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Figure 1. SAN Headquarters SAN Assist data flow
SAN Assist communicates directly with a PS Series
group to collect a subset of diagnostic,
configuration and performance data. When the
data collection completes, SAN Assist will
automatically upload the data to the Dell Support
datacenter as shown in Figure 1.
SAN Assist: Secure and Resilient by
design
Secure – a unique read only account will be used
on each PS Series group that enables SAN Assist to
access only the appropriate diagnostic and
configuration data. All communication will be
encrypted and secure using secure socket layer
(SSL) connected sessions. All user passwords are
scrubbed prior to upload.
Resilient – any interruption in upload due to
internet connectivity or server issues will defer the
attempt and will retry at a later time.
SAN Assist: Flexible and Simple by
design
Data transmission and collection may be
scheduled, On-Demand or triggered by critical
events.
SAN Assist may easily turned on or off by the user
by PS Series group.
Conclusion
The ability to automate collection of certain
configuration, select diagnostic and performance
data of the PS Series groups will allow Dell support
personnel to provide expedited responses to
dynamically changing environments. However, PS
Series diag or PSDiag scripts collects a broader
range of data and may still be requested.
Please download version 2.5 of SAN Headquarters
and enable SAN Assist to start enjoying these
benefits.
SAN Assist collection goals
*
:
 Take less than 5 minutes per group
for collection
 Less than 5% performance impact
on the PS Series arrays during
collection
 Less than 5MB per file transmitted
during uploads
Supports PS Series with Firmware 5.0.8 or
higher
(*For typical configurations)