Monitoring applicance for data storage arrays and a method of monitoring usage

摘要

A monitoring appliance for a data storage array used by plural hosts to store data responds to stored metadata to interrogate the data storage array at intervals to establish the amount of usage of the data storage array. Each host can use the file system(s) and/or database(s) of its choice in portions of the data storage array allocated to it. The monitoring appliance has basic knowledge of all file systems/databases used by the hosts, and the metadata structure of those file systems/databases.