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Home /SNIA Certifications /S10-300 SNIA Architect – Assessment, Planning and Design
Architect Level  ·  Highest SNIA Credential

S10-300
SNIA Architect – Assessment, Planning and Design (SNW)

The pinnacle of the SNIA certification path — validate expert ability to assess existing storage infrastructure, plan architecture solutions for scalability and security, and design enterprise SAN/NAS solutions leveraging ITIL and ITSM principles.

S10-300 SNW SNIA Architect Storage Architecture FC SAN Design NAS Design HA Design DR Design ITIL ITSM Gap Analysis Capacity Planning
S10-300 — SNW Architect
SNIA Architect – Assessment, Planning and Design
Exam CodeS10-300
CredentialSNW — Storage Networking Architect
VendorSNIA
PrerequisiteS10-210 (SCSE)
LevelArchitect (Highest)
FrameworkITIL & ITSM
StatusActive
4
Domains
65Q
Exam
65%
Pass
Top
Level
Certification Overview

What This Certification Validates

The S10-300 exam earns the SNIA Storage Networking Architect (SNW) credential — the highest level on the SNIA certification path. It validates that the successful candidate can architect storage solutions leveraging industry best practices, ITIL, and ITSM principles, examining data and information requirements from a business perspective and responding with hardware and software architectures that meet those requirements.

This exam is designed for Solutions Architects who prepare detailed implementation plans in association with implementation specialists, and who have broad knowledge of storage concepts, interoperability of storage networking, and detailed implementation knowledge. It covers four domains: Assessment, Planning, Design, and Problem Resolution/Troubleshooting. Prerequisite: S10-210 (SCSE).

Skills & Knowledge

What You Will Learn

Assess existing FC SAN and IP SAN infrastructure — bandwidth, throughput, resilience, redundancy, compatibility, scalability, protocols, and extended fabrics — and validate SAN solution designs in proof-of-concept scenarios

Plan storage and server consolidation, capacity planning processes, SAN/NAS models (mesh, star, hybrid, core/edge), migrations, security architectures, and heterogeneous/homogeneous OS accommodation

Design HA strategies, SAN/NAS solutions within financial and physical constraints, backup and recovery strategies, DR solutions, fault-tolerant and failover architectures, clustering systems, and database-to-storage layouts

Perform needs assessments and Gap Analysis using ITIL and ITSM principles, document I/O bus and HBA impacts on performance, risk acceptance criteria, and verify capacity plan requirements through storage array sizing

Plan architecture solutions for security — LUN mapping, LUN masking, persistent binding, soft and hard zoning — and design storage management leveraging SMI and the shared storage model

Create QA strategy and procedures, manage error-free operations through quantifiable measurement criteria, and document risk acceptance criteria — all leveraging ITIL frameworks

Who Should Attend

Target Audience

Solutions architects and enterprise storage architects who examine business data requirements and design hardware/software storage solutions that meet those requirements using industry standards and ITIL principles

Sales engineers and pre-sales architects who prepare detailed implementation plans for enterprise storage solutions and need the highest SNIA credential to validate their expert-level storage architecture skills

Senior storage consultants and IT architects who have broad knowledge of storage concepts, interoperability, and implementation details — and want to certify at the Architect level to differentiate their expertise

SNIA SCSE (S10-210) holders who are the final step away from completing the full SNIA certification ladder and want to earn the highest and most prestigious SNIA credential — the SNW Architect

Exam at a Glance
Exam CodeS10-300
CredentialSNIA SNW Architect
VendorSNIA
Exam Items65 Questions
Passing Score65%
PrerequisiteS10-210 (SCSE)
LevelArchitect (Highest)
FrameworkITIL & ITSM

Zetlan Technologies covers all 4 S10-300 domains — Assessment, Planning, Design, and Problem Resolution — with expert instruction for the highest SNIA credential.

Course Curriculum

S10-300 — 4 Exam Domains

Click any domain to explore all topics covered in the SNIA SNW Architect exam.

