Automation

Administration, not hardware, is the real cost of a storage infrastructure. Each reduction in administrator involvement, every task automated, is a step towards true efficiency.

With automation from Northern Storage Suite (primarily through NSS: Storage Assistant) you can:
- Automate mundane and repetitive storage tasks.
- Prevent investing valuable time in processes that can be automated.

Below you will find a comprehensive list of automation features within Northern Storage Suite:

The main view for building and handling your storage assistants.

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

Example Events and Actions from NSS: Storage Assistant.

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