Originally posted by: John Walsh (ID)

Watch this video to see how you can quickly set the location for your storage systems and then use the Cognos® Business Intelligence tool to create a report which shows the storage capacity by location.

Let's cut to the chase

As a storage administrator, you want to configure the properties of your storage resources so that you can filter or sort the resources in the GUI or in an external application if you export the data.

Previously, you modified the properties of each resource individually.

Now in IBM Spectrum Control™ V5.2.15, a member of the IBM Spectrum Control Suite you can quickly change the properties for multiple resources in a single operation. You can add or change properties, such as the location or custom tags, for multiple servers, storage systems, hypervisors, switches, or fabrics.

This function is also available in the #cloud based offering, IBM Spectrum Control Storage Insights.

Consider the following scenario:

You want to add the location for all your storage systems so that you can create a report which shows your storage capacity, grouped by data center location.

Here's how:

First, let's set the location property for some of the storage systems:

1. From the menu, click Storage > Block Storage Systems.
2. Select the storage systems.
3. Right-click the selection and click Edit Properties.
4. Set the location property and click Save.
5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 to configure the location for all your storage systems.

Now, you can use the Cognos® Business Intelligence (BI) reporting tool to create a report which shows the storage capacity by location. The Cognos BI tool is an optional component that you can install with IBM Spectrum Control.

1. To access Cognos BI from the IBM Spectrum Control GUI, click Reports > Cognos - Create capacity reports.
2. Expand IBM Spectrum Control in the list.
3. Expand Servers to Storage Systems.
4. Locate the Storage System Name and Storage System Location properties and the capacity metrics.
5. Select the items and then click Insert.
6. To view the capacity values by location, click Storage System Location and then click the Group icon/button on the toolbar.

Videos and Blogs

For videos and blogs about IBM Spectrum Control, see this topic Videos and Blogs in the IBM Spectrum Control documentation.

Join the IBM Spectrum Control or IBM Spectrum Control Storage Insights Beta program

IBM Spectrum Control and the #cloud offering, IBM Spectrum Control Storage Insights, is looking for new #Beta testers to use, and explore new #storage functionality while having a voice in future updates. Get on board today and become part of the #Beta program! Contact Mary Anne Filosa at mfilosa@us.ibm.com for more details and to register.

You can try IBM Spectrum Control Storage Insights for a free 30-day trial and see what it can do for your business.

Join the conversation

Use #IBMStorage and #softwaredefinedstorage in all your social publications.

For continuing information about IBM Spectrum Control and IBM Storage Insights, see my Twitter handle, @johnfmwalsh.