IBM XIV Storage System Architecture and Implementation


Book Description

Not a new version - included warning for self signed X509 certificates - see section 5.2 This IBM® Redbooks® publication describes the concepts, architecture, and implementation of the IBM XIV® Storage System. The XIV Storage System is a scalable enterprise storage system that is based on a grid array of hardware components. It can attach to both Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) and IP network Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) capable hosts. This system is a good fit for clients who want to be able to grow capacity without managing multiple tiers of storage. The XIV Storage System is suited for mixed or random access workloads, including online transaction processing, video streamings, images, email, and emerging workload areas, such as Web 2.0 and cloud storage. The focus of this edition is on the XIV Gen3 running Version 11.5.x of the XIV system software, which brings enhanced value for the XIV Storage System in cloud environments. It offers multitenancy support, VMware vCloud Suite integration, more discrete performance classes, and RESTful API enhancements that expand cloud automation integration. Version 11.5 introduces support for three-site mirroring to provide high availability and disaster recovery. It also enables capacity planning through the Hyper-Scale Manager, mobile push notifications for real-time alerts, and enhanced security. Version 11.5.1 supports 6TB drives and VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes (VVOL). In the first few chapters of this book, we describe many of the unique and powerful concepts that form the basis of the XIV Storage System logical and physical architecture. We explain how the system eliminates direct dependencies between the hardware elements and the software that governs the system. In subsequent chapters, we explain the planning and preparation tasks that are required to deploy the system in your environment by using the intuitive yet powerful XIV Storage Manager GUI or the XIV command-line interface. We also describe the performance characteristics of the XIV Storage System and present options for alerting and monitoring, including enhanced secure remote support. This book is for IT professionals who want an understanding of the XIV Storage System. It is also for readers who need detailed advice on how to configure and use the system.




IBM XIV Storage System: Host Attachment and Interoperability


Book Description

This IBM® Redbooks® publication provides information for attaching the IBM XIV® Storage System to various host operating system platforms, including IBM i. The book provides information and references for combining the XIV Storage System with other storage platforms, host servers, or gateways, including IBM N Series, and IBM ProtecTIER®. It is intended for administrators and architects of enterprise storage systems. The book also addresses using the XIV storage with databases and other storage-oriented application software that include: IBM DB2® VMware ESX Microsoft HyperV SAP The goal is to give an overview of the versatility and compatibility of the XIV Storage System with various platforms and environments. The information that is presented here is not meant as a replacement or substitute for the Host Attachment kit publications. It is meant as a complement and to provide readers with usage guidance and practical illustrations.




Implementing IBM FlashSystem 840


Book Description

Almost all technological components in the data center are getting faster: central processing units, networks, storage area networks (SANs), and memory. All of them have improved their speed by a minimum of 10X; some of them by 100X, for example, data networks. However, spinning disk performance has only increased by 1.2 times. IBM® FlashSystemTM 840 version 1.3 closes this gap. The FlashSystem 840 is optimized for the data center to enable organizations of all sizes to strategically harness the value of stored data. It provides flexible capacity and extreme performance for the most demanding applications, including virtualized or bare-metal online transaction processing (OLTP) and online analytical processing (OLAP) databases, virtual desktop infrastructures (VDI), technical computing applications, and cloud environments. The system accelerates response times with IBM MicroLatency® access times as low as 90 μs write latency and 135 μs read latency to enable faster decision making. The introduction of a low capacity 1 TB flash module allows the FlashSystem 840 to be configured in capacity points as low as 2 TB in protected RAID 5 mode. Coupled with 10 GB iSCSI, the FlashSystem is positioned to bring extreme performance to small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) and growth markets. Implementing the IBM FlashSystem® 840 provides value that goes beyond those benefits that are seen on disk-based arrays. These benefits include better user experience, server and application consolidation, development cycle reduction, application scalability, data center footprint savings, and improved price performance economics. This IBM Redbooks® publication discusses IBM FlashSystem 840 version 1.3. It provides in-depth knowledge of the product architecture, software and hardware, its implementation, and hints and tips. Also illustrated are use cases that show real-world solutions for tiering, flash-only, and preferred read, as well as examples of the benefits gained by integrating the FlashSystem storage into business environments. Also described are product integration scenarios running the IBM FlashSystem 840 with the IBM SAN Volume Controller, and the IBM Storwize® family of products such V7000, V5000, and the V3700, as well as considerations when integrating with the IBM FlashSystem 840. The preferred practice guidance is provided for your FlashSystem environment with IBM 16 Gbps b-type products and features, focusing on Fibre Channel design. This book is intended for pre-sales and post-sales technical support professionals and storage administrators, and for anyone who wants to understand and learn how to implement this exciting technology.




