Benefits of Call Home with cloud services

Metadata about the configuration, capacity, and performance of IBM® block storage systems is the key to monitoring and getting actionable insights about your storage environment. In IBM Storage Insights, you can collect metadata by using Call Home with cloud service or with lightweight applications (called data collectors) that you deploy into your environment.

Metadata collection methods

A number of factors can determine which metadata collection method might work best for you. In IBM Storage Insights, you can use both Call Home with cloud services and data collectors as part of your overall monitoring strategy, but keep in mind the following considerations:
  • You can use only one method to collect metadata for each storage system. You can't use both methods at the same time. For example, if you use a data collector to collect metadata for a storage system, you can't also use Call Home with cloud services for that storage system.
  • If you have more than one IBM Storage Insights, each service can monitor the same storage system by using different collection methods. However, you can use Call Home with cloud services to collect metadata on only one of those services. For example, if you have three services that monitor a storage system, and one service uses Call Home with cloud services, you must use data collectors in the other two services.
To help you decide how to collect metadata for each of your storage systems, keep in mind the following considerations:
Requirements
  • Call Home with cloud services is available for storage systems that run IBM Storage Virtualize 8.5.3 and later and have at least 128 GB of memory per node. These storage systems include the IBM FlashSystem® family and IBM SAN Volume Controller.
  • Data collectors can collect metadata for all the storage systems that are supported by IBM Storage Insights, including non-IBM storage systems. However, the server or virtual machine where you deploy a data collector must meet OS and hardware requirements. For more information about the requirements for data collectors, see Before you begin checklist for IBM Storage Insights.
Deployment
  • Call Home with cloud services doesn’t require deploying any applications into your environment. However, you must use the management GUI of a storage system to enable Call Home with cloud services, configure integration with IBM Storage Insights, and add a storage system for monitoring.
  • Data collectors are lightweight applications that you must download and then install on a server or virtual machine within your network. The server or virtual machine must be able to access the storage system that you want to monitor. For more information, see Downloading and installing data collectors.
Key benefits of Call Home with cloud services
  • You don't need to deploy a data collector on a server or virtual machine in your environment. Determining where to deploy the data collector and ensuring that you meet its software and hardware requirements is a thing of the past.
  • Because you don't deploy a data collector, you don't need to administer the regular security and password updates that are typically required for servers or virtual machines.
  • You don't need to manage data collector upgrades or assignments for the storage system.
  • The built-in redundancy features of Call Home with cloud services help to ensure that your metadata collection keeps streaming while your storage systems remain active. You no longer need to deploy multiple data collectors to avoid interruptions to metadata collection.
  • By using Call Home with cloud services, you create a more seamless integration with IBM Storage Insights. Your metadata is delivered straight to your dashboards with all the existing security measures of IBM Storage Insights, IBM Cloud, and your IBM Storage Virtualize storage systems.