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Management software overview

The ThinkSystem SAN OS software is available for DE Series storage management and other tasks. This edition of the Hardware Installation and Maintenance Guide applies for 11.50.3 and earlier, and the in-band CLI is supported in 11.60.2 and later arrays

ThinkSystem SAN OS software consists of the following management interfaces:

  • ThinkSystem System Manager – a web-based interface used to manage one controller in a storage array.

  • ThinkSystem SAN Manager –a web-based interface used to view and manage all storage arrays in your network, and perform firmware updates across multiple systems.

  • ThinkSystem Storage Manager – used to support the SecureCLI interface.

ThinkSystem System Manager​

The ThinkSystem System Manager (hereinafter called System Manager) is web-based management software embedded on each controller. To access the user interface, point a browser to the controller's IP address. A setup wizard helps you get started with system configuration. As an alternative, you can also use the command line interface (CLI) via the Storage Manger CLI application (SMcli). The command line interface (CLI) is a software application that provides a way to configure and monitor storage arrays. Using the CLI, you can run commands from an operating system prompt, such as the DOS C: prompt or a Linux operating system path. The CLI gives you direct access to a script engine that is a utility in the Storage Manager software. The script engine runs commands that configure and manage the storage arrays. The script engine reads the commands, either through a script file or directly from the command line, and performs the operations instructed by the commands. Select the interface you want to use:
System Manager offers a variety of management features, including:
Performance

View up to 30 days of performance data, including I/O latency, IOPS, CPU utilization, and throughput.

Storage

Provision storage using pools or volume groups, and create application workloads.

Data protection

Perform backup and disaster recovery using snapshots, volume copy, and remote mirroring.

Hardware

Check component status and perform some functions related to those components, such as assigning hot spare drives.

Alerts

Notify administrators about important events occurring on the storage array. Alerts can be sent through email, SNMP traps, and syslog.

Access Management

Configure user authentication that requires users to log in to the system with assigned credentials.

System Settings

Configure other system performance features, such as SSD cache and autoload balancing.

Support

View diagnostic data, manage upgrades, and configure AutoSupport, which monitors the health of a storage array and sends automatic dispatches to technical support.

ThinkSystem SAN Manager​

To view and manage all storage arrays in your network, you can use ThinkSystem SAN Manager (hereinafter called SAN Manager). SAN Manager is web-based software used for managing your entire domain. From a central view, you can view status for all newer DE-Series arrays, such as DE2000, DE4000, and DE6000. You can perform batch operations on selected storage arrays.

SAN Manager is installed on a management server along with the Web Services Proxy. To access SAN Manager, you open a browser and enter the URL pointing to the server where the Web Services Proxy is installed.

SAN Manager offers a variety of management features, including:

Discover storage arrays

Find and add the storage arrays you want to manage in your organization's network. You can then view the status of all storage arrays from a single page.

Launch

Open an instance of System Manager to perform individual management operations on a particular storage array.

Import Settings

Perform a batch import from one storage array to multiple arrays, including settings for alerts, AutoSupport, and directory services.

Manage Groups

Organize storage arrays into groups for easier management.

Upgrade Center

Upgrade the ThinkSystem SAN OS software on multiple storage arrays.

Certificates

Create certificate signing requests (CSRs), import certificates, and manage existing certificates for multiple storage arrays.

Access Management

Configure user authentication that requires users to log in to Unified Manager with assigned credentials.

For detailed information about SAN Manager, go to ThinkSystem SAN Manager online help.

ThinkSystem Storage Manager​

The ThinkSystem Storage Manager is used to provide firmware updates across multiple systems, and to support the SecureCLI interface. For detailed information on how to install it, follow instructions in the Windows express configuration, VMware express configuration, or Linux express configuration for your operating system.