Applying IEEE Storage System Management Standards at the National Storage Laboratory

An early, practical application of IEEE storage-system-management work is being pursued at the National Storage Laboratory (NSL). Work has initiated to define basic management requirements and develop generalized graphical-user-interface tools using remote-procedure-call mechanisms to implement the NSL's conceptual management framework. Several constraints were imposed on the development of early versions of this work to maintain compatibility with the NSL's underlying UniTree-based software architecture and to provide timely prototypes and proof of concept. The project leverages the on-going standards work of the IEEE Storage System Standards Working Group and utilizes the ideas of previous, related efforts, including existing ISO (International Organization for standardization) management standards. It also explores some of the relationships and interactions between IEEE storage-system management and better-known management methods for distributed systems and networks.<>