The success or failure of businesses often depends on how well organizations use their data assets for competitive advantage. Deeper insights from data require better information technology. As organizations modernize their IT infrastructure to boost innovation rather than limit it, they need a data storage system that can keep pace with highly virtualized environments, cloud computing, mobile and social systems of engagement, and in-depth, real-time analytics. Making the correct decision on storage investment is critical. Organizations must have enough storage performance and agility to innovate as they need to implement cloud-based IT services, deploy virtual desktop infrastructure, enhance fraud detection, and use new analytics capabilities. At the same time, future storage investments must lower IT infrastructure costs while helping organizations to derive the greatest possible value from their data assets. IBM® FlashSystem storage solutions can accelerate the transformation of the modern organizations into an IBM Cognitive BusinessTM. FlashSystem all-flash storage arrays are purpose-engineered to support the organization's active data sets. FlashSystem solutions offer a broad range of industry-leading storage virtualization and data management features that can provide improved storage system performance, efficiency, and reliability. Even better, FlashSystem can be less expensive than conventional enterprise storage solutions. This IBM Redbooks® Product Guide describes IBM FlashSystem® V9000, which is a comprehensive all-flash enterprise storage solution that delivers the full capabilities of IBM FlashCoreTM technology. In addition, it provides a rich set of software-defined storage features, including IBM Real-time CompressionTM, dynamic tiering, thin provisioning, snapshots, cloning, replication, data copy services, and IBM HyperSwap® for high availability. With the release of FlashSystem V9000 Software V7.7.1, extra functions and features are available, including support for new and more powerful FlashSystem V9000 control enclosure Model AC3 and new SAS-based small form factor (SFF) and large form factor (LFF) expansion enclosures that provide a mixture of nearline hard disk drives (HDDs) and flash mdisks in a pool that can be used for IBM Easy Tier®. The new IBM FlashSystem V9000 SFF expansion enclosure Model 24F offers new tiering options with low-cost solid-state drive (SSD). Up to 20 serial-attached SCSI (SAS) expansions are supported per FlashSystem V9000 controller pair, providing up to 480 drives with expansion Model 24F and up to 240 drives with expansion Model 12F. Also new with FlashSystem V9000 Software V7.7.1 is N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) support, which virtualizes worldwide port names (WWPNs) for zero path reduction during controller maintenance and outages. FlashSystem V9000 Software version 7.7.1 replaces version 7.7, and is available to all IBM FlashSystem V9000 customers with current warranty or software maintenance agreements.

This IBM® RedpaperTM publication describes best practices for deploying IBM FlashSystemTM V9000 enterprise storage system in a VMware vSphere environment. It includes guidelines and examples of the latest FlashSystem V9000 hardware and software, integrated with VMware version 6, to demonstrate the business benefits these solutions. Topics illustrate planning, configuring, operations, and preferred practices that include integration of FlashSystem V9000 with the VMware vCloud suite of applications: vCenter Web Client (VWC) vStorage APIs for Storage Awareness (VASA) vStorage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI) vCenter Site Recovery Manager (SRM/SRA) The authors also describe how to deploy a cloud-based solution with FlashSystem V9000 in an environment with VMware and IBM SpectrumTM Control Base Edition 2.1.1. This paper is intended for presales consulting engineers, sales engineers, and IBM clients who want to deploy IBM FlashSystem V9000 in virtualized data centers that are based on VMware vSphere.

Dynamic organizations want to accelerate growth while reducing costs. To do so, they must speed the deployment of business applications and adapt quickly to any changes in priorities. Organizations today require an IT infrastructure that is easy, efficient, and versatile. The VersaStack solution by Cisco and IBM® can help you accelerate the deployment of your data centers. It reduces costs by more efficiently managing information and resources while maintaining your ability to adapt to business change. The VersaStack solution combines the innovation of Cisco UCS Integrated Infrastructure with the efficiency of the IBM Storwize® storage system. The Cisco UCS Integrated Infrastructure includes the Cisco Unified Computing System (Cisco UCS), Cisco Nexus and Cisco MDS switches, and Cisco UCS Director. The IBM FlashSystem® V9000 enhances virtual environments with its Data Virtualization, IBM Real-time CompressionTM, and IBM Easy Tier® features. These features deliver extraordinary levels of performance and efficiency. The VersaStack solution is Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) ready. Your IT team can build, deploy, secure, and maintain applications through a more agile framework. Cisco Intercloud Fabric capabilities help enable the creation of open and highly secure solutions for the hybrid cloud. These solutions accelerate your IT transformation while delivering dramatic improvements in operational efficiency and simplicity. Cisco and IBM are global leaders in the IT industry. The VersaStack solution gives you the opportunity to take advantage of integrated infrastructure solutions that are targeted at enterprise applications, analytics, and cloud solutions. The VersaStack solution is backed by Cisco Validated Designs (CVD) to provide faster delivery of applications, greater IT efficiency, and less risk. This IBM Redbooks® publication is aimed at experienced storage administrators who are tasked with deploying a VersaStack solution with Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) and IBM SpectrumTM Protect.

