storage range addresses the midrange market with the Thunder 9500V virtualisation series, and the enterprise market with the Lightning 9900V series.
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