Change history for IBM Storage Insights

Changes in Q3 2025 (Sep 29)

Changes in Q2 2025 (Jun 27)

Add switches

Individual device dashboard now provides you an option to add the Brocade or Cisco switches. For more information, see Adding Brocade switches and fabrics.

Fabrics dashboard

Fabrics dashboard can now be experienced in a new look and feel. For more information, see Operations dashboard.

Workload protection

Workload protection widget on overview dashboard is modified to add some tooltips and UI label updates. For more information, see Workload Protection.

Enhanced alerting for storage systems

The IBM Storage Insights is updated with the following enhancements to better manage alerts for storage systems:

• Banners for warranty and maintenance expiration: Now appear on the storage system details page when warranty expiration conditions are detected.
• Maintenance mode: You can mark the storage system for maintenance in the modern UI. When in maintenance, all the alerts for selected storage systems will be stopped except for ransomware and workload anomaly alerts. Alerts automatically resume when you mark the storage system as out of maintenance. For more information about marking the storage system for maintenance, see Manage maintenance section in Context menu.
• Alerts detail page: You can view, enable, or disable alerts for individual storage system from the alerts detail page that is introduced in the modern UI. For more information, see Alerts.
• Email notifications: For ransomware alerts, email content now include detailed recommendations to help you take quick action.

AI-driven advisories: In the Advisory page, an AI-suggestions icon is introduced to filter only AI-generated suggestions. For more information about Advisory, see Advisory overview page in the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights section in Monitoring recommended actions in the Advisor.

Support tickets for IBM Storage Ceph® devices

You can now create new support tickets for IBM Storage Ceph devices in IBM Storage Insights and upload log packages when creating a ticket. Also, you can view a list of support tickets that are associated with a specific IBM Storage Ceph device to help you track and manage open issues. For more information about opening a support ticket, see Creating a ticket.

Enhanced API support

• Get all tenant level general groups with details of all groups within a tenant
• Get general group and subgroups detail for a given general group within a tenant
• General groups internal components information API
• Get general groups internal components member and count
• Retrieve AI-generated suggestions for FlashSystem grids

For more information about request and response formats, see the Swagger documentation.

New capacity view for IBM Storage FlashSystem devices

• For IBM Storage FlashSystem devices running firmware version 9.1.0 or later with FCM drives and updated CLI support, the capacity view now uses a bar chart to show both percentage and numerical values for Physical capacity, Logical capacity, and Capacity savings, including Logical used capacity breakdown and Provisioned capacity. For more information about capacity view, see the Capacity section in Individual device dashboard
• In the FlashSystem grid page, the new capacity card will be shown in the UI only if all devices in the FlashSystem grid are running firmware version 9.1.0 or later and contains FCM drives and updated CLI support. For more information about capacity view, see the Informational widgets section in the FlashSystem grid page.

Changes in Q1 2025 (April 7)

The following features and enhancements were made available in the Q1 2025 update of IBM Storage Insights:

Monitoring carbon emissions in IBM Storage Insights

IBM Storage Insights now displays carbon emissions (CO₂e) as a key environment metric. Here are some key enhancements:

Key enhancements:

• Environment widget : The environment widget in the overview dashboard and individual storage system dashboard displays the last 7 days of carbon emission trends for the overall storage systems level and specific storage systems respectively. For more information, see the Environment widget for overall storage systems and Environment widget for individual storage system.
• Comprehensive Environment page: View and manage Carbon Emission Factor (CEF) and Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) at country, and location levels. For more information, see Monitoring environment metrics in IBM Storage Insights
• Custom alerting: Define alerts for Carbon emission (Kg CO₂e/h) in custom alert policies for Storage Virtualize and DS8K systems. For more information, see Environmental alert conditions for storage systems.
• The performance chart for the storage system now includes a trend line for Carbon Emission metric. For more information, see Environmental metrics for IBM Storage Visualize systems and Environmental metrics for DS8000 storage systems.
• A new Carbon emission column is added to the storage systems overview page in the modern UI. For more information, see Block storage systems.
• The existing REST APIs are enhanced to provide the carbon emission values of the storage system. For more information about REST APIs, see Swagger documentation.

Extending AI-driven workload placement advisor to storage partitions

IBM Storage Insights now extends its AI-driven workload placement advisor capabilities to streamline the evaluation and migration of storage partitions, treating them like workloads. Previously, the advisor focused on evaluating new workload placement. Now, IBM Storage Insights also supports storage partition placement.

• Workload placement advisor: You can evaluate the optimal placement for storage partitions, treating them as workloads, to ensure efficient resource usage and performance. For more information, see Evaluating workload placement advice. You can also evaluate the optimal placement for storage partitions directly from the Storage partitions page. For more information, see Storage partitions.
• Compatibility scoring for target storage systems: The partition migration flow now includes a detailed compatibility score, enabling you to assess the suitability of target storage systems for specific storage partitions. For more information, see Migrating a storage-partition.

AI-generated suggestions

Access AI-powered insights to optimize storage management. View suggestions across capacity, performance, and maintenance categories in an intuitive panel with filtering and detailed analysis options. These suggestions are available on the Overview, FlashSystem Grid, and storage system details page. For more information about the AI suggestions, see the following pages:

• AI suggestions in Overview page
• AI suggestions in FlashSystem Grid page
• AI suggestions in storage system details page

Enhanced webhook support for all alerts

You can now configure webhooks to forward any alert based on the alert severity. The following enhancements have been made to the webhook framework:

• When creating a new webhook, you can find the Alerts forwarded (optional field) section to configure the alerts based on their severity. Existing webhooks can also be edited to update the Alerts forwarded (optional field) section. For more information about creating a webhook, see Creating a webhook in IBM Storage Insights.
• Two new columns Status and Alerts Forwarded are introduced to the webhook overview table. For more information, see Monitoring integrations.
• Individual alert definitions now include a Webhook Override option to select specific webhooks for an alert, overriding the default configuration defined in the Settings > Integration page.
• The Webhook Override column now appears in the alert definitions list in the storage system details page, showing which webhooks are assigned at the alert level
• The new Webhook posting status column is introduced in the Alerts page. For more information, see Information about alerts
• Alerts are sent to all the associated webhooks based on both global and per-alert definition configurations.
• Creating, modifying, and deleting webhooks, and updating alert definitions to forward them to webhooks, are audited and available in the audit log. For more information, see audit logs

Enhanced API support

• Block storage systems internal components capacity metrics for Drives
• File storage systems and its internal components capacity metrics
• Object storage systems and its internal components capacity metrics
• File storage systems internal components for Shares
• File storage systems internal components for Filesystems
• File storage systems internal components for Filesets

IBM Storage FlashSystem C200 support

IBM Storage FlashSystem C200 device can now be monitored with IBM Storage Insights.

For more information about IBM Storage FlashSystem C200, see Table 2 of IBM Storage Insights free vs IBM Storage Insights Pro.

Multitenant dashboard

You can now use the multitenant dashboard to view and monitor data from multiple IBM Storage Insights tenants in a single, aggregated view. This dashboard helps you to track the tenant health, storage capacity, warranty status, alerts, and more from one place.

For more information about multitenant dashboard, see Multitenant dashboard and Using the dashboard.

