Communications requirements for DS8000 HyperSwap with independent auxiliary storage pools (IASPs)

To use the DS8000® HyperSwap® technology, you must be using or planning to use a storage area network (SAN).

A SAN is a dedicated, centrally managed, secure information infrastructure that enables any-to-any interconnection between systems and storage systems. SAN connectivity is required for using IBM® System Storage® DS8000 external storage units.

IBM i product supports various SAN switches and directors. Refer to the IBM System Storage Interoperation Center (SSIC) website for a complete list of supported adapters, switches, and directors.

Taking advantage of multipath I/O is highly recommended in order to improve overall resiliency and performance. Multipath I/O provides the ability to have multiple Fibre Channel devices that are configured to the same logical disk units within the storage. When correctly configured, this allows single devices, or I/O enclosures to fail without losing connections to the disk units. Multipath I/O also provides performance benefits by spreading workloads across all available connections (paths). Each connection for a multipath disk unit functions independently. Several connections provide improved resiliency by allowing disk storage to be used even if a single path fails.