Question & Answer
Question
What types of cloud object storage services and devices can I use with IBM Spectrum Protect?
Answer
The following tables and sections list the object storage services and object storage devices that are supported for use by IBM Spectrum Protect.
Currently, IBM Spectrum Protect can use object storage as the back-end storage medium for cloud-container storage pools, cloud retention storage pools, and server database backup. Support for certain object storage services, devices, storage classes, and access tiers can differ based on the IBM Spectrum Protect function being used.
Tip: To optimize the use of cloud object storage and take advantage of product updates and new supported features and devices, install the latest level of IBM Spectrum Protect. For more information about obtaining the latest fix packs and interim fixes, see technote 83723.
Generally, object storage services and devices are supported on the same operating systems that the IBM Spectrum Protect server supports. For more information, see IBM Spectrum Protect Supported Operating Systems. However, the use of cloud object storage with IBM Spectrum Protect is not supported on the following operating systems:
- HP-UX
- Linux® on Power Systems (Big Endian)
- Linux on System z
- Solaris
For Amazon S3 and IBM Cloud Object Storage in the public cloud, all "immediate access" storage classes are supported for use with IBM Spectrum protect cloud-container storage pools, cloud retention storage pools, and the database backup to object storage feature. For IBM Cloud Object Storage in the public cloud this includes Smart Tier, Standard, Vault, and Cold Vault storage classes. However, it should be noted that the costs of using different storage classes should be considered when selecting a storage class to use with an IBM Spectrum Protect storage pool or feature as "cooler" storage classes are generally more expensive for metered HTTP PUT/GET operations and storage ingress and/or egress.
The following storage class and access tier tables show which storage classes and access tiers are supported for use with IBM Spectrum Protect. They do not represent parameters which may be present on IBM Spectrum Protect storage pools, device classes, or the database backup to object storage feature. Consult IBM Spectrum Protect documentation when choosing a setting for these parameters. In the case of Amazon S3, storage pool or device class parameters may override the bucket-level storage class at the individual object level. For other object storage systems, object storage bucket, vault, or container settings should be evaluated to ensure they match with the desired intent with IBM Spectrum Protect.
IBM Spectrum Protect Cloud-Container Storage Pools
The following object storage services are supported with cloud-container storage pools.
| Object storage service | Storage class or access tier | Initial supported level of the IBM Spectrum Protect server |
| IBM Cloud Object Storage with the Simple Storage Service (S3) API | Standard (and other "immediate access" storage classes) | 7.1.6 |
| Amazon Web Services (AWS) using the S3 API | Standard | 7.1.6 |
| Intelligent Tiering | 8.1.8 | |
| Microsoft® Azure Blob Storage | Hot, Cool | 8.1.2 |
| Google Cloud Storage | Standard, Nearline | 8.1.11 |
| Coldline, Archive | 8.1.14 |
Restrictions:
- "Cold" storage classes and/or access tiers such as Amazon Glacier Flexible Retrieval and Amazon Glacier Deep Archive are not supported with IBM Spectrum Protect cloud-container storage pools. Do not move or migrate data from a supported "hot" or "warm" storage class or access tier in the table above to a "cold" storage class or access tier. IBM Spectrum Protect will not be able to access the data in this case and it will be necessary to contact IBM support to correct the environment.
- Starting with IBM Spectrum Protect 8.1.12, SWIFT-based cloud types are being deprecated. When you define a new cloud-container storage pool with IBM Spectrum Protect 8.1.12, consider using another cloud provider.
- SWIFT-based cloud types cannot be used as the target of a tiering storage rule.
IBM Spectrum Protect Cloud Retention Storage Pools
The following object storage services are supported with cloud retention storage pools. Cloud retention storage pools are used as the target storage pool for retention set copy storage rules.
| Object storage service | Storage class or access tier | Initial supported level of the IBM Spectrum Protect server |
| IBM Cloud Object Storage with the Simple Storage Service (S3) API | Standard (and other "immediate access" storage classes), Archive, Accelerated Archive | 8.1.13 |
| Amazon Web Services (AWS) using the S3 API | Standard, Intelligent Tiering, Glacier Flexible Retrieval, Glacier Deep Archive | 8.1.13 |
| Microsoft® Azure Blob Storage | N/A | Not Supported |
| Google Cloud Storage | Standard, Nearline | 8.1.13 |
| Coldline, Archive | 8.1.14 |
IBM Spectrum Protect Database Backup to Object Storage
The following object storage services are supported as targets for server database backup using the cloud device class.