Changes in Q4 2024 (December 12)

Changes in Q3 2024 (September 17)

The following features and enhancements were made available in the Q3 2024 update of IBM Storage Insights:

Chatbot

Chatbot is an open source platform that enables natural language interactions. It allows the users to interact and chat with IBM Storage Insights in natural language form to help in observability and monitoring.

For more information, see Chatbot.

Edit system properties

The storage system name in the System Properties page is now editable. The edit icon besides the name field allows to edit the storage system name.

Integrating IBM Storage Insights with Grafana

Grafana provides powerful visualization and meaningful insights of the systems by taking data from various sources. The necessity of fetching data to provide the insights drives the need for ecosystem integration with Grafana by using REST APIs and this feature is available as an open-source project. For more information, see Grafana.

Block storage systems page enhancement

Earlier, when you see a support ticket with a link to IBM Storage Insights, the link does not point to the specific device for which the ticket is opened. Users were unable to find node serial numbers on the block storage systems page. The node serial number of a node is listed in the inventory column of the internal storage resources. The corresponding serial number column is added to the block storage system page table as a non-default column.

• The existing Serial number column is renamed to the Serial number (Storage system) column.
• A new Serial number (enclosure/node) column is added to the table. The column contains comma separated values of the enclosure and node (if both have different serial numbers) and expansion serial numbers based on the device type. For example, IBM Storage FlashSystem uses the same serial for enclosure and nodes and IBM SAN Volume Controller uses a different serial number for each node. The column is not available by default. To make the column visible, the user needs to select the column from the column chooser pop-up.

Support for the Performance Deviation widget for block storage systems

IBM Storage Insights collects, processes, and visually represents comprehensive performance metrics from storage systems. Only few metrics are considered as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The Performance Deviation widget analyzes the time series data for the KPIs by using the intelligent models to detect deviations in the performance metrics, and displays the deviations on the widget. The following four metrics are considered for the performance deviation monitoring:

• I/O rate
• Data rate
• Response time
• Transfer size

The widget is supported for only block storage systems and requires minimum 14 days of data to start the process of monitoring the performance deviations. The Performance Deviation widget is available for IBM Storage Insights and IBM Storage Insights Pro both users. The detailed view of the deviations is available for IBM Storage Insights Pro users only.

For more information, see Performance Deviation.

Enabling or disabling ransomware threat detection for multiple storage systems

When multiple storage systems are selected from the storage systems overview page in the modern UI, you can now see the option to enable or disable ransomware threat detection from the multi-select operations bar. However, if some selected systems are enabled with ransomware detection while others do not, this option is not displayed. Only Admin users can enable or disable ransomware threat detection.

Why this enhancement: This enhancement provides flexibility for managing ransomware detection across multiple systems. By limiting this option to consistent configurations and admin users, it prevents accidental misconfiguration and maintains security control.

For more information, see Enabling and disabling alerts for ransomware threat detection.

Seamless STaaS management in the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights

The Storage as a Service (STaaS) dashboard is now available in the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights, offering a streamlined, single pane of glass experience for managing your STaaS environments. Access the dashboard through Main menu > Inventory > Storage as a Service to quickly assess capacity usage, forecast potential shortages, and avoid unexpected billing overages.

Why use the STaaS dashboard?

With the STaaS dashboard, you get a streamlined view of your STaaS environment, allowing you to perform following operations:

• Track usage and capacity: Monitor base capacity, overages, and month-to-date usage.
• Set threshold alerts: Receive notifications as your usage approaches capacity limits.
• Simplify reporting: Generate shareable reports on your storage status and needs.

Access the enhanced dashboard in the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights to keep operations running smoothly and stay ahead of your storage needs.

For more information, see Monitoring Storage as a Service.

Enhanced hosts and virtual machines management in the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights

The modern UI in IBM Storage Insights now includes expanded capabilities for adding and managing vCenter Servers, enhancing the monitoring and management of hosts and virtual machines. The following features, previously available in the classic UI, are now available in the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights, enhancing your overall user experience.

1. Adding and removing vCenter Servers: Simplify your host and virtual machines monitoring setup by directly adding or removing vCenter Servers in the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights. To monitor VMware ESXi hosts and virtual machines, you must add the vCenter Servers that manage them. For more information, see Adding vCenter Servers.

2. Multiple selections of hosts and virtual machines for bulk actions: You can select multiple hosts from their overview page to easily perform bulk operations on them such as viewing capacity, marking the health status as acknowledged or unacknowledged, and removing them. For multiple selection of virtual machines, only marking the health status as acknowledged or unacknowledged option is available.

3. Enhanced host merging and separating: Easily manage host configurations to fit your environment. Merge multiple unmonitored hosts into a single entry when multiple connections represent a single host, or separate incorrectly grouped hosts. To merge hosts, select the hosts that you need to merge from the hosts overview page, click Merge Hosts in the blue multi-select operation bar. To separate hosts, click overflow menu toward the right end of host row, select Separate Host.

Introducing the data collectors page in the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights

IBM Storage Insights now includes access to the data collectors page within the modern UI, maintaining the familiar look and feel of the classic UI. You can navigate to the data collectors page in the modern UI through Main menu > Inventory > Data collectors. This update ensures a seamless transition as you can get the integration of essential pages into the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights.

With the data collectors page now available in the modern UI, no need to switch back to the classic UI of IBM Storage Insights. You can manage your data collectors directly within the modern UI, with the familiar look and feel as in the classic UI. This enhancement streamlines your workflow, allowing for seamless access to essential storage data without interrupting your experience.

For more information about the data collectors, see Downloading and installing data collectors

Introducing the copy data page in the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights

The copy data page is now integrated into the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights, allowing you to access it directly without being redirected to the classic UI. While the page retains the familiar look and feel of the classic interface, it now offers a more streamlined experience within the modern UI framework.

You can open copy data page by clicking Data protection menu from the storage system details page in the modern UI.

This enhancement aims to improve user engagement and operational efficiency while providing a robust platform for managing copy data within IBM Storage Insights.

For more information about copy data, see Block storage copy data resources

Unveiling IQN Performance tab in the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights

IBM IBM Storage Insights now includes the IQN Performance tab in the modern UI. You can access the IQN Performance from the block storage system details page. Go to Hardware > IP ports > IQN Performance where you can view detailed performance metrics for iSCSI-qualified IP ports at the node level.

The IQN Performance tab provides powerful insights into the performance of your IP replication environment, enabling you to visualize critical metrics such as transfer size, replication latency, data rate, and compressed data rate.

This enhancement makes it easier to manage and optimize your network resources directly from the modern UI. For more information, see IP ports.

Enhancing ransomware alert accuracy: New user feedback mechanism on false alerts

IBM Storage Insights now includes a dedicated feature to address false ransomware alerts, enabling you to provide feedback directly within the interface. This enhancement is part of the ongoing effort to improve the accuracy of ransomware detection and to refine alerting mechanisms based on real-world usage data.

Why this feature is introduced?

Ransomware detection is critical for safeguarding data integrity, but not all alerts are accurate. False positives cause unnecessary concern and can lead to inefficiencies in managing storage environments. To address this issue, IBM Storage Insights introduced a feedback mechanism that allows you to report false positives directly from the alert details page. This feedback helps to understand the context behind these alerts, enabling the refinement of detection algorithms and the reduction of the occurrence of false positives over time.

