Software vendors tend to approach SAN management as an extension of their existing data management capabilities
Software Vendors
Resources
Devices Networks
Hardware Vendors
Hardware vendors tend to approach SAN management as a network management issue
Two approaches to SAN management: A hardware vendor typically: Starts with devices, ports, and cables Thinks about how to manage and maintain the physical connectivity and communication paths across the network Displays device status and the state of physical connections between devices
Provides tight integration with other software packages from same vendor
A software vendor typically: Starts with resources and data Thinks about how to allocate resources and optimize performance across the entire SAN Displays both physical and logical views of the SAN resources Facilitates management in a multi-vendor environment