Various embodiments of a system and method for provisioning a storage
consumer with storage in a SAN networked computer system are disclosed. A
SAN networked computer system may include one or more consumers of
storage, such as host computers, a plurality of storage devices, and one
or more SAN fabrics including the devices needed to connect the storage
consumers to the storage devices. The system may also include a storage
consumer-centric storage provisioner. To provide a storage consumer with
storage, the storage consumer-centric storage provisioner may perform
discovery on the system to acquire topologic information on the system
along with the characteristics of system components. The storage
provisioner may contextualize the information into the perspective of the
storage consumer to present a user with candidate system configuration
parameters from which to select, and when sufficient parameter selections
have been input, the provisioner may configure the system according to
the user selections.