How it Works

When you encounter a ransomware alert in IBM Storage Insights, you can now indicate whether it is a false positive. If so, you can provide more details about the potential cause, such as compression activities or other system events. IBM Storage Insights captures this feedback and analyzes the data to improve the potential ransomware threat detection capabilities.

To submit feedback on a false positive alert, you can do the following actions:

• In classic UI: select one or multiple alerts, right-click on the selection, and click Resolve as False Positive on the alert details page. Select the reasons why this alert is incorrect and optionally, you can type other relevant information. Click Submit.
• In modern UI: On the overview page, click the bell icon in the Resources tile. Click the Potential Ransomware Detected alert and then click Resolve as False Positive. Select the reasons why this alert is incorrect and optionally you can type other relevant information. Click Submit.

What happens after submitting the feedback?

1. The ransomware threat alert is acknowledged if not done already. The severity of the alert is marked as Critical - Acknowledged
2. For volumes affected with ransomware alert, the status is changed from Online (Threat Detected) to Online (Threat Detected, Acknowledged). After the next full probe, the status is shown as Online.

Important:

• If multiple ransomware alerts have been triggered for a single volume, you must provide feedback for the appropriate alert. This is crucial because providing feedback on a false positive alert will reset the volume’s status to normal, potentially masking the presence of a real ransomware threat. For example, if three ransomware alerts are generated for the same volume at different times, and if the most recent alert is a genuine ransomware threat while the earlier two were false positives, submitting feedback on the false positive alerts will cause the volume to appear normal, despite the genuine threat identified by the latest alert.
• You can provide multiple false positive feedback for a single ransomware alert.

Key features

• Multiple alert feedback: You can submit feedback on multiple false positive alerts simultaneously.
• Audit logging: All actions related to marking alerts as false positives are logged for auditing and compliance purposes. For more information, see Audit logs
• Multiple feedback: You can provide multiple false positive feedback for a single ransomware alert.

The ransomware false positives feedback survey feature is designed to empower you by providing a direct voice in improving the accuracy of ransomware alerts and thus reducing the chance of getting more false ransomware alerts. By capturing and analyzing feedback on false positives, IBM Storage Insights continues to enhance its detection capabilities, providing you with more reliable and actionable alerts.

For more information, see Submitting feedback for ransomware false positives

Integrating IBM Storage Insights with Slack for ransomware alerts

IBM Storage Insights now offers enhanced security capabilities with the integration of Slack. This new integration enables you to receive real-time ransomware alerts directly in your Slack channel, providing immediate visibility and facilitating faster response times.

Integration Process:

1. Create a Slack application and private Channel: Start by setting up a Slack application and a private Slack channel to receive alerts. For more information, see Creating a Slack application and a private Slack channel.
2. Configure the webhook in IBM Storage Insights: Next, configure a webhook for Slack within IBM Storage Insights. This step connects the two platforms, ensuring seamless delivery of ransomware alerts to your designated Slack channel. For more information, see Creating a webhook for Slack.

By integrating IBM Storage Insights with Slack, you can significantly enhance your organization's security posture and protect your valuable data from ransomware threats. For more information about the complete Slack integration process, see Integrating IBM Storage Insights with Slack

Introducing the new sections and sub-menus to the Main menu in the modern UI

IBM Storage Insights, a powerful storage monitoring and analytics solution, is undergoing a significant transformation with its new modern UI. With this update, there is a revamped Main menu structure that aims to provide a more intuitive and efficient way to access key storage management functions.

The modern UI introduces several new menus and sections within the existing Main menu. The following table outlines the detailed changes in the Main menu:

Table 3. Details of changes to the Main menu

Main menu sections	New sub-menus inside the section	Functions
Reports (New section)	No new menus	Clicking the Reports section opens the Reports page in the classic UI of IBM Storage Insights. You can share storage environment information by sending reports through email or exporting data for custom reports. For more information, see Reporting.
Planning (Existing section)	Maintenance Information	Clicking this menu opens the Maintenance Information page in the classic UI of IBM Storage Insights. You can track the maintenance contracts for individual IBM block storage systems, notifying when a contract expires or will soon expire. For more information, see Tracking maintenance contracts for storage systems.
	Capacity Planning	Clicking this menu opens the capacity planning page in the classic UI of IBM Storage Insights. You can forecast the capacity needs for block storage systems, file storage systems, pools (by tier), and StaaS environments based on historical storage usage. For more information, see Capacity planning.
Insights (New section)	Performance	Clicking this menu opens the performance page in the classic UI of IBM Storage Insights. Displays the performance metrics for storage systems in a chart and provides related information for all storage systems. For more information, see Performance views.
	Reclamation	Clicking this menu opens the reclamation page in the classic UI of IBM Storage Insights. You can get recommendations to reclaim capacity before planning the new capacity purchases. For more information, see Reclamation.
Inventory (New section)	Storage Systems	Clicking this menu opens the storage systems overview page in the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights. Displays all storage systems added to the tenant with their attributes and properties in a tabular view. For more information, see Individual device dashboard.
	Fabrics	Clicking this menu opens the fabrics overview page in the classic UI of IBM Storage Insights. Enables administering and monitoring configuration and status information about fabrics in the storage environment. For more information, see Fabrics.
	Switches	Clicking this menu opens the switches overview page in the classic UI of IBM Storage Insights. Similar to the Fabrics menu, this page enables monitoring switches. For more information, see Switches.
	Chassis	Clicking this menu, opens the chassis overview page in the classic UI of IBM Storage Insights. Enables monitoring of chassis within the storage environment. For more information, see Chassis.
	Hosts	Clicking this menu opens the hosts overview page in the classic UI of IBM Storage Insights. Enables the administration and monitoring of hosts. For more information, see Hosts.
	Virtual machines	Clicking this menu opens the virtual machines overview page in the classic UI of IBM Storage Insights. Enables the administration and monitoring of virtual machines. For more information, see Virtual Machine details.

Note: While the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights offers a new interface for storage resources, some pages still redirect to the classic UI.

For more information about all the available menus in the Main menu, see Details of sections and sub-menus in the Main menu

Expanding the modern UI: New resource overview pages in IBM Storage Insights

Introducing the newly modernized resource overview pages in IBM Storage Insights, featuring dedicated pages for switches, fabrics, hosts, and virtual machines. This enhancement is part of the ongoing commitment to provide you with a modern and intuitive interface that improves the management of storage resources.

As organizations increasingly rely on complex storage environments, the need for streamlined monitoring and management tools becomes paramount. IBM Storage Insights is at the forefront of addressing these needs, offering you comprehensive visibility and control over your storage infrastructure. The new resource overview pages are designed to enhance this experience, ensuring that you can efficiently access and manage critical information.

The previous interface, while functional, often required you to switch back to the classic UI to access detailed information and perform specific tasks. The goal of these updates is to streamline your workflow by integrating a unified, modern design that eliminates the need to revert to the classic UI. The new pages offer improved visibility, ease of use, and comprehensive monitoring capabilities.

