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Complete Storage Resource Management Northern Storage Suite is a Storage Resource Management solution that targets the costs and complexities of managing stored data on Windows Server, SAN, NAS, EMC or NetApp. Breaking Storage Resource Management down into four goals; elimination of wasteful storage usage, controlling the behaviour that caused this misuse, facilitating a pro-active mind-set among users and providing the time and data required for methodical network development.     |
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Overview
Features & Benefits
Resources
Requirements
Testimonials |
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Northern Storage Suite is a software solution that resolves the technical and managerial issues associated with storing user-generated data, issues that are crucial and becoming more complex as the amount of stored data grows with more than 60% year-on-year.
THE SUITE'S COMPLEMENTARY PARTS
THE SUITE'S COMPLEMENTARY PARTS
At a more technical level Northern Storage Suite is comprised of five key areas of functionality, each offered through a dedicated workspace:
| Storage Reporter | Identifying usage patterns, trends and forecasts |
| Storage Assistant | Automated clean-up, scheduled replication, uploading, etc. |
| Quota Server | Controlling data quantities at directory, group and user levels. |
| Storage Portal | User reports showing largest, oldest, duplicate and media files. |
| Storage Chargeback | Billing and reporting to spread cost awareness. |
Each of these feature sets offer an extensive depth of functionality within a specific focus area and individual features can be applied to achieve valuable tactical results. Storage quotas can be used to prevent directories from exceeding a specific size for example, or binary file-type reports can be used to identify users who are renaming unwanted files.
As individual features Northern Storage Suite offers the tools required to resolve specific storage management issues. As a holistic and intelligent solution Northern Storage Suite offers an efficient method of resolving the most challenging technical and managerial issues associated with storing user-generated data; simplified administration and reduced costs.
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DASHBOARD
An overview of your storage situation as the Northern Storage Suite start page or in your mailbox.
Storage Analysis:
Current state - Total usage and total capacity within the environment. Current paths - Paths at specific usage brackets and path growth rates. Critical paths - Highlighting paths at dangerous levels. Future critical paths - Paths that require immediate action. Current users - Revealing average and excessive usage. Future users - Projected levels of usage and future distribution among users. File type growth - Changes in the size of file type groups and projected future sizes.
Warnings and Action Recommendations:
Warning flags: current status - Immediate communication of where action is needed. Warning flags: future status - Dashboard identifies trends within the storage environment and projects what effect these trends will have. Dangerous trends are instantly identified and communicated. Action recommendations - Taking the next step from identifying current and future problem areas – Northern Storage Suite: Dashboard offers expert, environment-specific advice as to how the identified problem areas can be managed and how the predicted future issues can be easily avoided.
QUOTA SERVER
Advanced quantity control policies allow you to minimise usage and growth rates:
High performance NAS quotas – a cached fast access list of file sizes ensures zero impact on NAS performance Hybrid EMC Celerra quotas – advanced asynchronous monitoring and synchronous locking guarantees a secure quota policy and maximizes filer performance Hybrid NetApp NAS quotas – asynchronous monitoring and synchronous locking warrants a secure quota policy and preserves filer performance User-based quotas – set quotas on individual user accounts [available for Windows, Windows Cluster, EMC Celerra, NetApp NAS and SAN] Directory and object level quotas - set quotas on all levels of file structure User exclusion – lift quota restrictions for specific users within a quota [available for Windows, Windows Cluster, EMC Celerra, NetApp NAS and SAN] Path exclusion – lift quota restrictions for specific paths within a quota [available for Windows, Windows Cluster, EMC Celerra, NetApp NAS and SAN] Exchange quotas - set quotas on individual exchange mailboxes Group-based quotas – make quota settings dependant on a users Primary Group membership [available for Windows, Windows Cluster and SAN] Set quota wizard – a more efficient tool for designing and implementing quota policies Smart quota columns – pick up Active directory data in the quota view for mass and micro management Automated user quotas - create a template quota that automatically controls all existing and any new users [available for Windows, Windows Cluster and SAN] Automated directory quotas - create a template quota that automatically controls all existing and any new directories Asynchronous quota monitoring - user and device activity are not stalled by quota processes Real-time quota controls - quotas are evaluated, displayed and enforced in real-time Hard quotas - allow users to edit and save existing files, only save open files or save no files at all Hard exchange quotas - lock mailboxes or just stop the possibility to send mail Soft quotas - encourage compliance with notifications only Active quotas - execute programs at quota thresholds to take remedial action when a quota is exceeded Trigger notifications at usage intervals - send emails and popup messages at thresholds of quota usage Customizable notification templates - localize quota notification templates to suit your specific needs
Content control policies allow you to prohibit unwanted file types:
