Overview - ISO/IEC 24775-4:2021 (Block devices)
ISO/IEC 24775-4:2021 is the international standard that defines an interface and information model for managing block storage devices in distributed, heterogeneous storage systems. Published as Part 4 of the ISO/IEC 24775 series and prepared by SNIA under SMI-S, this edition updates the block-device management profiles and clarifies the data and messaging exposed to a WBEM client by an SMI‑S compliant WBEM server. The standard uses an object‑oriented, CIM-XML / WBEM messaging model to enable secure, extensible and interoperable storage management.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Object-oriented information model: Defines CIM classes and profiles for block devices and related services (Block Services Package, Block Storage Views, Disk Drive profiles, etc.).
- CIM-XML / WBEM protocol: Specifies the XML-based messaging semantics used by WBEM clients and SMI‑S servers for discovery, management, indications and method invocation.
- Profiles and capabilities: Covers many profiles such as Thin Provisioning, Replication Services, Masking and Mapping, Storage Pools, Block Server Performance and Storage Pool Diagnostics. Profiles map SNIA concepts to DMTF CIM classes.
- Indications and alerts: Defines indications/filters and mandatory alerts to track operational state, size/name changes and other events.
- Diagnostics and metrics: Adds support for diagnostics, advanced metrics and rate/statistics collection (e.g., services for block statistics).
- Schema and versioning: Uses updated CIM schema (noted as 2.51) and documents profile version changes, experimental vs. stable status and backward compatibility decisions.
- Security and interoperability: Emphasizes secure, interoperable management across vendors via standardized information exchange.
Practical applications - who uses this standard
- Storage array vendors and firmware developers implementing SMI‑S agents and WBEM servers.
- Management software providers (SAN/NAS managers, orchestration platforms) that act as WBEM clients to control block devices, pools, masking and replication.
- System integrators and cloud/storage architects building interoperable, multi-vendor storage management solutions.
- Storage administrators and operations teams relying on standardized alerts, diagnostics and performance metrics to automate monitoring and provisioning.
Related standards and keywords
- Related: SMI‑S (SNIA), DMTF CIM/WBEM specifications, other ISO/IEC 24775 parts.
- SEO keywords: ISO/IEC 24775-4:2021, storage management standard, block devices standard, SMI‑S, WBEM, CIM‑XML, block services, thin provisioning, storage interoperability, SNIA.
This standard is essential for implementing consistent, vendor-neutral block storage management and for ensuring interoperable automation and monitoring across heterogeneous storage environments.