Key features across resource overview pages:

• Consistent modern interface: Each overview page features a contemporary design that aligns with the overall IBM Storage Insights aesthetic, ensuring a seamless user experience.
• Health status indicators: Critical health information is prominently displayed at the top of each page, allowing you to quickly assess the status of their resources.
• Detailed resource management: You can easily access performance details and properties specific to each resource type, enhancing their ability to monitor and manage configurations effectively.
• Integrated navigation: Each page allows straightforward navigation to related details and performance metrics, minimizing the need to revert to the classic UI.
• Enhanced filtering and sorting: You can sort, filter, and reorder columns on each overview page, making it easier to find relevant information tailored to your needs.
• Contextual links: Each resource page includes links to detailed views in the classic UI when necessary, ensuring continuity of access to comprehensive data.

Accessing the new resource overview pages

To access these resource overview pages from the modern view of IBM Storage Insights, click the left Main menu, expand Inventory to view resources such as Switches, Fabrics, Hosts, or Virtual machines.

For more information about the specific resource overview pages, see the following pages:

• Switches overview page
• Fabrics overview page
• Hosts overview page
• Virtual machines overview page

Enhanced user experience with a new block storage system details page in the modern UI

Introducing the newly designed block storage system details page within the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights. This upgraded user-friendly interface enhances your ability to manage and monitor your storage systems.

Previously, you often needed to switch back to the classic UI for detailed insights and specific operations. With the introduction of block storage system details page, your workflow is streamlined by offering a cohesive, modern design that presents all necessary information in one place. The updated pages enhance clarity, usability, and monitoring capabilities.

Accessing the new block storage system detail page

To access the block storage system details page from the modern view of IBM Storage Insights, click Main menu, expand Inventory, and then click Storage Systems. The storage system overview page is displayed. Click any block storage system name to access its details page.

When you navigate to the block storage details page, a left navigation panel with various sections and menus are displayed. The following table outlines the details of the sections and menus available in the block storage system details page.

Table 4. Details of sections and menus in the block storage system details page

Sections	Menus inside the section		Functions
Pinned	Menus which you have pinned are visible under Pinned section		When you pin the menus, they are displayed under a new Pinned menu. Note: The Pinned section is visible only if you pinned any menus.
Hardware	Drives		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated drives. Performance tab is visible to get insight on the drives performance You can also export the report for the drives in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report For more information, see Drives
	Enclosures		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated enclosures. You can click the 3 vertical dots menu at the right end of each enclosure row to view the properties of the enclosure. You can also export the report for the enclosure in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report For more information, see Enclosures.
	FC ports		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated FC ports. Performance tab is visible to get insight on the FC ports performance You can also export the report for the FC ports in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report For more information, see FC ports
	IP ports		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated IP ports. You can click the 3 vertical dots menu at the right end of each IP port row to view the properties of the IP ports. You can also export the report for the IP ports in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report Note: The IQN Performance tab for the IP ports is not yet available in the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights. For more information, see IP ports.
	Nodes		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated Nodes. Performance tab is visible to get insight on the Nodes performance You can also export the report for the Nodes in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report For more information, see Nodes
	Modules		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated modules. You can click the 3 vertical dots menu at the right end of each module row to view the properties of module. You can also export the report for the modules in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report Note: Modules menu is displayed only for XIV devices. For more information, see Nodes, modules, and directors.
	Host adapters		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated host adapters. Performance tab is visible to get insight on the host adapters performance You can also export the report for the host adapters in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report Note: Host adapters menu is displayed only for DS8000 devices. For more information, see Host adapters
	Device adapters		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated device adapters. Performance tab is visible to get insight on the device adapters performance You can also export the report for the device adapters in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report Note: Device adapters menu is displayed only for DS8000 devices. For more information, see Device adapters
Storage	I/O groups		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated I/O groups. The Performance tab is visible to get insight on the I/O group performance. You can also export the report for the I/O groups in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report. For more information, see I/O groups.
	Managed disks		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated managed disks. The Performance tab is visible to get insight on the managed disks performance. The Capacity tab is visible to get insight on the managed disks capacity. You can also export the report for the managed disks in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report. For more information, see Managed disks.
	Pools		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated pools. The Performance tab is visible to get insight on the storage pools performance. The Capacity tab is visible to get insight on the storage pools capacity. You can also export the report for the storage pools in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report. For more information, see Pools.
	RAID arrays		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated RAID arrays. The Performance tab is visible to get insight on the RAID arrays performance. You can also export the report for the RAID arrays in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report. For more information, see RAID arrays.
	Volumes		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated volumes. The Performance tab is visible to get insight on the volumes performance. The Capacity tab is visible to get insight on the volumes capacity. You can also export the report for the volumes in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report. For more information, see Volumes.
	Volume groups		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated volume groups. The Performance tab is visible to get insight on the volume groups performance. The Capacity tab is visible to get insight on the volume groups capacity. You can also export the report for the volumes in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report. Note: Volume groups menu is available only for IBM Storage FlashSystem added through Call Home with cloud services. For more information, see Volume groups.
Host resources	Host connections		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated host connections. Performance tab is visible to get insight on the host connections performance You can also export the report for the host connections in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report For more information, see host connections
	Hosts		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated hosts. Capacity tab is visible to get insight on the hosts capacity You can also export the report for the hosts in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report For more information, see hosts
	HBAs		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated HBAs. You can also export the report for the host connections in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report For more information, see HBAs
	Drives		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated drive. You can also export the report for the host connections in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report For more information, see Drives
Connectivity	Chassis		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated chassis. You can also export the report for the chassis in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report. For more information, see Chassis.
	Fabrics		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated fabrics. You can also export the report for the fabrics in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report. For more information, see Fabrics.
	Switches		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated switches. You can also export the report for the switches in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report. The Performance tab is visible to get insight on the switches performance. For more information, see Switches.
	Back-end storage systems		On clicking, displays the overview of the associated back-end storage systems. The Performance tab is visible to get insight on the back-end storage systems performance. The Capacity tab is visible to get insight on the back-end storage systems capacity. You can also export the report for the back-end storage systems in CSV, PDF, or HTML format by clicking Export report. For more information, see Back-end storage systems.
Data protection	No sub menus		This menu is visible only if the device is having replication data or policies. Clicking Data protection opens the Copy Data page in the modern UI, but the look and feel is same as classic UI. Block storage copy data resources
Storage Partitions	No sub menus		This menu is visible in the left navigation panel only for IBM Storage FlashSystem devices added to IBM Storage Insights using Call Home with cloud services. For more information about storage partition, see Storage Partitions.

Key features in the block storage system details page:

• Storage system detail page navigation: When you click any block storage system name on the storage systems overview page, it opens the storage system detail page specific to that storage system. This view includes a left navigation panel displaying various menu options relevant to your selected system.

• Component health and status: The left navigation panel on the storage system detail page shows the number of components, their health status, and a status count. Parent menus reflect the overall health status, prioritizing the statuses in the order: error, warning, unreachable, unconfigured, and unknown statuses.

• Pinned menus: You can now pin menus for easy access. On mouse hover, an option to pin the menu appears. When pinned, these menus are displayed under a new Pinned menu.

• Collapsible sidebar: The left navigation panel on the storage system detail page is collapsible, allowing you to expand or collapse it based on your workspace needs. A simple click in the black area of the navigation panel when collapsed expands the sidebar.