File type blocking - do not allow users to store specific file types [available for Windows, Windows Cluster, EMC Celerra, NetApp NAS and SAN] File type group blocking - mass-prohibit music, movie or program files [available for Windows, Windows Cluster, EMC Celerra, NetApp NAS and SAN] Efficient file block - real-time scanning at file extension level [available for Windows, Windows Cluster, EMC Celerra, NetApp NAS and SAN], binary-level scanning performed in a scheduled report
Advanced quota management to achieve specific results:
Customizable quota workspaces - edit existing or create new workspaces, include or exclude columns, filter, subtotal and group Delegate permissions - allow user groups controlled access to manage certain aspects of the quota policy Storing quota settings - quota configurations can be stored in the local registry, in MS SQL or in Active Directory Command-line tools - utilities offer straightforward integration into batch operations Custom quota labels - label quotas for quick recognition and mass-management Automated notification setup - use LDAP queries and custom variables to automate notification configuration
STORAGE REPORTER
Information-rich drill-down interface shows general storage status:
General status - view status at enterprise, host group, host and path levels Distribution across data types - view usage by file type group and individual file type Distribution across users - view usage by user History of usage - view history graphs for host group, host and path levels History of file type content - view history graphs for file type group and file type levels History of user levels - view history graphs for individual users Projected usage - view projected usage for host group, host and path levels Projected file type content - view projected file type group and file type levels Projected user levels - view projected usage by user Largest files - view largest files at host and path levels Oldest files - view oldest files at host and path levels Disk and I/O performance data - identify weakening devices Customizable graphical displays - choose to display data as column chart, pie chart, a plain list or as icons Export to MS Excel - export any data shown in the interface to Excel
Comprehensive scheduled reports reveal specific details of your storage environment:
File size - list all files above a certain threshold File accessed date - list all files that haven't been accessed since a certain date File modification date - show all files that haven't been modified since a certain date File creation date - report on all files that were created before, after or on a certain date File type - list all files of a specific type, using file extension or header data File backup status - show all files that have their backup attribute set or not set Files containing hidden streams - report on files that contain hidden streams File type growth rates - show the file types that have grown the most during a specific time period File duplicity - identify true duplicate files by matching file content, not just name and size Folder size - see the usage per folder Folder size per user - see the usage of every folder per user Folder size per file type - see the usage of every folder per file type User accounts - list all files owned by a specific user User accounts that are obsolete - report on all files owned by obsolete accounts Users that consume the most space - list the top users within your environment User growth rates - show users with the fastest growing space consumption Host forecasts - which hosts will reach a dangerous level of usage on a specific date Path forecasts - which paths will reach a dangerous level of usage on a specific date Quota report - easily see all the quotas above or below a certain size Exchange report - see all the Exchange mailboxes above or below a certain size Export to Excel - report output to blank work books or customizable templates Graphical report output - inline graphs for clearer communication Grouped report output - group raw data straight in the report
STORAGE PORTAL
User-focussed storage portal makes users responsible for the data they own:
Storage quota integration - portal reports scan quota paths and are provided through quota threshold notifications User specific reports - individual storage reports offer users the tools they need to manage their own storage use Interactive reports - users can open, move or delete files or groups of files from directly within these reports Quota status report - displaying the users current quota status File age report - provide users with a interactive report listing their oldest files File size report - provide users with an interactive report of their largest files Media file report - provide users with an interactive report showing their true media files, a report generated by a binary level scan Duplicate file report - provide users with a list of their true duplicate files, a list generated by a binary level scan and pattern matching Files owned by others report - show users all files owned by other accounts that are stored within the path of their storage quota
Controlled growth rates and decreased administrator involvement:
Grace limit rules - define rules to handle quota increase requests, allowing usage to grow by a specific percentage over a specific period Group membership dependency - define different rules for different User Groups Automatic or manual handling - have increase requests evaluated automatically or queued for administrator approval
Customizable user experience:
Localize portal language - translate the component text to ensure quick understanding Localize portal message - use the available text fields to describe the details and motivations behind the company's SRM policy Remove interface elements - if the users should not have the option to request a quota increase, simply remove it from the interface
STORAGE CHARGEBACK
Billing for storage use highlights the true costs involved:
