Symantec Operations Readiness Tools

Last updated
Symantec Operations Readiness Tools
Platform Cross-platform
Type Cloud computing
License proprietary
Website http://sort.symantec.com/

On March 15, 2011, Symantec released Symantec Operations Readiness Tools (SORT), an updated version of Veritas Operations Services (VOS). [1]

Contents

SORT (formerly VOS) is a web-based suite of services introduced by Symantec Corporation in 2008 [2] [3] that supports Symantec enterprise products, such as Veritas Storage Foundation, Veritas Cluster Server (VCS), and NetBackup.

SORT collects environmental data from AIX, HP-UX, Linux, Solaris, and Windows servers. SORT identifies risks in data centers and provides remediation recommendations.

Symantec does not currently charge its customers for SORT. [4]

Process

SORT uses a data collector to collect configuration and environmental data about Veritas Volume Manager (VxVM), Veritas File System (VxFS), VCS, NetBackup, and other Symantec enterprise products. The data are analyzed for potential problems and risks, which are summarized in reports.

SORT produces three types of reports about Symantec enterprise products:

SORT performs environment-specific checks to produce these reports. The risk assessment report, for example, is based on 155 separate checks.

Product and licensing inventory report

The product and licensing inventory report lists installed software binaries and license keys.

Installation and upgrade report

The installation and upgrade report lists environment-specific prerequisites that must be met before installing or upgrading Symantec enterprise products. For example, the report lists required operating system patches that need to be installed before installing a Symantec enterprise product.

Risk assessment report

The risk assessment report provides an environment-specific configuration assessment with recommendations to increase performance, availability, and utilization.

For example, one of the checks in the risk assessment report lists volumes whose mirrors are composed of logical units from the same disk array. Logical volumes that are mirrored have higher availability when mirrored across separate disk array controllers. Mirroring logical volumes across separate disk array controllers allows the logical volumes to continue to operate should one disk array fail.

See also

Related Research Articles

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In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "back up", whereas the noun and adjective form is "backup". Backups can be used to recover data after its loss from data deletion or corruption, or to recover data from an earlier time. Backups provide a simple form of disaster recovery; however not all backup systems are able to reconstitute a computer system or other complex configuration such as a computer cluster, active directory server, or database server.

NetApp American technology company

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The VERITAS File System is an extent-based file system. It was originally developed by VERITAS Software. Through an OEM agreement, VxFS is used as the primary filesystem of the HP-UX operating system. With on-line defragmentation and resize support turned on via license, it is known as OnlineJFS. It is also supported on AIX, Linux, Solaris, OpenSolaris, SINIX/Reliant UNIX, UnixWare and SCO OpenServer. VxFS was originally developed for AT&T's Unix System Laboratories. VxFS is packaged as a part of the Veritas Storage Foundation.

The Veritas Volume Manager is a proprietary logical volume manager from Veritas.

Veritas Storage Foundation (VSF), previously known as Veritas Foundation Suite, is a computer software product made by Veritas Software that combines Veritas Volume Manager (VxVM) and Veritas File System (VxFS) to provide online-storage management. Symantec Corporation developed and maintained VSF until January 29, 2016, at which point Veritas and Symantec separated. The latest product version, 7.0, was re-branded as "Veritas InfoScale 7.0".

Veritas Cluster Server is a high-availability cluster software for Unix, Linux and Microsoft Windows computer systems, created by Veritas Technologies. It provides application cluster capabilities to systems running other applications, including databases, network file sharing, and electronic commerce websites.

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The Logical Disk Manager (LDM) is an implementation of a logical volume manager for Microsoft Windows NT, developed by Microsoft and Veritas Software. It was introduced with the Windows 2000 operating system, and is supported in Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10. The MMC-based Disk Management snap-in hosts the Logical Disk Manager. On Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, Microsoft deprecated LDM in favor of Storage Spaces.

The Veritas Cluster File System is a cache coherent POSIX compliant shared file system built based upon VERITAS File System. It is distributed with a built-in Cluster Volume Manager (VxCVM) and components of other VERITAS Storage Foundation products - particularly VERITAS Cluster Server, VERITAS File System, and VERITAS Volume Manager. It uses the underlying mechanisms of VERITAS Cluster Server to manage membership and changes in cluster state.

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Dell EMC PowerFlex, is a commercial software-defined storage product from Dell EMC that creates a server-based storage area network (SAN) from local server storage using x86 servers. It converts this direct-attached storage into shared block storage than runs over an IP-based network.

Veritas Technologies LLC. is an American international data management company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The company has its origins in Tolerant Systems, founded in 1983 and later renamed Veritas Software. It specializes in storage management software including the first commercial journaling file system, VxFS, VxVM, VCS, the personal/small office backup software Backup Exec and the enterprise backup software, NetBackup. Veritas Record Now was an early CD recording software.

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References

  1. Jerome M. Wendt (19 October 2010). "Symantec Extends Web-based Benefits of Its Operations Readiness Tool for Storage Foundation and NetBackup Administrators". DCIG.
  2. Cloud News Desk (20 November 2008). "Symantec Announces Veritas Operations Services at Cloud Computing Conference & Expo". Virtualization Journal.
  3. Todd R. Weiss (18 November 2008). "Veritas service helps find hidden risks in data centers". Network World Asia.
  4. Chris Preimesberger (19 November 2008). "Symantec joins the burgeoning cloud-development crowd". eWeek.