• Device-specific menus:

  • Host adapters and Device adapters options under the Hardware menu are available only for DS8000 devices.
  • Modules option under the Hardware menu are available only for XIV devices.
  • Volume groups option under the Storage menu is available only for IBM Storage FlashSystem added through Call Home with cloud services.

• Default menu state: The Hardware menu and any pinned menus are shown expanded by default for easy access.

• Data protection: This menu is visible only if the device is having replication data or policies. Clicking Data protection opens the Copy Data page.

• Free tenant restrictions: For IBM Storage Insights free tenants, the storage system detail page is not been accessible. Clicking a storage system link opens the individual device overview page.

• File, Object, Unified storage systems view: When you click any File, Object, or Unified storage system name on the storage system overview page, the classic UI of storage system detail page opens in a new browser window.
• Storage partitions: This menu is visible in the left navigation panel only for IBM Storage FlashSystem devices added to IBM Storage Insights using Call Home with cloud services.

For more information about the storage system details page, see Block storage system details page.

Introducing Host connections column and multiple selections in the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights

IBM Storage Insights is now enhanced with significant features: The new Host connections column and the multiple selections of storage systems in the storage systems overview page. These enhancements are designed to provide you greater visibility and control over your storage systems.

These updates offer enhanced functions for managing and interacting with your storage data. The Host connections column allows you to easily access and manage host connections information, while the multiple selection feature enables bulk actions, streamlining operations within the storage systems overview page.

1. New Host connections column in the storage systems overview page in modern UI of IBM Storage Insights:
   • Visibility: A new Host connections column is introduced to the storage systems overview page, visible by default upon loading the page.
   • Conditional display: The column is hidden when only Object or Unified storage types are selected from the filters.
   • Customizable view: You can manage the display of this column through the column chooser, where Host connections is grouped under System properties.
   • Data Representation: The number is displayed in the Host connections column. When you click the number, you are redirected to the host connections details page in modern UI, filtered by the corresponding storage system hosts. If the Host connections value is not applicable, the column value displays as -.
     Note: The Host connections column is available for both free and pro versions of IBM Storage Insights. However, the value in the Host connections column in the free version of IBM Storage Insights is not clickable as the host connections details page is not available to the free version.
   • Filtering and Sorting: This Host connections column supports both filtering and sorting to facilitate efficient data management.
2. Multiple selections of storage systems in the storage systems overview page in the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights:
   • You can now select multiple storage systems in the storage systems overview page. After the selection, several available action menus such as View capacity, View performance, and Data collection are displayed at the top of the storage systems overview table in the blue bar.
   • View capacity and View performance actions redirect you to the corresponding classic UI pages for detailed analysis.

These enhancements are tailored for the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights, offering a more efficient and user-friendly experience for managing storage systems.

For more information about the storage systems overview page, see Storage systems tabular view.

Downloading audit logs from the modern UI of IBM Storage Insights

IBM Storage Insights now enables you to download audit logs of user actions directly from the modern UI. You can access and review the logs for various activities that are performed within the last 15 days, available in a CSV format for easy analysis.

To download the audit logs from the modern UI, click the Settings icon in the top-right corner of the menu bar and then select Export audit log. The audit log file will be downloaded to your system in CSV format.

For more information about the audit log feature, including the tracked user actions and the REST API for programmatic access, see Audit logs.

Introducing the logs upload feature for existing IBM Storage Ceph support tickets

This new logs upload feature addresses a critical gap in the support process. When you report issues with your IBM Storage Ceph systems, the support team requires detailed logs to diagnose and resolve these problems effectively. Previously, gathering and submitting these logs could be cumbersome, potentially delaying the resolution times. With the introduction of this feature, you can now easily upload new log packages directly to your existing support tickets, ensuring that the support team has the necessary information to expedite the troubleshooting.

For more information, see Uploading the new log package to the existing IBM Storage Ceph support ticket.

Enhanced overflow menu in the modernized UI

Earlier, users needed to use the classic IBM Storage Insights view, to perform storage systems specific operations, such as test and modify connection and data collection operations. Users can now test and modify storage system connections, and manage data collection operations directly from the overflow menu in the IBM Storage Insights modernized UI, eliminating the need to switch to the classic UI.

For more information, see Storage systems tabular.

Switching and managing user roles

IBM Storage Insights supports role-based access to its features. Users in IBM Storage Insights are assigned specific roles, such as Administrator and Monitor. The role of a user determines the level of access that the user has to complete certain actions. A user can have more than one user roles that are assigned to them. Now, a user in IBM Storage Insights can switch to another available role to by selecting it on the profile card. In addition, the administrator users can manage IBM Storage Insights users. When a user switches role, the IBM Storage Insights features are filtered based on the selected role and become available to the user.

For more information, see User profile.

Support to view user navigation history

IBM Storage Insights now includes a navigation history feature, offering a trail of clickable links on each page to easily retrace and navigate through previous locations.

Column reordering and sorting in storage systems tabular view

Earlier, users were not able to reorder the columns for the storage systems tabular view and columns were displayed based on a fixed order. Now, IBM Storage Insights supports reordering of columns and allows users to reorder columns of the storage systems tabular view. All selected columns appear under the Selected columns section. User can drag columns to change their order as per the requirements. Now user can also sort data table by clicking the name of the column in the tabular view.

For more information, see Storage systems tabular.

Enhanced API support to query storage system-specific details

IBM Storage Insights supports the following new APIs to query storage system-specific details, such as:

• Get all ports that belong to a particular fabric.
• Get all zone sets that belong to a particular fabric.
• Get all switches associated to a particular fabric.
• Get all hosts added to IBM Storage Insights.
• Get all virtual machines that belong to a particular host.
• Get all HBAs that belong to a particular host.
• Get all drives internal resources that belong to a particular host.
• Get all data stores that belong to a particular host.
• Get all VMware virtual machine disks (VMDKs) that belong to a particular host.
• Get all IP replication details for a particular block storage system under copy data.
  Note: For the IP replication API, only table-level details such as remote system name, IP address, and state are available.
• Get storage system metrics for volume, port, drive, node, IP workload, and other miscellaneous metrics, such as:
  • Volume performance metrics: I/O rates, response times, remote mirror, volume cache, volume copy cache, cache hits, and other miscellaneous metrics
  • Port metrics: I/O rates, data rates, response times, error rates, and other miscellaneous metrics
  • Drive metrics: Response times and other miscellaneous metrics
  • Node metrics: Data rates and CPU core utilization
  • IP workload key metrics: IP workload key metrics and other miscellaneous metrics
• Get the summary information for the copy data for a particular block storage system.
• Additional fields added to the storage system API, such as ransomware threat detection, host connection, threat notification recipients, host connection, current power usage, system temperature, power efficiency, safeguarded virtual capacity, and safeguarded used capacity.
• Get all total provisioned capacity metrics for a particular block storage system.
• Get all storage partitions in a particular storage system.
• Get all storage partitions in a particular FlashSystem grid.
• Get all storage systems in a particular FlashSystem grid.
• Get all storage drive performance metrics for a particular block storage system.
• Get all volume performance metrics for a particular block storage system.
• Get top five volumes by performance metrics.
• Get top five disks/drives by performance metrics.
• Get all storage system metrics for an IBM Storage Insights instance.
• Get all hosts performance metrics for an IBM Storage Insights instance.