File system analysis - invoice or report according to storage use Exchange mailbox analysis - invoice or report depending on mailbox size Quota analysis - invoice or report according to quota size User level reporting/billing - send individual users an invoice or a cost report Group level reporting/billing - send department managers an invoice or a cost report Path level reporting/billing - send reports and invoices to project managers and customers Open format outputs - calculation output is stored in MS SQL, and can also be exported to MS Excel and CSV
Granular pricing schemes match real-world business models:
Multi-tiered billing classes - use a flat pricing scheme or one where different usage thresholds trigger escalated costs Pricing to match device types - charge a premium for high end storage and encourage infrequently used data to be kept on low end devices Base cost - charge a start-up fee to cover administrative overhead
Scheduled reports offer financial analysis:
Identify cost growth patterns - the fastest growing user, group or path Identify budget viability - forecast budget exhaustion dates according to current trends
STORAGE ASSISTANT
Use flexible event logics to trigger pre-defined actions:
Calendar events - use dates, date ranges, days and times to trigger actions Timer events - use time intervals to trigger actions File watching events - use changes in file or directory properties as triggers for actions Internet watching events - monitor for specific strings or simply any changes in web pages and trigger actions when changes occur System watching events - monitor for system events like a service start-up and trigger actions Multiple events - group events to create advanced triggers Integrated events - create logical relationships between events to only trigger actions when all are true, only one, or none are true Repetition control - control the number of times the event can be true
Define flexible actions to automate your specific processes:
File delete action - permanently remove unwanted files, filter on type, size, modified or accessed date File copy action - make copies of files for backup or simple monitoring purposes File move action - archive or quarantine files according to type, size, accessed or modified date Directory replicate action - maintain a mirrored copy of directories across multiple devices or sites Execute program action - trigger compression tools, custom scripts or batch files FTP/HTTP actions - upload, download or run scripts via ftp or http protocols Notification actions - send smtp or popup notifications include variables to make notifications event sensitive Multiple actions - group actions to extend automation processes Integrated actions - create logical relationships between actions to add fault tolerance into the automation process Result passing - pass results between actions to more closely integrate their function Repetition control - control the number of times an action can be executed
Open interface ensures complete transparency of automation processes:
Goal-specific views - status, history, timeline and statistics views provide the information needed to manage an advanced automation system Common building blocks - processes are automated with standardized and open building blocks
Manage the enterprise:
Multi-host display - all workspaces can include data from all devices Multi-host management - all workspaces allow concurrent management of multiple devices Email protocol support - send notifications using SNMP, MS Mail, MS Exchange, Windows Messenger and command-line messaging Operation Manager support - post warnings and information messages to the Event Viewer COM API - integrate storage control policies with COM aware applications SQL database store - quota settings, usage and cost data, billing class definitions, etc. are all stored in an open SQL database
Run Northern's Free Analysis Tool
Get a quick overview of your current storage situation. See the number of media files being stored, how much capacity the top five percent of users are currently using, the age pattern of files and more. Find out now and get a taster of what Northern Storage Suite offers by downloading Northern’s Free Analysis Tool - within minutes you will have an overview of what’s stored on your file servers... in 6 easy steps!
Get a quick overview of your current storage situation. See the number of media files being stored, how much capacity the top five percent of users are currently using, the age pattern of files and more. Find out now and get a taster of what Northern Storage Suite offers by downloading Northern’s Free Analysis Tool - within minutes you will have an overview of what’s stored on your file servers... in 6 easy steps!
1. Download the free tool (1.66mb)
2. Run the executable
3. Choose where to store the report
4. Select the path to be scanned
5. Wait for the scan to finish
6. View the results
2. Run the executable
3. Choose where to store the report
4. Select the path to be scanned
5. Wait for the scan to finish
6. View the results
Whitepapers 
Northern Storage Suite Real World Scenarios - As a means of highlighting the very real meaning of SRM this White Paper will describe the storage-related issues experienced by four organizations. It will further show how these organizations overcame these issues using a very practical definition of Storage Resource Management. These are four very common scenarios that serve as a usable description of what form storage-related issues can take and, more importantly, how Storage Resource Management should best be defined.
Re-Defining SRM Intelligent Management of User Data - For any organization about to head down the SRM path, there are three critical areas to consider: how do we define SRM, what must we address now, and what will we have to address as our needs grow and our competitive environment changes.
The Concept and Practical Application of a System of Internal Billing - An in-depth look at the reasons behind why many organizations have taken the decision to implement a system of internal billing.
Legally Liable for User’s MP3s - Are you worried about unauthorized illegal MP3s on your servers?
