Storage Administrator

The Storage Administrator is responsible for managing, maintaining, and optimizing enterprise storage infrastructure across multiple platforms including NetApp, Pure, Dell EMC (PowerMax, PowerStore, PowerScale), and Hitachi systems. This role ensures high availability, performance,

and security of storage resources supporting missioncritical business applications. The administrator will work closely with infrastructure, cloud, virtualization, and application teams to deliver robust storage services.

Key Responsibilities

1. Storage Administration & Operations

• Manage and administer storage arrays across:
• NetApp ONTAP
• Dell EMC PowerMax (Unisphere, Solutions Enabler, SRDF)
• Dell EMC PowerStore
• Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon OneFS)
• Hitachi VSP arrays (HiCommand, Ops Center)
• Perform daily health checks, capacity monitoring, and performance analysis.
• Provision storage (LUNs, volumes, shares, exports) for SAN/NAS environments.
• Manage RAID groups, aggregates, storage pools, and tiers.
• Implement storage best practices for availability, performance, and efficiency.

2. SAN / NAS Infrastructure Management

• Administer and troubleshoot FibreChannel SAN fabric (Brocade / Cisco).
• Configure zoning, masking, and host mappings.
• Manage NAS protocols: NFS, SMB/CIFS.
• Work with VMware/HyperV teams for datastore provisioning.

3. Data Protection & Replication

• Configure and monitor replication technologies:
• NetApp SnapMirror, SnapVault
• PowerMax SRDF / TimeFinder
• PowerStore native replication
• PowerScale SyncIQ
• Hitachi TrueCopy / ShadowImage
• Support backup and archival using tools like NetBackup, Commvault, or SnapCenter.
• Ensure RPO/RTO compliance for DR initiatives.

4. Performance & Capacity Management

• Analyze storage performance using vendor tools & dashboards.
• Forecast storage capacity and plan expansions.
• Optimize workloads for cost & performance efficiency.

5. Incident, Problem & Change Management

• Troubleshoot storage/SAN issues endtoend.
• Work with vendor support (NetApp, Dell EMC, Hitachi).
• Follow ITIL processes for incident, change, and problem management.
• Maintain documentation: topology diagrams, SOPs, runbooks.

6. Security & Compliance

• Implement access control, encryption, secure multitenant configurations.
• Ensure compliance with internal policies and industry standards.

Manage firmware upgrades, patching, and vulnerability remediation.

Required Skills & Experience

Technical Skills

• 8+ years of experience in enterprise storage administration.
• Proficiency in:
• NetApp ONTAP (CLI & System Manager)
• Dell EMC PowerMax (Symmetrix), PowerStore, PowerScale (Isilon)
• Hitachi VSP storage arrays
• Strong SAN management experience:
• Brocade / Cisco SAN switches
• Understanding of:
• VMware datastores
• Linux & Windows host multipathing (DMP, MPIO)
• Storage protocols (FC, iSCSI, NFS, SMB, FCoE)

Soft Skills

• Strong analytical & troubleshooting abilities.
• Excellent communication & documentation skills.
• Ability to work in 24x7 support models (oncall rotations as required).

Preferred Certifications

• NetApp NCDA / NCIE
• Dell EMC ISA / ISIE, PowerMax specialist certifications
• Hitachi HCSA / HCE
• Brocade/Cisco SAN certifications (optional)
• ITIL Foundation