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NORTHERN
Storage Chargeback |
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Theory of Operations
Northern Storage
Chargeback's essential operation is the identification of the costs of
supplying storage resources and the association of these costs with the
individuals, groups, logical volumes, etc. that are using the storage
resources. The process of connecting actual storage use by cost centre
with the actual costs incurred.
These processes are carried out by a scanning engine that collects file
system and mailbox data. This data is then compared to a series of user
defined rules, the identification of cost centres and configured Billing
Classes. Reports and invoices are then made available that clearly show
the costs incurred by each cost centre. These reports are displayed
using ActiveX controls, comprising a series of HTML pages. They are also
available in printable format.
ActiveX controls are dynamic whereas HTML is static. The ActiveX
controls in Storage Chargeback allow for interactive manipulation of
data presented, the Administrator can recalculate, resort and reshape
the statistics in the client.
The process of generating these reports and invoices can be scheduled to
meet organizational needs, by week, month, quarter, etc. An organization
may typically carry-out between five and ten scans per quarter,
depending on size and departmentalisation, etc. Data from past scans is
always retained in Storage Chargeback's Microsoft SQL database.
Northern Storage Chargeback uses an MS SQL database to store all user
defined rules and scan data. This data is therefore open to any
application that can interface with MS SQL - existing, non-storage
related, chargeback systems, etc.
In addition to the association of costs with those responsible, Northern
Storage Chargeback offers a series of financial reports. The key focus
of these reports is the identification of trends. The historical data
collected by the scanning engine is used both to provide an analysis of
past and existing trends and as a basis for extrapolation and provision
of anticipated future storage costs.
Interoperability
Northern Storage Chargeback supports a number of standards in order to
offer extended integration possibilities.
- All data is stored in open MS SQL tables.
- Data can also be stored in an MSDE database, if preferred.
- All configuration information is stored in open XML file format.
- All data displayed in Storage Chargeback's interface can be
exported to Microsoft Excel or in comma separated file format (CSV).
- Extended functionality is offered when Northern Storage
Chargeback is used in conjunction with an active Quota Server 2003
storage control policy. This extended functionality includes the
possibility to use quota size data in cost calculations.
Requirements
- Microsoft Windows ® 2000 Server or higher
- 75 megabytes of free disk space
- Internet Explorer 5.01 or higher
- MS SQL server 7 or higher
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