Inside System Storage -- by Tony Pearson

Well it's Wednesday, and you know what that means... IBM Announcements.

(Normally, announcements are on Tuesdays, but we moved this one over to Wednesday to line up with our big launch event in Pinehurst, NC. )

A lot was announced today, so I decided to break it up into several separate posts. I will start with our Enterprise Systems: DS8870, TS7700 Release 3, and XIV Gen3.

Enterprise systems are the servers, storage and software at the core of an enterprise IT infrastructure. Enterprise systems enable a private cloud infrastructure at enterprise scale, with flexible service delivery models that provide dynamic efficiency for resource and workload management. They make sure critical data is always available across the enterprise, making it accessible in new ways so that actionable insights can be derived from advanced and operational analytics. They also provide ultimate security, ensuring the integrity of critical data while mitigating risk and providing assured compliance.

IBM System Storage DS8870® disk system

This new storage system is the next generation in IBM's DS8000 series, based on IBM's POWER7 chipset. Each CEC can have 2, 4, 8 or 16 cores. Like the DS8800, you can have a mix of 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch disk drives of different speeds and capacities, up to 1,536 drives in a four-frame configuration. The maximum cache is now 1TB usable. The combination of faster chipset and more cache can triple performance for some workloads!

• All DS8870s ship standard with all Full Disk Encryption (FDE-capable) drives. The problem in the past was that people would buy DS8000 with non-FDE drives, and then later want to activate encryption, and discovered that they have to swap out their drives with those with the encryption chip built in. Now, all drives on the DS8870 will have the encryption chip. This also allows Easy Tier sub-volume automated tiering to move encrypted data between all media types. Flash optimization with DS8000 Easy Tier can improve performance up to 3 times with 3% of data on solid-state storage. Easy Tier is easy to deploy and runs automatically.
  
  
• Support of the American National Standards Institute's (ANSI) T10 Data Integrity Field (DIF) standard. This is a feature that the mainframe has had for years, and is now being extended to distributed operating systems. The concept is simple. When sending data between server and storage, generate a checksum at the source, and then validate the checksum at the target. When you write a block of data, the server generates the checksum, and the DS8870 validates the checksum on arrival. When you read the data back, the DS8870 generates the checksum, and the server validates it on arrival. This ensures that data was not corrupted in between. There is a great write-up on IBM developerWorks: [End-to-end data protection using T10 standard data integrity field].
  
  
• Energy Efficient. The DS8870 consumes less energy than its predecessor, the DS8800. For example, a fully-configured four-frame DS8870 with 1,536 disk drives consumes only 23.2kW, compared to the same number of drives in a DS8800 consumed 26.3 kW. By comparison, the DS8700 with five frames and 1,024 drives consumed 29.2kW.
  
  
• RoHS 2012 compliant. RoHS stands for the [Restriction of Hazardous Substances]. This is a requirement to sell IT equipment in the European Community.
  
  
• Support for new System z load balancing algorithm. System z Workload Manager now interacts with the DS8870 I/O Priority Manager to optimize designated Quality of Service (QoS) levels. We have also the fastest operational analytics solution with DB2 list Prefetch cache optimization with DS8870 High Performance FICON (zHPF) integration. This solution increases DB2 query performance up to 11 times with disk, and up to 60 times with solid-state drives (SSD). File scans are up to 30 percent faster using DS8870 zHPF support for sequential access methods (QSAM, BPAM, and BSAM).
  
  
• VMware vStorage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI) support. Why should the IBM DS8800 series support VMware when IBM already offers great VMware support with SAN Volume Controller (SVC), Storwize V7000 and XIV storage sytsems? Good question. This was hotly debated between development and marketing. Several DS8000 customers have already added SVC to provide full VMware VAAI support. As a consultant, I am neither development nor marketing, but felt it necessary to weigh in on my opinion on this. The DS8000 is a consolidation platform. According to one analyst survey, 22 percent of companies run on a single disk platform, so for DS8000 to be the one, it needs to support VMware and exploit these special APIs.
  
  
• Six Nines Availability. Critical enterprise systems need to deliver continuous data availability, or very close to it. IBM solutions can help deliver up to six “nines” of availability, or 99.9999 percent when combining DS8000 Metro Mirror and GDPS Hyperswap. That's less than 30 seconds of downtime per year.

To learn more about the IBM DS8000 series, read the [DS8000 Solution Brief].

IBM Virtualization Engine™ TS7700 Release 3

The TS7700 Release 3 represents a refresh to our existing virtual tape libraries. These are mainframe-only, offered in two models: TS7720 is a disk-only device, and the TS7740 is a blended disk-and-tape solution.

• Industry standard hardware encryption. This applies to user data stored on the TS7700 system cache (disk), and for data transferred between TS7700 systems. This is especially important for regulations, like Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS). In previous models, the data would not be encrypted until it was moved off disk and written to tape. Now, it is encrypted the minute in lands on the disk cache, and stays encrypted as it is replicated from one TS7700 to another in the grid.
  
  
• Up to 4 Million logical volume capacity. This is twice the previous support.
  