| Object storage service | Storage class or access tier | Initial supported level of the IBM Spectrum Protect server |
| IBM Cloud Object Storage with the Simple Storage Service (S3) API | Standard (and other "immediate access" storage classes) | 8.1.10 |
| Amazon Web Services (AWS) using the S3 API | Standard, Intelligent Tiering | 8.1.10 |
| Microsoft® Azure Blob Storage | Hot, Cool | 8.1.10 |
| Google Cloud Storage | Standard, Nearline | 8.1.11 |
| Coldline, Archive | 8.1.14 |
Amazon S3 compatible vendors that are validated by IBM
IBM Spectrum Protect supports object storage devices and services that are compatible with the Amazon S3 web service and are validated by IBM. S3 compatible object storage devices or services that completed the validation program will be added to the following list for IBM Spectrum Protect. Visit this page regularly to find the latest list of supported object storage devices.
To be validated as an IBM Spectrum Protect storage device, the device must undergo tests that are defined by IBM to determine that the device meets requirements for functionality and performance.
The following operations are supported for object storage devices that are validated through IBM:
- Authentication of HTTP and HTTPS sessions that use the S3 protocol
- Upload, download, and deletion of objects that use the Amazon S3 protocol
Restriction: Support is not provided for any other vendor-specific features that are configured on the device. For example, support is not provided for custom data retention policies that are set directly on the device or service (and not by using IBM Spectrum Protect).
Many factors affect the performance of object storage backup and recovery. A major factor is the network configuration and specifically, the available network bandwidth for transferring data to and from the device. Although the following validated devices were tested for acceptable performance, you might observe performance that does not achieve the backup and restore data rates that were reported with IBM Spectrum Protect and on-premises IBM Cloud Object Storage.
You can start the process to validate your S3 compatible device or service with IBM Spectrum Protect by sending an email to IBM at ibmsps3@us.ibm.com. Include your contact information, company name, and S3 device or service description in the email.
The following cloud object storage devices are validated as storage devices for IBM Spectrum Protect with the Amazon S3 API.
Cloud object storage devices that are validated with the Amazon S3 API
PLEASE NOTE - The validated devices are expected to be compatible with later versions of the IBM Storage Protect Server. For example, if the vendor originally validated "Cloud Device V6.1.1.0," later versions, such as V6.1.2 or V6.2, are expected to be compatible. It is the vendor's responsibility to conduct regression testing on the implementation to ensure that support for the S3 API is not affected by updates in the device.
| Device | Initial Support of the IBM Storage Protect Server without the Object lock feature | Initial Support of the IBM Storage Protect Server with the Object lock feature | Additional information |
| Dell EMC Elastic Cloud Storage Version 3.1 | 8.1.1 | ||
| Dell EMC Elastic Cloud Storage Version 3.8 | 8.1.18 | ||
| Huawei FusionStorage Cloud Storage V100R006C00SPC3XX | 8.1.1 | ||
| Huawei FusionStorage Cloud Storage V100R006C00SPC6XX | 8.1.5 | ||
| Huawei OceanStor 9000 Cloud Storage V300R006 | 8.1.1 | ||
| NetApp StorageGRID Webscale 10.4 | 8.1.1 | ||
| NetApp StorageGRID 11.7.0.4 | 8.1.18 | ||
| Scality RING V6.4.3 | 8.1.1 | ||
| Scality RING V8.5 | 8.1.10 | 8.1.18 | For more information, see Scality Documentation |
| Scality RING V9.2 | 8.1.10 | 8.1.18 | For more information, see Scality Documentation |
| Scality ARTESCA V2.1 | 8.1.10 | 8.1.18 | For more information, see Scality Documentation |
| Hitachi Content Platform V8.1 1 | 8.1.2 | ||
| Hitachi Content Platform V9.1.0 | 8.1.10 | For more information, see Hitachi Content Platform. | |
| Hitachi Content Platform V9.6.2.3 | 8.1.18 | ||
| Hitachi Content Platform for Cloud Scale V2.0.1 | 8.1.10 | For more information, see Hitachi Content Platform for Cloud Scale Architecture Fundamentals. | |
| Veritas Access V7.4.2 | 8.1.5 | ||
| SUSE Enterprise Storage V5.5 2 | 8.1.5 | ||
| SUSE Enterprise Storage V6.0 2 | 8.1.5 | ||
| Cloudian HyperStore V6.1 | 8.1.0 | ||
| Cloudian HyperStore V7.2 | 8.1.10 | For more information, see HyperStore Object Storage. | |
| Cloudian HyperStore V7.3 | 8.1.10 | For more information, see HyperStore Object Storage. | |
| Red Hat Ceph Storage V3.2 | 8.1.8 | ||
| Wasabi Hot Storage V4.0 | 8.1.8 | 8.1.18 | |
| Open Telekom Cloud Object Storage Service (OBS) V3.0 | 8.1.8 | ||
| Pure Storage FlashBlade V2.4 | 8.1.8 | ||
| RStorage V8.11 | 8.1.8 | ||
| Nutanix Objects 3.0 | 8.1.10 |
At minimum, requires a three-node object cluster.