Changes in Q2 2024 (June 20)

The following features and enhancements were made available in the Q2 2024 update of IBM Storage Insights:

Flash Grid My World Navigation

IBM Storage Insights introduced a new Flash Grid My World Navigation to display of the details of the selected FlashSystem grid. On the Flash Grid My World Navigation page, you can view the aggregated details of storage systems that are the part of the FlashSystem grid. The Flash Grid My World Navigation shows various details, such as capacity data aggregated by storage systems, storage partitions, and migration status summary.

For more information, FlashSystem grid.

Grouping of storage systems

IBM Storage Insights supports the capability to view systems as part of groups, referred to as FlashSystem grids. You can specify the scope of the storage systems as Global or Group Related Systems in the IBM Storage Insights. By default, the Global option is enabled and storage systems are individually listed in the left pane. If the Group Related Systems option is enabled, the storage systems of the same FlashSystem grid are grouped together in the left pane, and the middle pane displays the filtered view of aggregated details of storage systems, which are grouped in a FlashSystem grid. All the systems, which are not part of any FlashSystem grid are also similarly grouped with name Non FlashSystem grid Systems.

For more information, see Overview dashboard (Carbon).

Effortless storage moves: Introducing partition migration in IBM Storage Insights

You can now seamlessly migrate storage partitions between IBM Storage FlashSystem devices without any application downtime, ensuring a smooth and non-disruptive transition.

Here's how it benefits you:

• Non-disruptive migration: Migrate storage partitions seamlessly from one IBM Storage FlashSystem device to another without interrupting your operations.
• Simplified upgrades: Easily relocate storage partitions to new systems for hardware upgrades, load balancing, or specific data center requirements.
• Optimized resource allocation: Balance workloads by migrating partitions from overloaded systems to underutilized ones.
• Centralized management: Initiate, track, and manage partition migrations directly within the familiar IBM Storage Insights interface.

Getting started is easy:

1. Access the Storage Partitions view for your desired FlashSystem grid.
2. Select the partition that you want to migrate and choose Migrate Partition from the overflow menu.
3. Review the compatible storage systems and choose your target device.
4. Confirm the migration details and initiate the process.
5. Track the migration status through notifications, the Dashboards page, and various status columns within the IBM Storage Insights GUI.

IBM Storage Insights takes care of the rest, sending migration requests to your IBM Storage FlashSystem device for seamless execution. You can then monitor the progress through notifications, the Dashboards page, and various status columns within the IBM Storage Insights GUI.

Actions during migration:

• Cancel Migration: If needed, you can cancel an ongoing migration directly from the IBM Storage Insights interface.
• Switch Primary: Reassign the primary storage partition to the target system during migration.
• Commit Changes: Finalize the migration by cleaning up the source system.
• Fix Errors: Troubleshoot and resolve any issues that can pause the migration process.

Error handling and troubleshooting:

To address errors during migration, IBM Storage Insights now supports launching the IBM Storage FlashSystem GUI in a new tab for error resolution. In cases of unforeseen errors or failures like network connectivity issues, IBM Storage FlashSystem records the error number that is causing the migration pause. This feature allows IBM Storage Insights to directly open the error event DMP (Diagnostic Message Page) in a new tab, enabling you to navigate and resolve issues efficiently.

Important:

• IBM Storage Insights does not do the storage partition migration on its own. When you begin the migration in IBM Storage Insights, a request is sent from IBM Storage Insights to IBM Storage FlashSystem through Call Home with cloud services to begin the migration. When the IBM Storage FlashSystem accepts the migration request, the partition migration begins. The migration status is shown in IBM Storage Insights in sync with corresponding IBM Storage FlashSystem.
• IBM Storage Insights facilitates these migrations through Call Home with cloud services, ensuring secure and reliable command execution. Storage partition migration is not supported if the storage systems are monitored through the data collector.
• Storage partition migration is available only for the IBM Storage FlashSystem 8.7.0 or later.
• Connectivity to IBM Storage FlashSystem network is required for troubleshooting errors during the migration.

For more information, see Migrating a storage partition.

Partition management permission

IBM Storage Insights GUI allows administrator and monitor users to manage and migrate partitions on grouped storage systems. To manage and migrate partitions, users need to have the partition management permission enabled in IBM Storage Insights. An administrator user can assign or revoke the partition management permission for themselves and other administrator and monitor users. Other users are not eligible to have partition management permission and cannot manage and migrate partitions.

For more information, see User Access Management.

IBM Storage Defender integration with IBM Storage Insights

IBM Storage Insights supports integration with IBM Storage Defender to send ransomware alerts and to allow IBM Storage Defender to acknowledge the alerts and take immediate action. The IBM Storage Insights administrator users complete the following actions:

• Approve IBM Storage Defender integration request for a storage system or multiple storage systems.
• Decline IBM Storage Defender integration requests for storage systems.
• Pre-approve all future requests for all storage systems monitored by the IBM Storage Insights.
• Acknowledge IBM Storage Defender actions for ransomware alerts.

For more information, see Integrating IBM Storage Insights with IBM Storage Defender.

REST APIs

IBM Storage Insights supports the following new APIs to query storage system specific details, such as:

• Acknowledge or clear an alert or alerts (including volume ransomware alerts) for a particular storage system.
• Get a list of all pools in a particular storage system.
• Get details about a pool in a particular storage system.
• Get a list of all managed disks in a particular storage system.
• Get details about a managed disk in a particular storage system.
• Get a list of all raid arrays for a particular storage system.
• Get details about a raid array in a particular storage system.
• Get a list of all drives in a particular storage system.
• Get details about a drive in a particular storage system.
• Get a list of all I/O groups for a particular storage system.
• Get details about an I/O group for a particular storage system.
• Get a list of all nodes for a particular storage system.
• Get details about a node for a particular storage system.
• Get a list of all enclosures for a particular storage system.
• Get details about an enclosure for a particular storage system.
• Get a list of all FC ports for a particular storage system.
• Get details about an FC port for a particular storage system.
• Get a list of all IP ports for a particular storage system.
• Get details about an IP port for a particular storage system.
• Get a list of all host connections for a particular storage system.
• Get details about a host connection for a particular storage system.
• Get a list of all device adapters for a particular DS8K storage system.
• Get details about a device adapter in a particular DS8K storage system.
• Get all sustainability metrics, such as power and temperature, for a particular DS8K storage system.
• Get a list of all volume mappings for a particular storage system.
• Get details about a volume mapping for a particular storage system.
• Get a list of all volume snapshots for a particular storage system.
• Get details about all volume snapshots associated with a specific volume in a particular storage system.

Introducing new workload placement advice

IBM Storage Insights is now enhanced with the new workload placement advice that is designed to streamline your storage planning process for IBM Storage FlashSystem devices. This innovative feature empowers storage administrators to effortlessly identify the best suitable IBM Storage FlashSystem devices for new workloads, ensuring optimal resource utilization and performance.