NAS Meets SRM - This paper focuses on the most broadly shared SRM-related challenges among SMBs and shows how you can use Northern Storage Suite in conjunction with NAS technology to address them.
Product Manuals 
Northern Storage Suite Deployment Guide
Northern Storage Suite Evaluation Guide
Quotering User Guide
Storage Reporter User Guide
Storage Portal User Guide
Storage Assistant User Guide
Storage Chargeback User Guide
Northern Storage Suite Evaluation Guide
Quotering User Guide
Storage Reporter User Guide
Storage Portal User Guide
Storage Assistant User Guide
Storage Chargeback User Guide
Brochures 
Northern Storage Suite - Software Product Description
Northern Storage Suite V8 for EMC Celerra
Northern Storage Suite V8 for NetApp
Northern Storage Suite V8 for EMC Celerra
Northern Storage Suite V8 for NetApp
Case Studies 
25,000 users regulated by Quota Server
An organization that grows as fast as UPMC requires a responsive, resourceful IT staff particularly if it’s in charge of maintaining peak network performance on a tight budget. Read more about how UPMC Health System uses NORTHERN's Quota Server to manage 25,000 of their users.
At-Bristol - Hands-on science centre holds the line on storage
At-Bristol selected Northern Storage Suite because it was priced right, was intelligently designed, offered comprehensible – and comprehensive – reporting and had the best overall look and feel. Read about how they manage their ever increasing amount of artwork and CAD drawings through quotas, reports and automation.
Lipson College - Actually Delivers
Read about how Lipson Community College uses Northern Storage Suite to manage users’ storage requirements efficiently, effectively and flexibly .
Jervis B. Webb Engineers a Solution to Streamline Storage Management
Read about how Northern Quota Server has allowed Jervis B. Webb to efficiently and flexibly manage user data while freeing up time to spend on other administrative tasks.
Making Connections at the University of Nebraska at Omaha
University of Nebraska chose Northern’s SRM solution based on its flexible, easy-to-use quota management and robust reporting features.
An organization that grows as fast as UPMC requires a responsive, resourceful IT staff particularly if it’s in charge of maintaining peak network performance on a tight budget. Read more about how UPMC Health System uses NORTHERN's Quota Server to manage 25,000 of their users.
At-Bristol - Hands-on science centre holds the line on storage
At-Bristol selected Northern Storage Suite because it was priced right, was intelligently designed, offered comprehensible – and comprehensive – reporting and had the best overall look and feel. Read about how they manage their ever increasing amount of artwork and CAD drawings through quotas, reports and automation.
Lipson College - Actually Delivers
Read about how Lipson Community College uses Northern Storage Suite to manage users’ storage requirements efficiently, effectively and flexibly .
Jervis B. Webb Engineers a Solution to Streamline Storage Management
Read about how Northern Quota Server has allowed Jervis B. Webb to efficiently and flexibly manage user data while freeing up time to spend on other administrative tasks.
Making Connections at the University of Nebraska at Omaha
University of Nebraska chose Northern’s SRM solution based on its flexible, easy-to-use quota management and robust reporting features.
What a leading aerospace company did when it began running out of space
Alliant Techsystems, an aerospace and defense company, that employs approximately 11,500 people needed to find an efficient means of managing and tracking fast disappearing disk space. Users were backing up their hard drives to the home server, which was quickly filling up. It was then when they made the decision to implement NORTHERN’s Quota Server.
Prominent Boston Museum turns storage management into a fine art
Read about how the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston use Quota Server to manage their users storage.
Alliant Techsystems, an aerospace and defense company, that employs approximately 11,500 people needed to find an efficient means of managing and tracking fast disappearing disk space. Users were backing up their hard drives to the home server, which was quickly filling up. It was then when they made the decision to implement NORTHERN’s Quota Server.
Prominent Boston Museum turns storage management into a fine art
Read about how the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston use Quota Server to manage their users storage.
Northern Storage Suite can be installed only on a host running specific versions of Windows as described in the table below. For full functionality Northern Storage Suite is dependant on MS Exchange, MS SQL Server and MS Internet Explorer. These details are also provided below.
Northern Storage Suite offers the possibility to manage storage resource on non-Windows hosts through remote administration. This is achieved by working towards the remote host from a normal installation on a Windows server - the selected Windows server is often referred to as the Managing Host. This setup applies to all non-Windows NAS including NetApp filers and EMC NAS. For a Windows-based NAS, it is recommended to install Northern Storage Suite on the NAS itself.
