Dell Information Storage and Management Foundations D-ISM-FN-23

Storage Management

Validate comprehensive understanding of modern data center storage — covering storage networking (FC SAN, IP SAN, NVMe-oF), intelligent storage systems (block, file, object), data protection, and storage infrastructure security for the digital transformation era.

FC SAN iSCSI / IP SAN NVMe-oF Block Storage File Storage Object Storage RAID Deduplication Replication Backup & Archive SDS / SDN Cloud Integration

What You Will Learn

Five Storage Foundations Modules

Build a solid foundation in modern data center storage — from infrastructure concepts and intelligent storage systems through advanced networking, data protection, and security management.

Module 01

Modern Data Center Infrastructure

›Data classification, data center elements and key characteristics, and digital transformation drivers — Cloud, Edge, Big Data, IoT, ML/AI, 5G
›Cloud characteristics, service models (SaaS/PaaS/IaaS), and deployment models (Public/Private/Hybrid/Multi-Cloud)
›Big data analytics, AI/ML infrastructure, IoT architecture, Edge computing, and 5G network impacts on enterprise storage
›Compute systems, storage controllers, network fabric, and application services in a modern data center
›Software-defined data center (SDDC) architecture, hyperconverged infrastructure, and options to build modern data centers

Module 02

Storage Systems

›Intelligent storage system components — controllers, cache tiers, front-end host ports, back-end drive enclosures, and storage pools
›RAID levels — RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10 — architecture, parity calculation, fault tolerance, and rebuild time trade-offs
›Storage provisioning — thick provisioning, thin provisioning, virtual LUNs, over-subscription, and space reclamation
›Automated storage tiering (FAST) — NVMe/SSD performance tier, SAS capacity tier, and cold/archive tier promotion rules
›Block storage, file storage (NAS), object storage (REST/S3), and unified storage system features, use cases, and protocols

Module 03

Storage Networking Technologies

›Fibre Channel SAN — FC protocol stack, port types (N/F/E-port), topologies (point-to-point, arbitrated loop, switched fabric), zoning, and SAN virtualization
›iSCSI — IP-based block storage, iSCSI initiator/target configuration, CHAP authentication, Jumbo Frames, and network segmentation
›FCIP — Fibre Channel over IP for long-distance SAN extension across WAN; FCoE — convergence using Data Center Bridging (DCB)
›NVMe over Fabrics — NVMe/FC, NVMe/TCP, and NVMe/RDMA — queue depth advantages and ultra-low latency workloads
›Software-Defined Storage (SDS) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) in cloud-native and hybrid data center environments

Module 04

Backup, Archive, and Replication

›Availability measurements — RTO, RPO, MTTR, MTBF — and key fault tolerance techniques (RAID, storage mirroring, clustering)
›Backup granularity — full, incremental, differential, cumulative — backup targets (disk VTL, tape, cloud), and backup methods
›Data deduplication — inline vs post-process, source vs target-side dedup, and compression ratios for primary and secondary data
›Data archiving solutions — ILM policies, retention lock, WORM compliance, NAS/tape/cloud archiving architectures
›Replication uses and techniques — synchronous (zero RPO), asynchronous (periodic journaling), CDP, and storage live migration

Module 05

Security and Management

›Information security goals (CIA triad), terminologies, security domains, and threats to storage infrastructure (ransomware, data exfiltration, insider threats)
›Key security controls — encryption at rest (D@RE, AES-256), in-transit encryption (TLS/IPsec), hard/soft zoning, port masking
›Identity and access management — RBAC, ACLs, multi-factor authentication, LDAP/AD integration, and storage audit logging
›Storage infrastructure management functions — capacity planning, performance monitoring (IOPS/throughput/latency), and SLA management
›Event management processes, automated remediation workflows, and SIEM integration for correlated storage security monitoring

Full Curriculum

5-Module D-ISM-FN-23 Programme

Complete storage foundations curriculum — from modern data center concepts through storage systems, networking technologies, data protection, and security management.