The workload placement advice feature takes the guesswork out of storage allocation. Simply define your new custom workload requirements or select the workloads from the curated list of standard workloads by specifying a size (small, medium, large). Even the pre-defined workloads can be customized to your specific needs.

You need to input or accept default values for three information segments:

• Workload type: Define or customize the workload requirements.
• Duration: Specify the past date for forecasting trends and the future date for placement evaluation. By default, these are set to one year in the past and one year in the future, but this can be customized.
• IBM Storage FlashSystem Selection: Choose the specific IBM Storage FlashSystem systems that you want to evaluate for placement. While all the IBM Storage FlashSystem devices in your environment are considered by default, selecting only the relevant systems can improve the recommendation speed.

The intelligent algorithms of IBM Storage Insights then analyze your existing IBM Storage FlashSystem devices, considering factors like capacity and performance forecasting, and provide optimal placement for new workloads.

The comprehensive workload placement evaluation helps you with the following benefits:

• Visualize ideal placement options: Workload placement advice presents a clear ranking of your devices, highlighting the most suitable destinations for your new workload.
• Make informed decisions with confidence: Benefit from in-depth explanations for each recommendation through charts. Understand the rationale behind the rankings and gain valuable insights to support your storage planning choices.

Workload placement advice seamlessly integrates into your existing IBM Storage Insights experience, accessible through both the new carbon and classic interfaces. The intuitive interface allows you to perform the following actions:

• Quickly define workload requirements: Specify your custom workload parameters or use the standard workload options by specifying a size (small, medium, large).
• Filter IBM Storage FlashSystem devices for tailored recommendations: Narrow down the evaluation pool to focus on specific IBM Storage FlashSystem devices monitored within IBM Storage Insights.
• Initiate the placement assessment with a single click: Effortlessly trigger the evaluation process and receive comprehensive placement recommendations.

With workload placement advice in IBM Storage Insights, you can now enjoy a simplified and more efficient storage planning experience. By leveraging the intelligent recommendations and clear rationale, you are empowered to make confident decisions that optimize storage utilization and ensure better performance for your new workloads.

Note: The new workload placement feature is applicable only for the IBM Storage FlashSystem devices.

For more information, see Evaluating new workload placement advice.

New environmental metrics for DS8000

You can now gain visibility into critical environmental metrics for DS8000 storage systems, empowering you to gain deeper insights into your storage infrastructure's health and efficiency.

For DS8000 storage systems with firmware version 7.2 or later, you can now access the following new environmental metrics:

• System Temperature (°C) and System Temperature (°F): The average temperature of the storage system in degree Celsius (°C) and Fahrenheit units. The value is average temperature that the storage system is maintaining in the last 24 hours.
• Total Power Consumed (Watts): The average total power that all the components of storage systems including nodes are consuming. The value is in Watts.
• Power Efficiency (Watts/ Raw TB): Power consumed in Watts divided by Raw capacity in terabytes. The value denotes how efficiently the storage system is consuming the power.

You can access all these metrics at the following places in the IBM Storage Insights GUI:

• Dashboards > Operations > Properties.
• Four new columns namely Current Power Usage (Watts), System Temperature (°C), System Temperature (°F), and Power Efficiency ( Watts/Raw TB) are introduced in the overview page of block storage systems.
• Resources > Block Storage Systems. Performance tab of overview page of block storage systems. Also, right-click on a DS8000 storage system and select View properties or View Performance. All the environmental metrics are displayed.

All these environmental metrics are also available in the new modern view of IBM Storage Insights at the following places:

• Environment widget of the overview dashboard.
• Environment widget of the individual device dashboard.
• Four new columns namely Current Power Usage (Watts), System Temperature (°C), System Temperature (°F), and Power Efficiency ( Watts/Raw TB) are introduced in the Storage Systems tabular view. Also, all these metrics are displayed in the properties for any specific DS8000 device.

Also, you can set alerts for the new metrics to receive notifications when they reach the thresholds set by you. For more information, see Defining alert definitions for environmental metrics changes.

Streamlined security with PassTicket authentication for DS8000 storage systems

Introducing a seamless and secure authentication method for adding DS8000 storage systems to the IBM Storage Insights. With the latest update, you can add the DS8000 storage system with passwordless authentication by using Resource Access Control Facility (RACF) PassTicket, ensuring enhanced security without compromising convenience.

You can get the following key benefits with this new PassTicket authentication type:

• PassTicket authentication option: Now, IBM Storage Insights offers a choice between the traditional User Name and Password authentication or the new User Name and PassTicket type when adding the DS8000 storage systems. Simply select the authentication type as User Name and PassTicket from the drop-down while adding a DS8000 storage system.
• Enhanced security with PassTicket: When you choose the Username and PassTicket option for adding a DS8000 storage system, IBM Storage Insights prompts you to enter the application name, username, and RACF PassTicket key, ensuring secure access without the need for static passwords.

Important: When adding multiple DS8000 devices to IBM Storage Insights using the PassTicket authentication mechanism, the RACF replay-protection mechanism can cause connectivity issues. These issues arise when IBM Storage Insights attempts to connect simultaneously to two DS8000 devices that share the same RACF username and PassTicket. This can result in intermittent problems during device addition, probing, and performance data collection.

To prevent this connectivity issue, you can perform any of the following actions:

• Unique Credentials: Use different usernames or PassTicket keys when adding devices to IBM Storage Insights.
• RACF Replay-Protection Adjustment (Optional): Alternatively, if permitted by your security policy, consider disabling the RACF default replay-protection mechanism. However, this approach should be carefully evaluated due to potential security implications.

Note: Username and PassTicket authentication type is available only for adding DS8000 storage systems with the firmware version 7.9.4.0 and later.

For more information about adding DS8000 storage system, see Adding DS8000 storage system.

IBM Storage FlashSystem 5300 support

IBM Storage FlashSystem 5300 device can now be monitored with IBM Storage Insights through Data Collector (DC) and Call Home with cloud services method.

For more information about IBM Storage Insights FlashSystem 5300, see Table 2 of IBM Storage Insights free vs IBM Storage Insights Pro.

Introducing snapshot information at volume level

Consult details related to the volume snapshots, including to which volume group a specific volume belongs to, and other information about the available volume snapshots.

You can access these details on the following pages:

• Resources > Block Storage Systems > [specific device] > Internal Resources > Volumes > [specific volume] > Snapshots
• Resources > Block Storage Systems > [specific device] > General > Copy Data > Volume Snapshots > [specific volume] > Snapshots

For more information, see Block storage copy data resources and Volumes.

Ransomware threat detection alerts and marking volume snapshots as compromised

IBM Storage Insights Pro can alert about potential ransomware attacks across various IBM Storage Virtualize and IBM Storage FlashSystem products. In IBM Storage Insights Pro, these potential attacks are turned into alerts that the users can act upon, or pass to other tools for further processing.

Note: Currently, alerts for ransomware threat detection are supported only at the level of block storage system.

After these alerts are enabled, when a ransomware threat is detected, email alerts are sent to the designated email addresses.

In IBM Storage Insights Pro, a volume snapshot is marked as Compromised when it is identified as affected by a potential ransomware attack.

For more information, see Alerts for ransomware threat detection.

SSH4 security level support for IBM Storage Virtualize devices

IBM Storage Insights now supports onboarding of IBM Storage Virtualize devices running on SSH4 secured connectivity by using data collector.