For more information, see Nutanix Objects.
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| Seagate Lyve Cloud | 8.1.10 | For more information, see Seagate Lyve Cloud. | |
| iTernity iCAS FS V1.10.0 | 8.1.10 | For more information, see iTernity. | |
| VAST Data Object Storage V3.6 | 8.1.10 |
For online product information, see the VAST Documentation.
For specifications and deployment information, see 3 Ways to Deploy VAST.
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| VAST Data Object Storage V4.0 | 8.1.10 |
For online product information, see the VAST Documentation.
For specifications and deployment information, see 3 Ways to Deploy VAST.
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Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Object Storage Amazon S3 compatibility API Version 20160918 |
8.1.10 | For more information, see Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Documentation | |
| Cohesity 6.6 | 8.1.13 | For more information about Cohesity object storage, see Cohesity SmartFiles is the industry’s first software-defined, data-centric file and object solution for the enterprise. | |
| Cohesity 6.8.1 | 8.1.18 | For more information about Cohesity object storage, see Cohesity SmartFiles is the industry’s first software-defined, data-centric file and object solution for the enterprise. |
1. The use of sha256 ETags is supported only with IBM Spectrum Protect 8.1.8 or later. For guidelines about ETags, contact the vendor.
2. If invalid credentials are used to run the validation tools, the following error message is generated in the IBM Spectrum Protect server validation log:
ANR3721E A request to the cloud service provider for the create container operation on the CLOUDPOOL storage pool failed with an internal error.
Important Note: Customers using SP Server V8.1.18, v8.1.19, v8.1.20, v8.1.21 should set below option to enable support for Object Lock enabled S3-Compatible Devices. This is not required starting SP Server v8.1.22.
Protect: TESTxx-xx > SETOPT CloudObjectLockOverride yes
Do you wish to proceed? (Yes (Y)/No (N)) y
ANR2119I The CLOUDOBJECTLOCKOVERRIDE option has been changed in the options file.
For instructions about configuring an Amazon S3 compatible device with IBM Spectrum Protect, see Configuring an Amazon S3 compatible device as a cloud-container storage pool.
Support for later versions of cloud object storage devices
- This document lists specific versions and models of cloud object storage devices and Specific versions of SP Server that were tested in accordance with the validation program. Support is not limited to these combinations.
- You can safely upgrade your SP Server Version to newer levels. During release-to-release testing of the server, coverage is provided for the API calls that are implemented in the product. The testing is designed to detect any incompatible changes in behavior from the IBM Spectrum Protect server implementation.
- This document lists only device versions that are tested in accordance with the validation program, and for which IBM received test logs showing that validation is completed. Using the prior example, if the vendor delivers "Cloud Device V9.2.2.0," and the vendor would like that device version to be explicitly listed in this document, the vendor must run the latest version of the validation test suite and submit the results to IBM. If the validation is accepted, this document is updated to include the new device version. As a result, a single vendor can have more than one entry in the cloud object storage devices table.
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Modified date:
30 April 2024
UID
swg22000915