IBM Real Time Compression with IBM XIV Storage System Model 314


Book Description

IBM® Real-time CompressionTM is fully integrated in the IBM XIV® Storage System Gen3. Real-time Compression provides the possibility to store 2 - 5 times more data per XIV system, without additional hardware. This technology also expands the storage-replication-related bandwidth, and can significantly decrease the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Using compression for replication and for volume migration with IBM Hyper-Scale Mobility is faster and requires less bandwidth for the interlink connections between the XIV storage systems, because the data that is transferred through these links is already compressed. IBM Real-time Compression uses patented IBM Random Access Compression Engine (RACE) technology, achieving field-proven compression ratios and performance with compressible data. This IBM RedpaperTM publication helps administrators understand and implement IBM Real-time Compression on the IBM XIV Gen3 storage system. This edition applies to the IBM XIV Storage Software V11.6.1 with the IBM XIV Storage System Model 314. Model 314 features powerful hardware that enables a new high level for storage performance with compressed data.




Implementing an IBM InfoSphere BigInsights Cluster using Linux on Power


Book Description

This IBM® Redbooks® publication demonstrates and documents how to implement and manage an IBM PowerLinuxTM cluster for big data focusing on hardware management, operating systems provisioning, application provisioning, cluster readiness check, hardware, operating system, IBM InfoSphere® BigInsightsTM, IBM Platform Symphony®, IBM SpectrumTM Scale (formerly IBM GPFSTM), applications monitoring, and performance tuning. This publication shows that IBM PowerLinux clustering solutions (hardware and software) deliver significant value to clients that need cost-effective, highly scalable, and robust solutions for big data and analytics workloads. This book documents and addresses topics on how to use IBM Platform Cluster Manager to manage PowerLinux BigData data clusters through IBM InfoSphere BigInsights, Spectrum Scale, and Platform Symphony. This book documents how to set up and manage a big data cluster on PowerLinux servers to customize application and programming solutions, and to tune applications to use IBM hardware architectures. This document uses the architectural technologies and the software solutions that are available from IBM to help solve challenging technical and business problems. This book is targeted at technical professionals (consultants, technical support staff, IT Architects, and IT Specialists) that are responsible for delivering cost-effective Linux on IBM Power SystemsTM solutions that help uncover insights among client's data so they can act to optimize business results, product development, and scientific discoveries.




Solid-State Drive Caching in the IBM XIV Storage System


Book Description

This IBM® RedpaperTM publication provides information about the implementation and use of solid-state drives (SSDs) in IBM XIV® Storage System XIV Generation 3 (Gen3), running XIV software version 11.1.0 or later. In the XIV system, SSDs are used to increase the read cache capacity of the existing DRAM memory cache, and are not used for persistent storage. This paper begins with a high-level overview of the SSD implementation in XIV and a brief review of the SSD technology, with focus on the XIV system. It explains the SSD Caching design and implementation in XIV. Then it examines typical workloads that can benefit from the SSD Caching extension and introduces the tools and utilities to help you analyze and understand the workload. In particular, it highlights the block tracing facility that was designed and developed by IBM Research. Then this paper explains the process that authorized IBM services representatives use to install SSD Caching. It reviews the changes made to the XIV GUI and the XCLI to support SSD Caching. Finally this paper provides a listing of the new alert-generating events and monitoring options that are provided for SSD support. This paper is intended for users who want an insight into the XIV SSD Caching implementation and architecture, its capabilities, and usage. For more information about the IBM XIV Storage System, see the IBM Redbooks® publication, "IBM XIV Storage System: Architecture, Implementation, and Usage," SG24-7659.




