Technical overview

The technical overview topics provide information about the major concepts you need to understand to use the system.

FlashSystem 7300 system overview
IBM® FlashSystem 7300 systems use NVMe-attached drives in the control enclosures to provide significant performance improvements as compared to SAS-attached flash drives. The system also supports 2U and 5U SAS-attached expansion enclosure options.
Application servers
An application server is a host that is attached to the system and runs applications.
Active - active capability
IBM FlashSystem is an active-active dual controller system. Active-active is a term that describes the I/O processing mechanisms in a storage controller . Assuming a controller is made of a pair of controller nodes. In this case, an active-active controller pair would process I/O for a specific volume through either node. The opposite mechanism would be an active-passive controller system. In active-passive, only one node processes I/O for a specific volume. If a passive node receives I/O, it forwards the I/O to the active node to process. IBM FlashSystem use an active-active processing mechanism.
Array configurations
An array is an ordered group of physical devices (drives) that is used to define logical volumes or devices. An array is a type of MDisk that is made up of drives; these drives are members of the array. A Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) is a method of configuring member drives to create high availability and high-performance systems.
Batteries
Each node canister in a system contains a battery that provides sufficient power to the node canister to allow an orderly shutdown in the event of a loss of power and prevents the possible cause of damage on the system due to power supply interruptions. If the power to a node canister fails, it can write the configuration state and cache state to the internal drive using the power provided by the battery.
Call Home
Ensure that Call Home is configured on the system to send notifications to the support center. Call Home connects the system to support personnel who can monitor and respond to system events to ensure that your system remains up and running.
Canisters
Canisters are hardware units that are subcomponents of enclosures.
Capacity indicators
The system uses base-2 (binary numeral) as capacity indicators for volumes, drives, and other system objects. The management GUI and the command-line interface (CLI) use different abbreviations to indicate capacity.
Compression accelerator
The compression coprocessor increases the speed of I/O transfers to and from compressed volumes.
Copy offload
Offloaded data transfer (ODX) is a feature in Microsoft Windows Server 2012. ODX function frees up hosts and speeds the copy process by offloading the entire orchestration to a storage array.
Copy Services functions
Some system models can require a separate license to use these functions. Verify your licensing requirement before using these functions.
Valid combinations of FlashCopy and Metro Mirror or Global Mirror functions
You can have both the FlashCopy® function and either Metro Mirror or Global Mirror operating concurrently on the same volume. However, you must observe the following constraints as to how these functions can be used together.
Data migration
The system allows you to migrate data across MDisks without interfering with any host applications that are simultaneously accessing or writing data.
Data Reduction Estimation Tool
The Data Reduction Estimation Tool (DRET) is a host-based command-line utility for estimating the data reduction savings on block storage devices. To help with the profiling and analysis of existing user workloads that must be migrated to a new system, IBM provides the highly accurate DRET to support both deduplication and compression. The tool scans target workloads on various earlier storage arrays (from IBM or another company), merges all scan results, then provides an integrated system-level data reduction estimate.
Drives
The system supports various different types of drives and drive classes. These drives are used to create arrays that provide capacity for pools and volumes.
Easy Tier function
The system includes IBM Easy Tier®, which is a function that responds to the presence of high performance drives in a storage pool that also contains hard disk drives (HDDs). The system automatically and nondisruptively moves frequently accessed data from slower to faster tiers of storage.
Enclosures
Enclosures are rack-mounted hardware that contain several components of the system. Enclosures can be used to extend the capacity of the system. The term enclosure is also used to describe the hardware and other parts that are plugged into the enclosure.
Encryption
To use encryption on the system, you must purchase an encryption license, upload certificates, activate the license on the system, set up your method of key management, and create copies of the keys. If you have not purchased a license, contact a customer representative to purchase an encryption license.
External storage systems
An external storage system, or storage controller, is a device that coordinates and controls the operation of one or more disk drives. A storage system synchronizes the operation of the drives with the operation of the system as a whole.
FlashCore Modules
IBM FlashCore Modules (FCM) are a family of high-performance flash drives in a standard 2.5", 15mm form factor. FlashSystem 7300 supports up to 24 IBM FlashCore® Modules.
Heartbeat notifications
Every 24 hours, the system sends a heartbeat notification to support as part of the call home function. Heartbeat notifications are similar to inventory notifications, but are not sent to any local user that is defined on the system. If the system uses call home with cloud services to transmit notifications, the heartbeat notifications are automatically configured and sent to support. If you use call home with email notifications, this notification is automatically sent to support but requires at least one email server is configured, one or more support email users are defined, and the email server is started on the system.
