An apparatus and method are disclosed to configure, format, and test, a data storage subsystem product. The method supplies a data storage subsystem product comprising one or more host computer ports, a processor, one or more data storage device ports, and one or more data storage devices interconnected to the one or more data storage device ports. The method further supplies a configuration appliance comprising a storage configuration. The method connects the configuration appliance to one of the one or more storage device ports, boots up the data storage subsystem product, discovers the configuration appliance by the data storage subsystem product, imports storage configuration data into the data storage subsystem product, formats the one or more data storage device, and tests the input and output data transfer rates for the data storage subsystem product, wherein the formatting and testing are initiated concurrently.