IBM XIV Storage System Business Continuity Functions


Book Description

The IBM XIV® Storage System has a rich set of copy functions suited for various data protection scenarios that enable you to enhance your business continuance, disaster recovery, data migration, and online backup solutions. These functions allow point-in-time copies, known as snapshots and full volume copies, and also include remote copy capabilities in either synchronous or asynchronous mode. A three-site mirroring function is now available to further improve availability and disaster recovery capabilities. These functions are included in the XIV software and all their features are available at no extra charge. The various copy functions are reviewed in separate chapters, which include detailed information about usage and practical illustrations. The book also illustrates the use of IBM® Tivoli® Storage Productivity Center for Replication to manage XIV Copy Services. This IBM Redbooks® publication is intended for anyone who needs a detailed and practical understanding of the XIV copy functions.




IBM FlashSystem A9000, IBM FlashSystem A9000R, and IBM XIV Storage System: Host Attachment and Interoperability


Book Description

This IBM® Redbooks® publication provides information for attaching the IBM FlashSystem® A9000, IBM FlashSystem A9000R, and IBM XIV® Storage System to various host operating system platforms, such as IBM AIX® and Microsoft Windows. This publication was last updated in May 2019 to cover the VLAN tagging and port trunking support available with software version 12.3.2 (see in particular section 2.4, "VLAN tagging" on page 67. The goal is to give an overview of the versatility and compatibility of the IBM SpectrumTM Accelerate family of storage systems with various platforms and environments. The information that is presented here is not meant as a replacement or substitute for the IBM Storage Host Attachment Kit publications or other product publications. It is meant as a complement and to provide usage guidance and practical illustrations. This publication does not address attachments to a secondary system used for Remote Mirroring or data migration. These topics are covered in IBM FlashSystem A9000 and IBM FlashSystem A9000 and A9000R Business Continuity Solutions, REDP-5401.




iSCSI Implementation and Best Practices on IBM Storwize Storage Systems


Book Description

This IBM® Redbooks® publication helps administrators and technical professionals understand Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) and how to implement it for use with IBM Storwize® storage systems. iSCSI can be used alone or with other technologies. This publication provides an overview of the iSCSI protocol and helps you understand how it is similar to and different from Fibre Channel (FC) technology. It helps you plan and design your network topology. It explains how to configure your IBM Storwize storage systems and hosts (including IBM AIX®, Linux, VMware, and Microsoft Windows hosts) to interact with it. It also provides an overview of using IBM Storwize storage systems with OpenStack. This book describes configuring iSCSI for IBM Storwize and SAN Volume Controller storage systems at Version 7.6 or later. In addition to configuration, this publication provides information about performance and troubleshooting.




IBM FlashSystem A9000R Product Guide (Version 12.3.2)


Book Description

This IBM® Redbooks® Product Guide is an overview of the main characteristics, features, and technology that are used in IBM FlashSystem® A9000R Model 415 and Model 425, with IBM FlashSystem A9000R Software V12.3.2. Software version 12.3.2, with Hyper-Scale Manager version 5.6 or later, introduces support for VLAN tagging and port trunking.. IBM FlashSystem A9000R is a grid-scale, all-flash storage platform designed for industry leaders with rapidly growing cloud storage and mixed workload environments to help drive your business into the cognitive era. FlashSystem A9000R provides consistent, extreme performance for dynamic data at scale, integrating the microsecond latency and high availability of IBM FlashCore® technology. The rack-based offering comes integrated with the world class software features that are built with IBM SpectrumTM Accelerate. For example, comprehensive data reduction, including inline pattern removal, data deduplication, and compression, helps lower total cost of ownership (TCO) while the grid architecture and IBM Hyper-Scale framework simplify and automate storage administration. The A9000R features always on data reduction and now offers intelligent capacity management for deduplication. Ready for the cloud and well-suited for large deployments, FlashSystem A9000R delivers predictable high performance and ultra-low latency, even under heavy workloads with full data reduction enabled. As a result, the grid-scale architecture maintains this performance by automatically self-optimizing workloads across all storage resources without manual intervention.