DE Series systems include ThinkSystem SAN OS software for storage provisioning and other tasks.

ThinkSystem DE Series software consists of these management interfaces:

  • System Manager — a web-based interface used for managing controllers in a storage array.

  • SAN Manager — a web-based interface used for viewing and managing all storage arrays in your network.

  • Web Services Proxy — a REST API used for viewing and managing all storage arrays in your network.

  • Command line interface (CLI) — a software application for configuring and monitoring storage arrays.

ThinkSystem System Manager

System Manager is web-based management software embedded on each controller. To access the user interface, point a browser to the controller’s IP address. A setup wizard helps you get started with system configuration.

System Manager offers a variety of management features, including:

sam1130 icon performance Performance

View up to 30 days of performance data, including I/O latency, IOPS, CPU utilization, and throughput.

sam1130 icon volumes Storage

Provision storage using pools or volume groups, and create application workloads.

sam1130 icon async mirroring Data protection

Perform backup and disaster recovery using snapshots, volume copy, and remote mirroring.

sam1130 icon controllers Hardware

Check component status and perform some functions related to those components, such as assigning hot spare drives.

sam1130 icon alerts Alerts

Notify administrators about important events occurring on the storage array. Alerts can be sent through email, SNMP traps, and syslog.

sam1140 icon active directory Access Management

Configure user authentication that requires users to log in to the system with assigned credentials.

sam1130 icon settings System Settings

Configure other system performance features, such as SSD cache and autoload balancing.

sam1130 icon support Support

View diagnostic data, manage upgrades, and configure AutoSupport, which monitors the health of a storage array and sends automatic dispatches to technical support.

ThinkSystem SAN Manager

SAN Manager is web-based software used for managing your entire domain. From a central view, you can see status for all newer DE Series arrays, such as the DE2000H, DE4000H, DE4000F, DE6000H, and DE6000F. You can also perform batch operations on selected storage arrays.

SAN Manager is installed on a management server along with the Web Services Proxy. To access SAN Manager, you open a browser and enter the URL pointing to the server where the Web Services Proxy is installed.

SAN Manager offers a variety of management features, including:

artboard 9 Discover storage arrays

Find and add the storage arrays you want to manage in your organization’s network. You can then view the status of all storage arrays from a single page.

artboard 11 Launch

Open an instance of System Manager to perform individual management operations on a particular storage array.

sam1130 icon system Import Settings

Perform a batch import from one storage array to multiple arrays, including settings for alerts, AutoSupport, and directory services.

sam1130 icon async mirroring Mirroring

Configure asynchronous or synchronous mirrored pairs between two storage arrays.

artboard 10 Manage Groups

Organize storage arrays into groups for easier management.

sam1130 icon upgrade center Upgrade Center

Upgrade the ThinkSystem SAN OS software on multiple storage arrays.

sam1140 icon certs Certificates

Create certificate signing requests (CSRs), import certificates, and manage existing certificates for multiple storage arrays.

sam1140 icon active directory Access Management

Configure user authentication that requires users to log in to SAN Manager with assigned credentials.

ThinkSystem SAN OS Web Services Proxy

The Web Services Proxy is a RESTful API server that can manage hundreds of new and legacy DE Series arrays. The proxy is installed separately on a Windows or Linux server.

Web Services includes API documentation that allows you to directly interact with the REST API. To access the Web Services API documentation, you open a browser and enter the URL pointing to the server where the Web Services Proxy is installed.

Command line interface (CLI)

The command line interface (CLI) is a software application that provides a way to configure and monitor storage arrays. Using the CLI, you can run commands from an operating system prompt, such as the DOS C: prompt, a Linux operating system path.

As an alternative to System Manager, you can also use the command line interface (CLI) to configure and monitor storage arrays. Using the CLI, you can run commands from an operating system prompt, such as the DOS C: prompt or a Linux operating system path. You can download CLI via the System Manager: click Settings > System, and find the Add-ons section where you can click to download the CLI. For detailed information, see Command Line Interface (CLI) Reference.

Downloading SMcli from System Manager is only applicable for 11.70 releases and beyond. SMcli provided in ThinkSystem software bundle 11.70.2 doesn’t support in-band management.