Storage Management Strategies for the CIO
SMI-S (Storage Management Initiative Specification) is a standard developed by the Storage Network Industry Association (SNIA) that is intended to facilitate the management of storage devices from multiple vendors in storage area networks (SANs). The specification was formerly called Bluefin. SMI-S was designed according to an initiative called Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM).
SMI-S defines common attributes for each component in a SAN. The specification is platform-independent and extensible. This makes it possible to add new devices to a SAN with a minimum of difficulty. SMI-S can allow SAN managers to oversee all aspects of a network from a single point. Version 1.0 is the first of several anticipated versions, with the ultimate goal of extending the standard to all storage networking technologies.
The SNIA is a group of storage vendors devoted to the development and distribution of a universal standard for the management of storage networking devices.