›Data classification, data center elements, key characteristics, and digital transformation technologies — Cloud, Edge, Big Data, IoT, ML/AI, 5G
›Cloud service characteristics, SaaS/PaaS/IaaS service models, and Public/Private/Hybrid/Multi-Cloud deployment models
›Big data analytics (Hadoop/Spark), AI/ML infrastructure requirements, IoT sensor gateway architecture, and Edge compute nodes
›Compute system components — rack/blade servers, CPU/memory hierarchy, storage controllers, HBAs, and NIC/HBA convergence
›SDDC architecture — vSphere compute virtualisation, NSX network virtualisation, vSAN storage virtualisation, and vRealize automation

›Intelligent storage system components — active/active controllers, DRAM+NVMe cache, front-end SAN/NAS ports, back-end SAS/NVMe drives, and storage pools
›RAID 0 (performance), RAID 1 (mirroring), RAID 5 (single parity), RAID 6 (dual parity), RAID 10 (striped mirror) — capacity, fault tolerance, and rebuild analysis
›Thick provisioning (pre-allocated), thin provisioning (on-demand), LUN creation, clone vs snapshot, and pool over-subscription management
›Automated Storage Tiering — FAST VP policy-driven tier movement, FAST Cache (SSD cache), and NL-SAS high-capacity tier assignment
›Block storage (FC/iSCSI LUNs), NAS file storage (NFS/SMB), object storage (S3/REST), and unified storage multi-protocol access

›FC SAN fundamentals — FC-4 protocol mapping, FLOGI/PLOGI fabric login, N-port/F-port/E-port types, hard zoning vs soft zoning, SAN virtualization with virtual SANs
›FC topologies — arbitrated loop (FL-port, limited scalability), switched fabric (full mesh redundancy), and director-class switches
›iSCSI architecture — software/hardware initiators, SendTargets discovery, CHAP MSCHAP authentication, iSCSI offload engine (iSOE), and Jumbo Frames tuning
›FCIP WAN extension — TCP connection management, header compression, and bandwidth/latency planning for geographically separate SANs
›FCoE convergence — Converged Network Adapter (CNA), Priority Flow Control (PFC), ETS bandwidth allocation, and FIP snooping bridge
›NVMe/FC fabric binding, NVMe/TCP endpoint discovery, NVMe-oF queue pairs, and latency benchmarks vs legacy SCSI block protocols

›Availability metrics — RTO/RPO targets, MTTR/MTBF calculations, and Tier-1 vs Tier-2 storage availability SLA design
›Full, incremental, differential, and cumulative backup types — storage overhead comparison and optimal rotation strategy (GFS — Grandfather-Father-Son)
›Backup targets — VTL disk-based backup, LTO-8/9 tape libraries (LTFS), cloud backup (S3/Azure Blob), and D2D2T/D2D2C architectures
›Data deduplication — inline variable-length chunking, post-process fixed-block, source-side client dedup, and global vs local dedup ratio measurement
›Archiving — ILM policy-driven tiering, WORM compliance (SEC 17a-4), retention lock, and HSM stub file transparent recall
›Replication — synchronous (zero-RPO, write-order fidelity), asynchronous (delta journaling, RPO minutes), CDP with continuous journaling, and storage vMotion live migration

›CIA triad — Confidentiality (encryption, access control), Integrity (checksums, write protection), Availability (redundancy, replication) — applied to storage systems
›Storage threat landscape — ransomware encryption attacks, SAN zone misconfiguration, NAS share ACL exposure, rogue initiator attacks, and unpatched firmware CVEs
›Security controls — D@RE (Drive Encryption at Rest on PowerStore/PowerMax), TLS 1.3 in-transit, hard zoning by WWPN, iSCSI CHAP, and NAS access control lists
›Audit and compliance — storage array event logs, FC switch syslogs, NAS access audit trails, SIEM integration, and SOC 2 / PCI-DSS storage controls
›Storage management processes — capacity lifecycle (plan/provision/monitor/right-size), performance dashboards (IOPS/throughput/latency), and automated alert-driven remediation workflows

Live Training

Live Instructor

Mon–Fri · Weekend batches

Recording

Live class recording included

30 Days

1.5 hrs/day weekday · 3 hrs weekend

Course Materials

Study notes and resources

Tech Support

Call / WhatsApp support

Working Hours

Mon–Fri · 9 AM – 6 PM

Enroll Now Download Brochure

Have Questions?

Chat with our Dell-certified storage trainers instantly.

WhatsApp Us

Dell Information

Storage Management

Five Storage Foundations Modules

5-Module D-ISM-FN-23 Programme

Ready to Master Dell Storage Management?