Storage Management Services (SMS) A White Paper November 1993 Palindrome Corporation Executive Overview Storage Management Services (SMS) is the Novell specification for an industry-standard set of Application Programming Interfaces (API) designed to provide safe, reliable backup and storage management application development in a heterogeneous environment. When using SMS APIs to develop backup and storage management software, a developer can: Write storage management software to one interface (SMS) Let SMS handle all operating and file system protocols Provide safe, efficient access to virtually any client operating system This open system specification provides clean and easy backup and restores for all file systems, bypassing NOS-specific protocols, file formats and tape formats. Without SMS, backup software must be written to each native file format supported; to support attached client workstations or servers, the software must be written to adhere to each client s communications protocol and file system. As a consequence, backup software that is not SMS compliant must manage a bewildering array of file formats, file systems, operating systems and protocols to insure that the backups and restores are handled safely. Palindrome s SMS compliance fully implements the specifications to ensure compatibility, reliability, and data access for current and future NetWare versions. Also included is full implemntation of the SIDF tape format. SIDF is an open, non-proprietary media format, allowing media interchange among backup vendors. As such, Palindrome is an active, participating member of the SIDF committee in an effort to achieve formal recognition and adoption of the SIDF standard and maximum benefit from the SMS specification. Advantages of Fully Compliant SMS Software Assured compatibility with NetWare Easy, clean migration to heterogenous environments and additional OS support Data interchange with SIDF, abandoning proprietary media formats Immediate, certified support for new versions of NetWare and new file systems The majority of backup and data management software today is not fully SMS compliant. Customers using non-compliant software are locked into either proprietary client access methods or a proprietary data format. NetWare users should be wary of vendor claims of SMS compliance that do not fully implement the specification. Disadvantages of SMS Aware or Compatible Software Compatibility with NetWare not guaranteed Heterogenous and additional OS support depends on proprietary implementation Proprietary media formats lock customer into vendo-specific software solution Support for new releases dependant on vendor-supplied updates Introduction Storage Management Services goals are to provide software and hardware independence, improve the quality of storage management solutions available to Novell customers and enable the development of storage management applications independent of NetWare version releases. Having the network itself provide transparent access to data ensures a compatible upgrade path as new versions of the network operating system are introduced. Storage Management Services (SMS) is an industry standard strategy for simplifying and strengthening backup, archiving and storage management support for current and future NetWare versions. It also provides developers with a standard Application Programming Interface (API) set for accessing data on a variety of computing platforms. This standard interface simplifies support for heterogeneous environments by providing a consistent view of heterogeneous file systems and non-file system based resources such as NetWare Directory Services, SQL databases, the NetWare Bindery and other services. It is important to note that Storage Management Services itself is not a product. Instead, SMS provides an architecture or framework for the development of storage management engines that facilitate data management and protection of heterogeneous environments. SMS Architecture The Storage Management Services architecture consists of three primary components: 1. Storage Management Engine (SME) - The heart of the SMS architecture is the Storage Management Engine (SME). The SME communicates with network clients through a common interface that ensures broad platform support and the ability to support new platforms and versions without requiring a change to the SME. The most common implementation of the SME is a backup/restore application. The SME will contain most of the value added features and will be the component most often provided by third-party developers. Novell has provided a basic SME with NetWare called SBACKUP. Palindrome s Network Archivist SMS product is an enhanced but fully compliant SME. 2. Target Service Agent (TSA) - The Target Service Agent (TSA) is a software module that isolates the target operating system s data from the functionality of the Storage Management Engine (SME) and is the only module in SMS that processes the target s data. A target is any object on the network that requires backup, including: NetWare servers, SQL database engines, print servers, NetWare Directory Service databases, DOS, OS/2, UNIX and Macintosh workstations, etc. The TSA s job is to prepare the target services data for backup/restoration and communicating with the SME. This means that the backup/restore product can support new releases of an operating system as long as there is a TSA that understands the data. With the introduction of NetWare 4.0, Novell has supplied TSAs for NetWare 3.1x servers, NetWare 4.0x servers, NetWare Directory Services (NDS), DOS, Windows and OS/2 clients. Target Service Agents for NetWare 2.x, and Macintosh and UNIX clients will follow shortly. 3. System Independent Data Format (SIDF) - SIDF is an open standard for the format of data on storage media. The SMS Target Service Agents generate data streams in the SIDF format within the Storage Management Services architecture. In addition, the SIDF specification defines a standard format for storing data on secondary storage devices such as tape. SIDF is an extensible format that ensures compatibility between future and current SIDF based products and stored (i.e., archived) SIDF data. An SIDF committee composed of representatives of most LAN backup software companies was formed to work with standards organizations such as American National Standards Institute (ANSI), European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA) and International Standards Organization (ISO) to adopt SIDF as an industry standard format. In summary, Storage Management Services (SMS) offers a development specification that encourages software developers, committed to fostering industry standards, a means to provide enterprise data management solutions that are safe, reliable and quickly adaptable to changing environments. When new operating systems are implemented, SMS compliant vendors, such as Palindrome, will be the quickest to respond with software support. As networks grow to include clients with a number of network and workstation file systems, only SMS compliant vendors can provide storage solutions which are reliable and proven. In short, full SMS compliance is a must for providing data protection and management to mission critical data; anything less is a gamble. The Palindrome Solution: 100% SMS Compliance With the release of Palindrome Network Archivist SMS, Palindrome became the first major backup provider to deliver a 100% compliant Storage Management Services (SMS) based storage management application. Palindrome's SMS based application utilizes the SMS protocols to access heterogeneous clients and extends centralized data management services to DOS, OS/2, and Windows clients. Most importantly for NetWare 4.x customers, Palindrome s SMS compliant version of Network Archivist provides fully integrated and complete support for NetWare 4.0 features such as file compression, NetWare Directory Services, and data migration. Palindrome is also working to ensure Target Service Agent availability on a wide variety of platforms. Palindrome is currently working with partners to produce TSAs for several operating systems and application servers including Lotus Notes, Oracle, Gupta and Sybase database applications and Windows NT. Unlike other storage management solution providers, Palindrome s work on TSAs will continue to provide complete support for the open and standard application programming interfaces (API). This adherence to the SMS protocol will ensure that any TSA developed by Palindrome will be fully certifiable by Novell. Palindrome fully supports the Storage Management Services (SMS) protocols and System Independent Data Format (SIDF) as an open, industry standard. It is through the support of open standards like SMS that Palindrome will continue to provide intelligent, automated storage management solutions to customers who need reliable storage management solutions for their enterprises. Summary Palindrome recognizes the need of its customers to implement centralized storage management services across a variety of computing platforms and environments and has fully endorsed the Storage Management Services architecture as a robust, extensible architecture for protecting and managing data in heterogeneous networks. Palindrome believes that only through partnerships with other manufacturers will any storage management solution provider be able to support and keep up with the constant changes in today s networks. It is for this reason that Palindrome has endorsed the SMS architecture and is actively working with Novell and other manufacturers to continue its evolution and implementation. In addition, Palindrome is an active member in the SIDF Committee to ensure an industry-wide standard data interchange format. As network data storage and management requirements continue to grow, it becomes increasingly important to automate the management of data to prevent potential errors. An intelligent and automated approach to storage management is a prerequisite to implementing networks containing mission critical applications and data. Palindrome believes that the combination of our Intelligent Storage Management technology and the support of an open architecture based on Storage Management Services protocols will continue to provide Novell customers with the storage management solutions they require to implement mission critical networks.