System overview

IBM® Storage FlashSystem 9500 combines IBM FlashCore® Modules, NVMe architecture, and AI-powered features for unrivalled performance.

Part of the FlashSystem family, the IBM Storage FlashSystem 9500 delivers extreme speed and simplicity for the most demanding enterprise workloads, packaged in a 4U enclosure. IBM Storage FlashSystem 9500 is also available as a FlashSystem 9500R.

Figure 1. Front view of the control enclosure
Front view of control enclosure
Figure 2. Rear view of the control enclosure
Rear view of control enclosure
Table 1. IBM Storage FlashSystem 9500 Models
Machine Type - Model Description Minimum Software Level
4983-AH8 IBM Storage FlashSystem 9500 controller with Expert Care 8.6.0
4666-AH8 IBM Storage FlashSystem 9500 controller 8.5.0
4666-UH8 IBM Storage FlashSystem 9500 controller – Utility model 8.5.0
4983-AFF 2U24 All-Flash Expansion with Expert Care 8.6.0
4666-AFF 2U24 All-Flash Expansion 8.5.0
4983-A9F 5U92 All-Flash Expansion with Expert Care 8.6.0
4666-A9F 5U92 All-Flash Expansion 8.5.0

IBM Storage Virtualize software

IBM Storage FlashSystem 9500 runs IBM Storage Virtualize which provides the following functions for the host systems that attach to the system:
  • A single pool of storage
  • Logical unit virtualization
  • Management of logical volumes
The software also provides the following functions:
  • Replication:
    • Simplify data management by automating configuration tasks.
    • Ensure seamless continuity while maintaining high throughput and low latency to applications.
  • Data reduction:
  • Ransomware threat detection enhanced with FlashCore Module 4 computational storage assists.
  • High-performance Distributed RAID for redundancy and fast rebuild
  • Large scalable cache
  • Easy to use management and automation that is consistent across the Storage Virtualize portfolio, including RestAPI, Ansible Playbooks, CSI integration, VMWare integration, and a modern Graphical User Interface (GUI).

For more information on IBM Storage Virtualize software, see the relevant IBM Documentation.

Control Enclosure

IBM Storage FlashSystem 9500 comprises a 4U Rack-Unit (4U) Control enclosure, which contains:
  • 48 slots for NVMe Flash devices (front)
  • Two Node Canisters
  • Four Power Supplies.

The system can be expanded with the addition of SAS-based Expansion Enclosures.

NVMe Flash Devices

IBM Storage FlashSystem 9500 supports the use of IBM FlashCore Modules, with inbuilt hardware compression and computational storage assists. The system also supports the use of Industry-Standard Flash Drives.
Note: Only drives that are sold as system options are supported. For more information, see IBM Sales Manual and search for "4983-AF8 Sales Manual".

Highly Available Architecture

IBM Storage FlashSystem 9500 implements an Active-Active architecture, with the two Node Canisters forming a redundant I/O Group. Because data volumes are served by both node canisters, the volume remains available if one node canister fails or is taken offline.

Node canisters contain the systems CPUs, memory, backup batteries, and Network Attachment adapters.

Flexible Network Attachment

IBM Storage FlashSystem 9500 supports a range of Network Attachment adapter features. These adapters are housed in removable Adapter Cages, which allow removal or replacement of adapters without having to remove an entire Node Canister from the system.

The following adapter types are supported by the system:
Table 2. Adapter types
Adapter Type Protocols supported Minimum or maximum per node canister Minimum software level
Quad-port 64 Gbps Fibre Channel SCSI, FC-NVMe 0 - 3 8.6.0
Quad-port 32 Gbps Fibre Channel SCSI, FC-NVMe 0 - 6 8.5.0
Dual-port 100 Gbps Ethernet iSCSI, NVMe-RoCE, NVMe/TCP

0 – 3 (8.5.0)

0 – 6 (8.6.0)

 8.5.0
Dual-port 25 Gbps Ethernet (RoCE) iSCSI, NVMe-RoCE, NVMe/TCP

0 – 5 (8.5.0)

0 – 6 (8.6.0)

 8.5.0
Dual-port 25 Gbps Ethernet (iWARP)

iSCSI, iWARP (Replication/Short distance partnerships)

0 – 5 (8.5.0)

0 – 6 (8.6.0)

 8.5.0
Dual-port 25 Gbps Ethernet (iWARP) NVMe/TCP 0 – 6 (9.1.3) 9.1.3
Dual-port 12 Gbps SAS Expansion SAS (expansion) 0 - 1 8.5.0

In addition, each canister has two on-board 1 Gbps Ethernet ports that are used for system management.

Power Supplies and Battery Backup

IBM Storage FlashSystem 9500 has four redundant Power Supplies. The system can be powered by any two supplies (N+2 redundant).

Each Node Canister contains a pair of Battery backup units. The battery backup units are designed to allow a canister to destage its cache and metadata in an unscheduled power-down event.

Enterprise Warranty and Services

IBM Storage FlashSystem 9500 is available with IBM Storage Expert Care, with several levels of support to suit different deployment models. Refer to IBM Enterprise Support and Preferred Care options for more information.

System components

For more details on the different components of the system, see the following pages: