Part of SMI-S is based on distributed task management On the Common Information Model (CIM). It is an object-oriented information model, which defines the physical and Logical structure 。 CIM is a part of Web based enterprise management, which includes an XML based encryption specification and a method to access schema objects through HTTP. The main goal of SMI-S is to provide a standard based management interface so that the data on the storage device can be regarded as logical components, such as Logical unit 、 Storage pool wait. In theory, SMI-S can provide network administrator Provide a standard interface for discovering equipment in equipment provided by different suppliers. What's more, this interface can collect device configuration, status information and the above Logical unit Information for. Although SAN tends to develop the CIM model to the IP based technology field in the future, the current version is mainly the specification of the Fibre Channel standard. SNIA is submitting SMI-S standards to the IT International Standards Committee of the American National Standards Institute.
At present, the industry has some doubts about the SMI-S standard. First, some people think that it does not actually involve the hardware compatibility of equipment provided by different suppliers. Secondly, although the future version of the specification promises to be solved, the problems it has not yet covered include backup, remote replication, device performance management, and interoperability of storage management software. Another question is whether suppliers are really willing to put standards into practice, because they are more willing to provide different technologies to protect the market. Of course, SMI-S will allow suppliers to provide their own extension interfaces for the purpose of extending functions.
The major storage hardware and software vendors have expressed support for SMI-S technology. At present, beta products compatible with SMI-S version 0.8 have appeared, but before 2005, such products are not expected to be widely used.
There are some other standards. The optical channel application interface standard provided by the ANSITII Technical Committee defines the general API framework for deploying storage applications in the Storage Network Department. For example, one component is used to separate control and data in the storage network environment route 。 IETF's IP Storage Working Group Recently, an optical channel management MIB standard has been developed, which provides unit information such as optical channel management instances, switches, port traffic statistics, and error conditions. The ANSIT II Technical Committee is also committed to the SAN management model, which aims to develop an advanced information granulation unit (such as information from SNMP) and storage network control point technology. This granular data can be accessed and used orderly by different management applications. In the field of optical switching security, the main technologies being developed are the optical channel security protocol of Technical Committee TII. The protocol group includes optical channel exchange authentication protocol, key establishment protocol, inter frame integration and trust required parameter negotiation protocol, and policy establishment protocol between optical channels. Optical channel is a mature technology, which is widely used and has the advantages of good performance, stability and security. However, the characteristics of the optical channel system determine that it is highly dependent on manufacturers. SMI-S technology is dedicated to solving this problem. In addition, the distance limit (10km) of the optical channel requires an extended technology that can be used for remote replication on the WAN, and the IP storage technology does a good job in this regard.
In general, Fibre Channel technology is a low risk choice for high-end SAN users who require reliable and high-performance technology. However, its high cost, limited interoperability and relatively immature standards decide that it is not suitable for all users.