Hosts
A host system is a computer that is connected to the system through supported connection protocols. The system supports host connections through Fibre Channel, NVM Express® (NVMe) over Fibre Channel (FC-NVMe), NVM Express (NVMe) over RDMA, or an IP network. FC-NVMe connections require 4-port 16 GB Fibre Channel adapters that needs to be purchased. NVMe over RDMA connections require either 25 Gbps RoCE adapters, or 100 Gbps RoCE adapters, or some mixture of these adapters to be purchased and installed on the system.
Host clusters
A host cluster is a group of logical host objects that can be managed together. For example, you can create a volume mapping that is shared by every host in the host cluster. The system uses internal protocols to manage access to the volumes and ensure consistency of the data. Host objects that represent hosts can be grouped in a host cluster and share access to volumes. A host can only be in one host cluster at a time. New volumes can also be mapped to a host cluster, which simultaneously maps that volume to all hosts that are defined in the host cluster.
Host mapping
Host mapping is the process of controlling which hosts or host clusters have access to specific volumes within the system.
I/O governing rate
The I/O governing rate sets the maximum amount of I/O activity that a host sends to a volume. The governing rate can be expressed in I/Os per second or MB per second.
I/O group
The pair of nodes within a single enclosure is known as an input/output (I/O) group. When a write operation is performed to a volume, the node that processes the I/O duplicates the data onto the partner node that is in the I/O group. After the data is protected on the partner node, the write operation to the host application is completed. The data is physically written to the disk later.
IBM Spectrum Virtualize 3-Site Orchestrator Overview
IBM Spectrum Virtualize 3-Site Orchestrator coordinates replication of data for disaster recovery and high availability scenarios between systems that are on three geographically dispersed sites. IBM Spectrum Virtualize 3-Site Orchestrator is a command-line based application that runs on a separate Linux host and configures and manages supported replication configurations on IBM Spectrum Virtualize products.
IBM Storage Insights
IBM Storage Insights is an IBM Cloud® software as a service offering that can help you monitor and optimize the storage resources in the system and across your data center.
Internal storage
The system can manage a combination of internal and external storage and represents all the detected storage as drives. Internal storage is provided by drives that are inside control enclosures and expansion enclosures.
Inventory notifications
An inventory information email summarizes the hardware components and configuration of a system. Service personnel can use this information to contact you when relevant software updates are available or when an issue that can affect your configuration is discovered. It is a good practice to enable inventory reporting.
Locking user accounts
The Security Administrator can manually lock or unlock a user account at any time. By default, the superuser is exempt from the system-wide policy for manual or automatic account locking.
Management GUI
The system includes an easy-to-use management GUI to help you to monitor, manage, and configure your system.
Management Information Base (MIB) file for SNMP
Many IT organizations use Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) tools, such as those provided by the Net-SNMP open source project, to monitor and extend data that identifies products and potential problems that those hardware and software products recognize. One component of the SNMP tools is the ability to read Management Information Base (MIB) files.
MDisks
A managed disk (MDisk) is a logical unit of physical storage. MDisks are not visible to host systems. MDisks are either arrays (RAID) from internal storage or volumes from external storage system.
Multifactor authentication
Multifactor authentication requires users to provide multiple pieces of information when they log in to the system to prove their identity. Multifactor authentication uses any combination of two or more methods, called factors, to authenticate users to your resources and protect those resources from unauthorized access.
N-Port ID Virtualization
The system supports N_Port ID virtualization (NPIV) technology for Fibre Channel (FC) connections. NPIV is an industry standard technology that provides the capability to share one physical FC adapter as multiple virtual ports. One physical port on an FC adapter can use several world wide port names (WWPNs) and world wide node names (WWNNs) to register with the SAN fabric.
Network fabrics
A fabric refers collectively to the equipment and configuration that implements a network. A network fabric describes the network topology in which components pass data to each other through interconnecting switches.
Node canisters
Each single processing unit is a node canister, which is also called a node. The two nodes within the control enclosure make an I/O group that is attached to the SAN fabric or Ethernet network.
Ownership groups
An ownership group defines a subset of users and objects within the system. You can create ownership groups to further restrict access to specific resources that are defined in the ownership group. Only users with Security Administrator roles can configure and manage ownership groups. Restricted users are those users who are defined to a specific ownership group and can only view or manage specific resources that are assigned to that ownership group. Unrestricted users are not defined to an ownership group and can manage any objects on the system based on their role on the system.
