Storage Array Discovery
What is Storage Discovery?
Storage array discovery automatically identifies and inventories enterprise storage systems such as SANs, NAS appliances, and unified storage platforms. When Tripl-i detects a storage device during an SNMP scan, it automatically performs deep enrichment using the storage system's management APIs to collect detailed information about pools, volumes (LUNs), controllers, disks, and ports.
How It Works
Storage discovery is a two-phase process:
- SNMP Detection — During a standard network scan, SNMP identifies the device as a storage system based on its device profile (manufacturer, model, system description)
- Deep Enrichment — Once identified, Tripl-i automatically connects to the storage system's management interface to collect detailed component data
This means you don't need to configure storage scanning separately — it happens automatically when a supported storage device is discovered via SNMP.
Discovery Methods
Tripl-i uses up to three methods to collect storage data, depending on what the device supports:
| Method | Description | Data Quality |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | Connects to the vendor's management REST API for the most detailed data | Highest — full component inventory with health and performance |
| SMI-S / CIM-WBEM | Uses the industry-standard Storage Management Initiative Specification | High — standardized data across vendors |
| SNMP | Basic device information from standard SNMP MIBs | Basic — system identity and capacity only |
When multiple methods are available, REST API data takes priority as it provides the richest information.
Supported Storage Vendors
| Vendor | Product Lines | Discovery Methods |
|---|---|---|
| Huawei | OceanStor, Dorado | SNMP + REST API + SMI-S |
| IBM | Storwize, SVC, FlashSystem | SNMP + REST API + SMI-S |
| NetApp | FAS, AFF (ONTAP) | SNMP + REST API |
| Pure Storage | FlashArray | SNMP + REST API |
| Dell EMC | Unity, Data Domain | SNMP + REST API + SMI-S |
| Hitachi | VSP | SNMP + REST API |
Additional vendors can be supported by adding device profiles to the SNMP catalog.
What Gets Discovered
System Information
For each storage array, the following is captured:
- Identity — Name, manufacturer, model, serial number, firmware version
- Capacity — Total, used, and free capacity with utilization percentage
- Health — Overall system health status (Healthy, Degraded, Critical)
- Active Alarms — Current alerts with severity levels (Critical, Warning, Info)
Storage Pools
Storage pools (also called aggregates, disk groups, or storage tiers) represent logical groupings of physical disks.
| Information Collected | Description |
|---|---|
| Pool name and ID | Unique identifier for each pool |
| Total / Used / Free capacity | Storage utilization per pool |
| Utilization percentage | Current usage level |
| RAID level | Protection scheme (RAID 5, RAID 6, etc.) |
| Disk type | SSD, SAS, NL-SAS, NVMe |
| Storage tier | Performance tier classification |
| Health status | Current operational status |
Volumes (LUNs)
Volumes represent the logical storage units presented to servers and applications.
| Information Collected | Description |
|---|---|
| Volume name and ID | Unique identifier |
| Capacity | Size in GB/TB |
| Allocation type | Thin or thick provisioned |
| Parent pool | Which storage pool the volume belongs to |
| Mapped hosts | Which servers have access to this volume |
| WWN | World Wide Name for SAN identification |
| Health status | Current operational status |
Controllers
Storage controllers are the processing units that manage I/O operations.
| Information Collected | Description |
|---|---|
| Controller name and ID | Unique identifier |
| Model and serial number | Hardware identification |
| Firmware version | Current firmware |
| Role | Primary, secondary, active, or standby |
| Health status | Current operational status |
Physical Disks
Individual disk drives that provide the raw storage capacity.
| Information Collected | Description |
|---|---|
| Disk name and location | Slot, enclosure, and bay identification |
| Capacity | Size in GB/TB |
| Disk type | SSD, SAS, NL-SAS, NVMe, SATA |
| Manufacturer and model | Hardware identification |
| Serial number | Unique disk identifier |
| Firmware version | Current firmware |
| RPM | Rotational speed (for spinning disks) |
| Health status | Current operational status |
Ports
Network ports used for host connectivity and replication.
| Information Collected | Description |
|---|---|
| Port name and ID | Unique identifier |
| Port type | FC, FCoE, iSCSI, Ethernet, SAS, InfiniBand |
| WWN / MAC address | Network identifier |
| Speed | Link speed in Gbps |
| Controller association | Which controller the port belongs to |
| Health status | Current operational status |
CI Types Created
When a storage array is discovered, Tripl-i creates the following Configuration Items in your CMDB:
| CI Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Storage | The storage array itself, with system info and capacity summary |
The detailed component data (pools, volumes, controllers, disks, ports) is stored as sub-collections linked to the parent Storage CI, giving you a complete inventory of every component inside the array.
Credential Requirements
Storage discovery requires credentials to access the management interfaces. Configure these in the Scanner Agent's credential management:
| Credential Type | Used For | When Needed |
|---|---|---|
| SNMP | Initial device detection and basic info | Always (required for detection) |
| Storage API | REST API access for detailed discovery | When the device supports REST API |
| SMI-S | CIM-WBEM access for standardized data | When the device supports SMI-S |
Setting Up Credentials
- Open the Scanner Agent GUI
- Navigate to the Credentials tab
- Add credentials for each storage system IP:
- SNMP credentials — Community string (v2c) or authentication details (v3)
- Storage API credentials — Username and password for the vendor management interface (e.g., Huawei DeviceManager, NetApp ONTAP API)
- SMI-S credentials — Username and password for CIM-WBEM access (if supported)
Permission Requirements
- REST API: A read-only management user is sufficient. No write permissions are needed.
- SMI-S: Standard CIM-XML read access is sufficient.
- SNMP: Read-only community string or SNMPv3 user with read access.
Health Monitoring
Storage discovery captures health status at every level — from the overall system down to individual disks and ports. Health statuses are normalized across vendors:
| Status | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Healthy / Normal | All components operating normally | No action needed |
| Degraded / Warning | Some components reporting issues | Investigate and plan remediation |
| Critical / Error | Significant issues detected | Immediate attention required |
Active alarms from the storage system are also captured with their severity level, providing visibility into current issues without needing to log into each vendor's management interface separately.
Capacity Tracking
Each discovered storage array includes a capacity summary:
- Total capacity — Raw storage capacity in TB
- Used capacity — Currently consumed storage
- Free capacity — Available storage
- Utilization percentage — Current usage level
- Disk count — Total physical disks
- Volume count — Number of LUNs/volumes
- Pool count — Number of storage pools
This information enables capacity planning and helps identify storage systems approaching capacity limits.
Best Practices
Credential Management
- Use read-only accounts for all storage management interfaces
- Configure credentials before running discovery scans
- Use different credentials per storage system if required by your security policy
Scan Scheduling
- Storage arrays are typically stable — weekly scans are sufficient for most environments
- Schedule storage scans during low-activity periods to minimize any impact on storage performance
- Run on-demand scans after significant storage changes (new LUNs, disk replacements)
Monitoring
- Review the capacity utilization trends to plan storage purchases
- Set up alerts for storage systems with utilization above 80%
- Monitor controller health status to detect potential failures early
- Track disk health to identify aging or failing drives
Related Topics
- SNMP Scanning — How network devices are discovered via SNMP
- Network Scanning — Overview of all scanning protocols
- Credential Management — Managing discovery credentials