What's new for IBM Spectrum Control Version 5.4.0
New features and enhancements are available in IBM Spectrum Control 5.4.0.
What's New | Features |
---|---|
Enhanced support for switches and fabrics | Connecting directly to Brocade switches and fabrics |
More support for non-IBM® devices | Monitoring performance for Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform F and G Series |
Enhanced support for DS8000® | Viewing the name and VOLSER properties for DS8000 CKD volumes |
Enhanced support for IBM Spectrum Virtualize | User roles for monitoring IBM Spectrum Virtualize |
Licensing and upgrade changes |
Connecting directly to Brocade switches and fabrics
You can now connect directly to Brocade switches that run Fabric OS 8.2.1 or later.
That's good news if you're planning to upgrade your Brocade switches soon, or to invest in newer switches. You no longer need Brocade Network Advisor (BNA) or extra servers to monitor your switches and fabrics. Connect directly to the switch by using the Fabric OS REST API and get the same key inventory and performance information that you got when you used BNA. Using the REST API is simple and reliable way to monitor your switches.
See Planning for Brocade.
Monitoring performance for Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform F and G Series
You can now monitor the performance of Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform F and G Series storage systems. You can also define performance alerts so that you're notified of bandwidth, latency, and other issues before they impact your storage environment. And, you can compare your storage workloads and response times across your entire storage environment.
For example, view the Total I/O Rate and the Overall Response Time of your Hitachi VSP system.
To confirm details about the supported storage systems including minimum firmware levels, review the Hitachi support page.
Viewing the name and VOLSER properties for DS8000 CKD volumes
- Name shows the name that was assigned to the volume when it was created. Previously, the VOLSER was shown as the name of the volume. In IBM Spectrum Control, the name is the primary identifier for the volume.
- VOLSER is a new column that shows the volume serial number for DS8000 CKD volumes.
User roles for monitoring IBM Spectrum Virtualize
You can now use a role with a lower level of authority on storage systems that run IBM Spectrum Virtualize 8.3.1.2 or later to collect performance metadata. When you add these storage systems, users with a lower level of authority than Administrator, such as users with the Monitor role, can collect performance metadata.
See User roles for collecting performance metadata from IBM Spectrum Virtualize.
Name updates for licenses
Names of IBM Spectrum Control 5.3 licenses | Names of IBM Spectrum Control 5.4.0 licenses |
---|---|
IBM Spectrum Control Standard Edition | IBM Spectrum Control |
IBM Spectrum Control Standard Select Edition | IBM Spectrum Control Select Edition |
- Chargeback, consumer, and rollup reports
- Storage reclamation
Enhancements to the Licensing page
The Licensing page ( ) was updated to make it easier for you to understand your licensing and determine how much storage you can add before exceeding your license.
- The automatic assignment of storage category for most storage systems. Fewer manual assignments are now required.
- Improved notifications to make you aware of actions that you must complete.
- The names of column headings were changed and the hover help was revised to help you complete your compliance check.
- The capacity to be licensed is now shown in tebibytes (TiB) for consistency with the other capacity values on the page.
See Licensing.
Upgrade update
You cannot upgrade from any release before IBM Spectrum Control 5.3.0. If you are currently running a version of IBM Spectrum Control earlier than 5.3.0, you must upgrade to IBM Spectrum Control 5.3.0 or later.
For more information on platform support, see IBM Spectrum Control interoperability matrix.
Product fixes and security updates
Limitations and known issues
For information about limitations and known issues that might occur when you use IBM Spectrum Control 5.4.0, see Limitations and known issues.