Licensing and Set-up:
Northern Storage Suite is licensed by [physical] host and by capacity [sum of managed volumes] Northern Storage Suite services must always be installed on a Windows server regardless of the target platform[s] A Microsoft SQL Server must be available on the network.
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FEATURE |
SUPPORTED PLATFORM |
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Northern Storage Suite Services [required] |
Windows 2000 Servers or later (excluding Datacenter editions) |
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Northern Storage Suite Clients [required] |
Windows XP Professional |
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Northern Storage Suite Database features [required] |
MS SQL 2000 SP 2 or later MSDE 2000 or later |
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License Server |
Windows XP Professional |
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Northern Storage Suite Exchange feature |
MS Exchange 2000 non-cluster or later |
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NetApp |
NetApp Data ONTAP version 7.0 or later |
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NAS |
Any NAS device fully compliant with Microsoft CIFS |
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SAN |
Any SAN device that is presented as a local drive on the NSS host machine |
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Cluster |
Microsoft Cluster Service for Windows 2000 or later |
Testimonials 
"Disk space has become, for many large institutions like ours, a most valuable resource. Northern Storage Suite is the best quota software I have used to manage disk space utilisation.
From an IT administrator's perspective, Northern Storage Suite is simple to configure and manage. It's reporting features are comprehensive and flexible. Real-time control of disk space maximises our capacity and increases productivity. The end user interaction provides our staff with the tools needed to manage their own disk space. The results are more available disk space and, of greater importance, more efficiently and effectively utilised disk space."
Simon Winter, IT Coordinator, South Eastern Area Laboratory Services
"The Hutchins School have been using Northern Quota Server since version 5. Prior to the purchase of the Quota Server it was not uncommon for the IT support team to be informed that there was a problem saving, only to discover that one of the users had decided to store their entire music collection on the network and consume all the hard drive space.
It used to be a laborious and time consuming task to regularly play "storage police", discover who had exceeded a reasonable storage allocation and "convince them" to delete the excessive files.
The installation of Quota Server solved those problems. Users who were over quota were politely informed that they could not save files until they had deleted excessive files. We were also able to prevent the saving of "dangerous file types" and "unacceptable file types" by users, on a per user basis.
We have recently upgraded to the full version of Northern Storage Suite 2005 thanks to a very attractive offer from Northern. The reporting features of the full suite are now being put to good use. We can, at a glance easily see those users who are approaching their quota and advise them accordingly. It also allows us to proactively predict future storage requirements and plan accordingly.
We are in the process of evaluating the Storage Portal aspect of the Storage Suite which will allow users another avenue to request quota changes."
Ian MacRae, Information Technology Manager, The Hutchins School
"We have been using Northern Storage suite for the best part of 2 years.
When we migrated to Windows 2003, we found the inbuilt disk quota system was very basic and barely adequate for our needs. Northern Storage Suite allows us to have very fine control over disk quota based on folders or shares.
In addition, it allows us to control the type of files that can be written to students home drives. No longer do we have to patrol regularly for illegal MP3 and JPG files.
The reporting facility gives me the tools to plan for future server upgrades by allowing me to accurately plan for future disk capacity."
Martin Crockett, ITC Manager, Saint Peters College (Also customer of Diskeeper and Undelete)
"St Patrick's College cut over to Northern Quota Server six months ago from the native operating system quota service to take advantage of it's extended feature set and fine grain control.
In addition to managing and enforcing quotas we also make use of Quota Server's file blocking feature. This allows to us to exclude all file types that we deem as unsuitable in our environment. Quota Server's fine grain control allows us to precisely target quotas and file blocking right down to user's individual shares whilst excluding other directories on the same volume.
Quota Server's remote management console is intuitive and contains a number of wizards to facilitate the creation of quota and file blocking policies. Quota Server not only extends the creation and management of quotas but also adds a very powerful file blocking tool all in the same package.
This is the sort of product you can't do without in your next job."
Rafael Villalva, IT Manager, St Patrick's College
"We have been using Northern Quota Server at the Charles Darwin University to manage student quotas within the Faculty of Education, Health and Science, since 2001.
Many of our students have large data sets, so data storage is often a problem. However Northern Quota Server has given us the tools and ability to effectively manage this, down to folder level. The intuitive interface and flexibility of use has been a bonus in an ever increasing and challenging data management environment"
Mike Bellamy, Manager, Faculty IT Support, Charles Darwin University (Also customer of Diskeeper, Undelete, NetSupport Manager, DNA and NetSupport School)
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