Partnerships
Two-site partnerships replicate volume data that is on one system to a remote system. Partnerships can be used for migration, 3-site replication, and disaster recovery situations.
Password policy
With password policy support, system administrators can set security requirements that are related to password creation and expiration, timeout for inactivity, and actions after failed logon attempts.
Performance statistics
Real-time performance statistics provide short-term status information for the system. To access these performance statistics, click Monitoring > Performance in the management GUI. In addition, the management GUI displays an overview of system performance, in the Performance section on the Dashboard.
Power supply units
Power supply units (PSUs) are subcomponents of enclosures. A PSU takes electrical power from the rack Power Distribution Units (PDUs) and provides the power to the components in the enclosure.
Portsets
Portsets are groupings of logical addresses that are associated with the specific traffic types. The system supports both Fibre Channel and IP portsets for host attachment, IP portsets for backend storage connectivity, and IP replication traffic. The system supports a maximum of 72 portsets.
Provisioning policy
A provisioning policy is an entity that defines a set of rules for allocating capacity from a pool. Any volumes that are created in the pool adopt the capacity-saving methods that are defined in the provisioning policy.
Safeguarded Copy function
Safeguarded Copy function supports the ability to create cyber-resilient point-in-time copies of volumes that cannot be changed or deleted through user errors, malicious actions, or ransomware attacks. The system integrates with IBM Copy Services Manager to provide automated backup copies and data recovery.
SANs
A storage area network (SAN) is a pool of storage systems that are interconnected to the servers in an enterprise. A SAN administrator is the person responsible for administering the various resources that make up the SAN.
Setting up an SSH client
Secure Shell (SSH) is a client/server network application. It is used as a communication vehicle between the host system (for example, a laptop computer) and the system command-line interface (CLI).
Secure data deletion
The system provides methods to securely erase data from a drive or from a boot drive when a node or node canister is decommissioned.
Standard and persistent reservations
The SCSI Reserve command and the SCSI Persistent Reserve command are specified by the SCSI standards. Servers can use these commands to prevent ports in other servers from accessing particular LUNs.
Storage Management Initiative Specification
The Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S) is a design specification of the Storage Management Initiative (SMI) that is launched by the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA).
Storage pools
Use the Pools page in the management GUI to configure and manage storage pools, internal and external storage, MDisks, and to migrate existing storage to the system. In general, a pool or storage pool is an allocated amount of capacity that jointly contains all of the data for a specified set of volumes.
Support assistance
Support assistance enables support personnel to access the system to complete troubleshooting and maintenance tasks. You can configure either local support assistance, where support personnel visit your site to fix problems with the system, or local and remote support assistance. Remote support assistance allows support personnel to access the system remotely from the support center. Both local and remote support assistance uses secure connections to protect data exchange between the support center and system. All actions that are completed with support assistance are recorded for auditing purposes. Local support assistance must be configured before remote support assistance is enabled.
Switches
The system connects to host systems and storage devices on the storage area network (SAN) or the Ethernet network through switches. Switches from different vendors can be used together in the system configuration.
Systems
A system is a collection of control enclosures that are managed as a single system. Each control enclosure contains two node canisters.
System layers
The system layer affects how the system interacts with a system and other external systems that run IBM Spectrum Virtualize software.
Technician port
The technician port is a designated Ethernet port on the back panel of the node canister that you can use to initialize a system or configure the node canister.
Throttles
Throttles are a mechanism to control the amount of resources that are used when the system is processing I/Os on supported objects. The system supports throttles on hosts, host clusters, volumes, copy offload operations, and storage pools. If a throttle limit is defined, the system either processes the I/O for that object, or delays the processing of the I/O to free resources for more critical I/O operations.
Transparent cloud tiering
Transparent cloud tiering enables volume data to be copied and transferred to cloud storage. The system supports creating connections to cloud service providers to store copies of volume data in private or public cloud storage.
User roles
Each user of the management GUI must provide a username and a password to sign on. Each user also has an associated role, such as monitor or security administrator. These roles are defined at the system level. For example, a user can be the administrator for one system, but the security administrator for another system.
Virtualization
Virtualization is a concept that applies to many areas of the information technology industry.
Vital product data
Vital product data (VPD) is information that uniquely records each hardware and licensed-internal-code element in the nodes.
Volumes
A volume is a logical disk that the system presents to attached hosts.
Worldwide node and port names
A worldwide name is a unique name that is composed of 16 hexadecimal digits that are allocated to a node, service, or port on the SAN.

Parent topic: Product overview