  
• More physical capacity for TS7720 systems. The maximum capacity for the disk-only model is raised from 440TB to 620TB, representing a 40 percent increase.

  To learn more about the IBM TS7700 series, read the [TS7700 Solution Brief].

My latest book "Inside System Storage: Volume V" is now available!

I have published my fifth volume in my "Inside System Storage" series! Currently, it is only available in Paperback. My editor, Susan Pollard, is hoping to have the eBook and Hardcover versions ready for Cyber Monday. The foreword was written by my Dr. Sondra Ashmore.

You can order this, and all my other books, in all formats, directly from my [Author Spotlight] page. The paperback will also be available soon from other online booksellers, search for ISBN 978-1-300-26223-7.

IBM XIV Storage System Gen3

The [XIV Gen3 was announced last July 2011]. Today we have some enhancements to this platform:

• Improved Scalability. A new Multi-system Manager (MSM) server reduces the operational complexity for large and multi-site XIV deployments. Previously, admins connected directly to XIV boxes. If you had 10 admins logged in, then every XIV box was managing 10 admin conversations. The new MSM acts as a go-between. The admins connect to the MSM, and the MSM connects to the XIV boxes. The MSM polls and caches the status of each XIV, greatly increasing the number of XIV boxes that an admin can manage.
  
  
• Enhanced User Interface. A new Multi-system Manager server reduces the operational complexity for large and multi-site XIV deployments. We also added support for IPsec and US. Government (USGv6) certification for admistering the XIV over IPv6 networks. The XIV Mobile Dashboard app for iPhone and iPad is spiffed up. Finally, the GUI has been internationalized and translated to the Japanese language.
  
  
• Enhanced Integration for Cloud. For OpenStack, XIV now offers a Nova-volume driver which provides persistent storage to OpenStack compute nodes. The Nova task force is now looking to move storage into its own project called Cinder. For VMware, XIV has full support for Site Recovery Manager (SRM) v4.1 and v5.0 releases. XIV now also supports the Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager, which can manage Hyper-V, VMware and Citrix XenServer hypervisors.
  
  
• Smaller entry point. The original XIV supported 1TB and 2TB drives, with the smallest offering being 27TB usable. When IBM introduced the XIV Gen3, the two choices were 2TB and 3TB disk drives. Unfortunately, this meant that the initial entry model was now 55TB in size, and each additional module would be more expensive as well. IBM is now going to offer 1TB support for XIV Gen3 for a lower price point, these are actually 2TB drives with half the capacity turned off.

To learn more about all of the announcements today, see the [Storage Landing Page].

technorati tags: IBM, DS8000, DS8870, TS7700, TS7720, TS7740, FDE, Encryption, XIV, Gen3, ANSI, T10, DIF, iPhone, iPad, DOE, SSD, RoHS, VAAI, VMware, SRM, Microsoft, Hyper-V,

With the economy recovering from the [Global Recession], my manager has been given authorization to hire new Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for the [IBM Tucson Executive Briefing Center!] Here are a few answers to questions you might have:

Where is the job located?

The job is located in Tucson, Arizona, which is a great place to live! Tucson is the headquarters for IBM storage design and development, with the largest collection of engineers, software developers and testers. The IBM Tucson Executive Briefing Center is located on the [University of Arizona Science and Technology Park] campus that houses over 7,000 employees from 50 different companies.

What does the job entail?

Primarily, you will be developing, customizing and presenting Powerpoint presentations and live product demos. For some briefings, you will work with sales reps, IBM Business Partners, and clients to develop an agenda of topics to discuss. At times, the presentation may involve working to solve the client's problems, drawing on the whiteboard or flip charts to help capture the requirements and architect a solution.

Which products are we talking about?

The [IBM System Storage product line] includes solid-state drives (SSD), block and file-based disk systems, tape drives and libraries, storage virtualization, and storage management software.

Is there any opportunity for travel?

Most of the presentations will be performed in Tucson, either in person, by webcast or video conference call. Sometimes, this includes discussions over drinks, dinner or golfing. Occasionally, there will be travel to present at client locations, IBM branch offices, events or conferences. My manager estimates approximately 10 percent travel.

Is the pay based on a commission?

Absolutely not! We are consultants, not salespeople. To maintain our "trusted advisor" status, it is a flat salary, with possibility for year-end bonus based on how well our division does overall. This allows us to present and position all of the products fairly to the clients at briefings without bias. Our clients appreciate that! The job is considered pre-sales technical support.

Is training included?

Yes. Assuming you already have a strong background in storage hardware and software, and how these connect to SAN and LAN networks for a variety of operating systems like z/OS, AIX, Windows and Linux, there will be training for the latest updates and features of the IBM products throughout the year. Also, there will be professional training to build up your public speaking and meeting facilitation skills.

How do I apply?

If you are an American citizen, fluent in the English language, and have at least a Bachelor's Degree, go to the [IBM Employment website], look for "Storage Support Specialist" position using job code "STG-0524037" or "STG-0525309". IBM is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

The job is immediately available. Apply today!

technorati tags: IBM, Tucson, EBC, SME, Arizona