Changes in Q1 2024 (March 6)

Changes in Q4 2023 (December 7)

The following features and enhancements were made available in the Q4 2023 update of IBM Storage Insights:

Seamless monitoring DS8000 R9.4

You can add DS8000 devices that are running on R9.4 version to your IBM Storage Insights and monitor them seamlessly.

Sustainability monitoring for IBM Storage Virtualize

Sustainability in business refers to a company's strategy to reduce the negative environmental impact that results from their operations in a particular market. An organization's sustainability practices are typically analyzed against environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics. For data center infrastructure, sustainability is measured by the carbon emissions that are generated through direct power consumption and the power that is needed for system cooling, expressed as CO2e (which is carbon dioxide equivalent).

Current market standards mandate sustainability reports for data centers to furnish comprehensive insights into each infrastructure type. In its recent release, IBM Storage Insights facilitates the monitoring of energy consumption metrics for IBM Storage Virtualize. It includes power, temperature (in both Celsius and Fahrenheit), and power efficiency measured in Watts or Raw TB. The platform enables storage administrators to configure sustainability Service Level Agreements (SLA). As the alerts are based on these metrics, contribution to the efficient management of energy consumption and the reduction of environment impacts the data center operations.

Learn more about the new updates in:

• Block storage systems
• Performance metrics
• Defining alert definitions for environmental metrics changes and custom alerts for Sustainability

Note: Sustainability data collection is supported for Call Home with cloud services connected devices. It is NOT supported for Data Collector (DC) connected devices.

If any ransomware alert gets detected, it will affect the health status of the storage system in the Carbon dashboard and not in the Classic IBM Storage Insights view.

Unlocking the advanced diagnostic power of DS8000

IBM Storage Insights enhanced the diagnostic capabilities for DS8000 by enabling the seamless offloading of various diagnostic data types. These data types include PE packages, On-Demand Data (ODD) dumps, and State Saves. Previously, only General PE packages might be offloaded from IBM Storage Insights. For other types of diagnostic data like On-Demand Data (ODD) dumps and State Saves, you needed to offload it directly from the DS8000.

With this update, you can access diverse diagnostic data types and streamline the troubleshooting processes for DS8000. Learn more about DS8000.

REST API

IBM Storage Insights REST APIs provide a seamless integration pathway for external applications, including integrated operation managers, with IBM Storage Insights. Following REST principles, these APIs employ predictable resource oriented URLs, accept form-encoded request bodies, generate JSON-encoded responses, and comply with standard HTTP response codes, authentication methods, and verbs. Also, they incorporate safeguards against bursts of incoming requests for enhanced stability. IBM Storage Insights administrators and monitor personas can effectively use the REST API to access relevant data within their designated tenant. Following is the list of APIs developed in this release:

• List all available block, file, and object storage systems added to a tenant.
• Get details of a particular storage system added to a tenant.
• Get all alerts generated on a IBM Storage Insights tenant.
• Get alerts of a particular storage system added to a tenant.
• Get all notifications generated on a IBM Storage Insights tenant.
• Get notifications of a particular storage system added to a tenant.
• Get all volume details of a particular storage system added to a tenant.
• Get capacity and performance metrics data for a specific storage system added to a tenant.

Learn more about API details in Swagger documentation.

The Admins need API keys to perform certain operations. For example, To collect data from multiple management services to a single dashboard and showcase the view of data centers. The Admin can perform the following:

• Generate the REST API key: The process to generate the API key remains the same if it is generated for the first time or if there is a list of already generated API keys.
• Revoke the REST API key: It enables the Admin to remove access of an API key from the user who already has access to it.
• Rotate/Renew REST API key: It enables the Admin to provide a new REST API key to the user if it gets lost and Renew in case the duration of the key is expired.

Learn more about REST API.

Overview dashboard (Carbon)

Experience a new look and feel of IBM Storage Insights. With the new User Interface (UI), you can switch between the new experience (modern carbon view) and classic IBM Storage Insights view.

You can now experience the new overview dashboard that provides aggregated and system level information about different aspects, such as, resources, capacity, sustainability, workload protection, system protection. Learn more about Overview dashboard (Carbon).

New VOLSER column for DS8000 Copy Data section

For DS8000, you can now view the VOLSER column for your count-key-data (CKD) volumes in two more tabs of the Copy Data section. The following changes were made in the Copy Data section of the DS8000 details page:

• A new VOLSER column that shows the volume serial number for DS8000 CKD data is added in the Remote Relationships and FlashCopy tabs.
• By default the VOLSER column is shown in both Remote Relationships and the FlashCopy tabs in the Copy Data section of DS8000 details page.

Policy based replication-high availability support for IBM Storage FlashSystem

Policy-based Replication for HA is now supported for IBM Storage FlashSystem, which are added to IBM Storage Insights through Call Home with cloud services. You can now view the synchronous replication policies as 2-site-ha that are associated with the volume groups. The IBM Storage Insights GUI is enhanced to display the views that are relevant for both synchronous and asynchronous policies that are assigned to the volume groups.

The following changes were made in the Volume Groups section of the Flash system details page:

• The following listed columns were renamed:
  • Topology to Replication Topology
  • RPO Alert to RPO
  • Current RPO to Current Recovery Point
  • RPO Status to Policy Status
• A new column Partition Name is added which is not a default column.
• A tooltip is added to the Location 1 System and Location 2 System columns that show if it is a production copy or recovery copy.

Also, similar changes were made in the Replication Policies tab of the Copy Data section in the device details page.

The following listed columns were renamed:

• Topology to Replication Topology

• RPO Alert to RPO

• Location 1 to Location 1 System

• Location 2 to Location 2 System

Enhanced default alert policies and capacity alerting

Alerting in IBM Storage Insights got better as all the default alert policies for block and file storage systems are now configured with the advanced capacity prediction. The alerting function uses the power of AI-enabled capacity planning of IBM Storage Insights to trigger you the relevant capacity alert when it is most crucial for your storage environment.

All default alert policies now come with the following default capacity alert definitions along with existing default alert conditions.

• Storage system used capacity is greater than or equal to 60% in the next 180 days
• Storage system used capacity is greater than or equal to 75% in the next 90 days
• Storage system used capacity is greater than or equal to 80% in the next 30 days

You can also create a custom alert on capacity limit condition based on your requirement. For example, you can create an alert for your storage systems when their used capacity reaches the capacity limit.

Two new fields Capacity and Span were added while setting up alert definitions for Used Capacity.

• The Capacity field is provided with 2 drop down values. Custom for providing the required value in the Value field, and Capacity Limit to default set Value to 80%.
• The Span field is provided to specify the required duration by days or dates. None value is also provided for Span field.

Learn more about defining alert definitions for capacity changes.

Changes in Q3 2023 (September 4)

Changes in Q2 2023 (June 5)

Changes in Q1 2023 (March 13)

Changes in Q4 2022 (December 16)

Changes in Q3 2022 (August 19)

Changes in Q2 2022 (May 31)

Changes in Q1 2022 (March 7)

Changes in Q4 2021 (December 2)

Changes in Q3 2021 (August 23)

Changes in Q2 2021 (June 21)

Changes in Q1 2021 (March 22)