When it isn't the network (but it's always the network, isn't it!?) then it's the storage -- but can you prove it??
June 29, 2019
When it isn't the network (but it's always the network, isn't it!?) then it's the storage -- but can you prove it??
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Solarwinds Storage Resource Monitor
SolarWinds Storage Resource Manager was part of our strategy to answer the question "But isn't our storage fast enough?" or "If our storage frame were to fail, what would the impact be?" SRM, though primarily used by our Storage team, was instrumental in giving our DR team and our CMDB team the insights they needed to handle performance planning, DR planning, and what we called Infrastructure Lineage.
- Unmasks storage performance metrics and gives a common dashboard for monitoring.
- A simple, intuitive interface for adding supported storage frames.
- Lineage -- "The guest OS is connected to the virtual host and the virtual host is connected to the ... wait, what LUN is that?!?" #SOLVED.
- No ability to add your own storage frames -- if it isn't supported, you aren't monitoring it.
- Troubleshooting connectivity failures lack full transparency. It isn't needed often, but could be more verbose.
- It's expensive relative to the other tools from SolarWinds -- but, then again, so was your shared storage!
- Building an infrastructure lineage, the same lineage shown in AppStack (available in the Orion platform) was awesome.
- We struggled to make the ROI work, especially with vendor-specific tools often included with storage purchases.
- Price has scared more than one manager and, in my freelancing work, more than one customer away from a purchase.
Storage Resource Manager gives a converged view. If you have already invested in SAM, NPM, VMAN, etc. then it makes sense to add SRM to the mix. That is ultimately the beauty of the Orion platform -- it is a single view of so many platforms, with such a diverse array of hardware and vendors, that the multi-vendor data center can't live without it.
SRM is competing against vendor-native tools. In many cases, the price points may be similar, but if you have a heterogeneous storage environment, then this is the tool for you.
SRM is competing against vendor-native tools. In many cases, the price points may be similar, but if you have a heterogeneous storage environment, then this is the tool for you.