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Once a SAN solution is implemented, your company's dependency on the system will grow as new storage capacity is added to support current or new applications. Growth is inevitable; data never goes away. As the system grows, new RAID sets are added along with physical devices such as disk drives, shelving, controllers, switches, and backup units. Typically, the initial SAN configuration will no longer be appropriate; firmware versions become outdated, RAID sets may not be optimal, disk drives become fragmented. The slow degradation of the SAN infrastructure will create new pressure points which will affect application and backup performance and overall confidence in the IT strategy.

THE NEED

You have identified a need to ensure that your SAN technology is operating as it was designed. Zycom Technology can help maintain optimal SAN performance with periodical and scheduled “Health Checks”. This prescription will examine the entire SAN logical and physical infrastructure. In direct consultation with you, upgrades and re-configurations will be performed.

THE BASELINE

A complete audit and inventory of the infrastructure will be conducted; identifying warranties or service contracts, software versions, and the status of the equipment. The Baseline may identify deficiencies and necessary corrective measures as well as necessary network access and authorizations. We will provide an analysis of the existing server and SAN architecture, logical and physical infrastructure, issues and problems, performance and utilization.

We will examine:

• servers connected to the SAN;
• fabric components (switches and controllers);
• backup devices;
• storage enclosures;
• disk drives;
• all related software and firmware.

• Clean all SAN components.
• Unseat all adapter cards, clean the connectors and reseat.

• Review of all SAN component log files and note any potential issues.

• Install and configure as per manufacturer standards the latest drivers for all SAN components.
• Update all firmware to the latest revision for all SAN components.

• Install or apply any OS updates or patches in consultation with the client.

• Check the SAN configuration for best performance using manufacturer and OS best practices. Recommend any configuration changes to improve the performance of the SAN and its components.
• Install and configure new hardware components. Underlining the SAN Health Check, you may elect to additional value-add services that will increase the maintainability and reliability of your equipment. Typically delivered by our Technical Services Group, this line of “Product-Aid” services provides regularly scheduled maintenance services to ensure that non SAN devices such as network components and servers have essential services performed such as current security and operating system patches applied, BIOS updates, log file reviews, and cleaning. With each “house call”, Zycom Technology will produce a Status Report outlining all calls and resolutions. A trend analysis will also be generated so we can track incidences over time to better improve the overall health of your SAN infrastructure.