1
Assessment
16 Topics
Topology and Availability Assessment
Determine topology issues relevant to solution-focused design — fabric, loop, and point-to-point SAN
Determine disaster recovery issues relevant to solution-focused design
Determine high availability issues — SAN redundancy, failover, load balancing, quality of connection
Determine performance issues — random vs sequential access, fan-in/fan-out ratios, throughput constraints
Determine LAN-free/server-free issues — HSM backup configurations and strategies
FC SAN and IP SAN Infrastructure Assessment
Assess existing FC SAN infrastructure — bandwidth, throughput, resilience, redundancy, compatibility, scalability, protocols (FICON, SCSI, IP), extended fabrics
Assess existing IP SAN infrastructure for the same parameters
Assess hardware and software prior to designing SAN or NAS — OS/platforms, storage (tape, disk/RAID), applications, management software
Assess distance limitations prior to designing SAN or NAS solutions
Assess current storage environment prior to designing new SAN or NAS solution
Solution Validation and ITIL Assessment
Validate the design of SAN solutions — given a proof of concept, evaluate and verify the design
Evaluate and specify hardware capabilities and software functionality for SAN or NAS architectural solutions
Perform needs assessment and determine Gap Analysis Solution leveraging ITIL and ITSM principles
Document the impact of I/O bus, HBA, and storage directors on system performance leveraging ITIL
Document risk acceptance criteria leveraging ITIL principles
Verify a user's capacity plan requirements by sizing a new storage array
2
Planning
16 Topics
Consolidation and Capacity Planning
Plan for storage and server consolidation strategies
Create Capacity Planning processes and procedures for SAN solutions
Create a Capacity Planning process and procedures for NAS solutions
Build and document operating procedures for implementing storage solutions
Build and document job flow sequence for managing backup strategies
Create a checklist for the data management life cycle — architecture, planning, design, implementation, pre-sales to post-implementation
Architecture Solutions for Scale and Security
Develop principles for efficient and error-free data centre operations
Plan architecture solutions for scalability
Plan architecture solutions for capacity including throughput/bandwidth
Plan architecture solutions for interoperability across vendors and platforms
Plan architecture solutions for security — LUN mapping, LUN masking, persistent binding, soft and hard zoning
SAN, NAS, and Migration Planning
Plan FC SAN solutions for heterogeneous or homogeneous operating systems
Plan IP SAN solutions for heterogeneous or homogeneous operating systems
Plan for manageability of SAN or NAS infrastructure
Plan SAN and NAS models — mesh, star, hybrid, core/edge, two-tier/three-tier, hubs/switches/directors
Plan migrations to FC SAN solutions — interconnecting devices from existing infrastructure to new design
3
Design
13 Topics
High Availability and Fault Tolerance
Design high availability strategies for enterprise storage environments
Design fault tolerant solutions and strategies — redundant paths, dual fabrics, RAID protection
Design failover solutions — automatic and manual failover for storage and SAN components
Design clustering systems solutions for high availability and workload distribution
Backup, Recovery, and Disaster Recovery
Design a backup and recovery strategy appropriate to business requirements
Design and document disaster recovery solutions leveraging ITIL and ITSM principles
Design logical recovery strategies given specific business and technical scenarios
Design disk recovery methods for various failure scenarios
SAN, NAS, and Storage Management Design
Design a SAN within constraints — financial, performance, hardware, connectivity, physical building limitations (ITIL/ITSM)
Demonstrate knowledge of Storage Management Design and characteristics of SMI and the shared storage model
Define the steps to make a volume usable through a SAN — zoning, masking, mapping, and host-side configuration
Design database-to-storage layout strategies for performance and availability
Design a NAS solution — define the impact on local and wide area network topologies
4
Problem Resolution and Troubleshooting
2 Topics
QA Strategy and Measurement
Create QA strategy and procedures leveraging ITIL principles for storage solution quality assurance
Manage error-free operations through measurement criteria that are quantifiable — define metrics, thresholds, and continuous improvement processes leveraging ITIL
FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the S10-300 SNIA Architect (SNW) certification?
S10-300 is the SNIA Storage Networking Architect (SNW) credential — the highest level on the SNIA certification path. It validates expert-level ability to assess storage infrastructure, plan architecture solutions, and design enterprise SAN/NAS systems leveraging ITIL and ITSM principles. It is designed for Solutions Architects who examine business data requirements and respond with complete hardware and software storage architectures.
What is the prerequisite for S10-300?
The prerequisite for S10-300 is S10-210 SNIA Certified Storage Engineer (SCSE). Candidates should have completed the full SNIA certification progression (S10-101 → S10-110/S10-201 → S10-210) and possess broad knowledge of storage concepts, interoperability, and detailed implementation experience before attempting the Architect exam.
What are the 4 domains tested in S10-300?
S10-300 tests 4 expert-level domains: (1) Assessment — infrastructure assessment, Gap Analysis, ITIL-based risk and capacity evaluation; (2) Planning — consolidation, capacity planning, scalability, security, migration, and SAN/NAS model planning; (3) Design — HA, fault tolerance, DR, backup/recovery, SAN/NAS design, clustering, and storage management; (4) Problem Resolution and Troubleshooting — QA strategy and quantifiable operational management.
What is the role of ITIL and ITSM in S10-300?
ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) and ITSM (IT Service Management) principles are central to the S10-300 Architect exam. Candidates must apply ITIL frameworks for needs assessments, Gap Analysis, risk documentation, change management, QA procedures, and operational measurement — reflecting real-world enterprise IT governance requirements in storage architecture decisions.
What does Zetlan Technologies provide for S10-300 preparation?
Zetlan Technologies delivers expert-led S10-300 Architect training covering all 4 domains — Assessment, Planning, Design, and Problem Resolution — with enterprise scenario-based instruction and ITIL/ITSM context to prepare you for the highest SNIA credential. Contact us for a free counselling session.
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Earn the Highest SNIA Credential — S10-300 Storage Networking Architect

Assessment, planning, design, and problem resolution — all 4 Architect domains with ITIL and ITSM principles, delivered by Zetlan Technologies experts.