The success or failure of businesses often depends on how well organizations use their data assets for competitive advantage. Deeper insights from data require better information technology. As organizations modernize their IT infrastructure to boost innovation rather than limit it, they need a data storage system that can keep pace with highly virtualized environments, cloud computing, mobile and social systems of engagement, and in-depth, real-time analytics. Making the correct decision on storage investment is critical. Organizations must have enough storage performance and agility to innovate as they need to implement cloud-based IT services, deploy virtual desktop infrastructure, enhance fraud detection, and use new analytics capabilities. At the same time, future storage investments must lower IT infrastructure costs while helping organizations to derive the greatest possible value from their data assets. The IBM® FlashSystem V9000 is the premier, fully integrated, Tier 1, all-flash offering from IBM. It has changed the economics of today's data center by eliminating storage bottlenecks. Its software-defined storage features simplify data management, improve data security, and preserve your investments in storage. The IBM FlashSystem® V9000 SAS expansion enclosures provide new tiering options with read-intensive SSDs or nearline SAS HDDs. IBM FlashSystem V9000 includes IBM FlashCore® technology and advanced software-defined storage available in one solution in a compact 6U form factor. IBM FlashSystem V9000 improves business application availability. It delivers greater resource utilization so you can get the most from your storage resources, and achieve a simpler, more scalable, and cost-efficient IT Infrastructure. This IBM Redbooks® publication provides information about IBM FlashSystem V9000 Software V7.7 and introduces the recently announced V7.8. It describes the product architecture, software, hardware, and implementation, and provides hints and tips. It illustrates use cases and independent software vendor (ISV) scenarios that demonstrate real-world solutions, and also provides examples of the benefits gained by integrating the IBM FlashSystem storage into business environments. This book offers IBM FlashSystem V9000 scalability concepts and guidelines for planning, installing, and configuring, which can help environments scale up and out to add more flash capacity and expand virtualized systems. Port utilization methodologies are provided to help you maximize the full potential of IBM FlashSystem V9000 performance and low latency in your scalable environment. This book is intended for pre-sales and post-sales technical support professionals, storage administrators, and anyone who wants to understand how to implement this exciting technology.

Updated March 2019 - See Appendix B: IBM FlashSystem V9000 FlashCore Forever The success or failure of businesses often depends on how well organizations use their data assets for competitive advantage. Deeper insights from data require better information technology. As organizations modernize their IT infrastructure to boost innovation rather than limit it, they need a data storage system that can keep pace with several areas that affect your business: Highly virtualized environments Cloud computing Mobile and social systems of engagement In-depth, real-time analytics Making the correct decision on storage investment is critical. Organizations must have enough storage performance and agility to innovate when they need to implement cloud-based IT services, deploy virtual desktop infrastructure, enhance fraud detection, and use new analytics capabilities. At the same time, future storage investments must lower IT infrastructure costs while helping organizations to derive the greatest possible value from their data assets. The IBM® FlashSystem V9000 is the premier, fully integrated, Tier 1, all-flash offering from IBM. It has changed the economics of today's data center by eliminating storage bottlenecks. Its software-defined storage features simplify data management, improve data security, and preserve your investments in storage. The IBM FlashSystem® V9000 SAS expansion enclosures provide new tiering options with read-intensive SSDs or nearline SAS HDDs. IBM FlashSystem V9000 includes IBM FlashCore® technology and advanced software-defined storage available in one solution in a compact 6U form factor. IBM FlashSystem V9000 improves business application availability. It delivers greater resource utilization so you can get the most from your storage resources, and achieve a simpler, more scalable, and cost-efficient IT Infrastructure. This IBM Redbooks® publication provides information about IBM FlashSystem V9000 Software V8.1. It describes the core product architecture, software, hardware, and implementation, and provides hints and tips. The underlying basic hardware and software architecture and features of the IBM FlashSystem V9000 AC3 control enclosure and on IBM Spectrum Virtualize 8.1 software are described in these publications: Implementing IBM FlashSystem 900 Model AE3, SG24-8414 Implementing the IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller V7.4, SG24-7933 Using IBM FlashSystem V9000 software functions, management tools, and interoperability combines the performance of IBM FlashSystem architecture with the advanced functions of software-defined storage to deliver performance, efficiency, and functions that meet the needs of enterprise workloads that demand IBM MicroLatency® response time. This book offers IBM FlashSystem V9000 scalability concepts and guidelines for planning, installing, and configuring, which can help environments scale up and out to add more flash capacity and expand virtualized systems. Port utilization methodologies are provided to help you maximize the full potential of IBM FlashSystem V9000 performance and low latency in your scalable environment. This book is intended for pre-sales and post-sales technical support professionals, storage administrators, and anyone who wants to understand how to implement this exciting technology.

Today, new business models in the marketplace coexist with traditional ones and their well-established IT architectures. They generate new business needs and new IT requirements that can only be satisfied by new service models and new technological approaches. These changes are reshaping traditional IT concepts. Cloud in its three main variants (Public, Hybrid, and Private) represents the major and most viable answer to those IT requirements, and software-defined infrastructure (SDI) is its major technological enabler. IBM® technology, with its rich and complete set of storage hardware and software products, supports SDI both in an open standard framework and in other vendors' environments. IBM services are able to deliver solutions to the customers with their extensive knowledge of the topic and the experiences gained in partnership with clients. This IBM RedpaperTM publication focuses on software-defined storage (SDS) and IBM Storage Systems product offerings for software-defined environments (SDEs). It also provides use case examples across various industries that cover different client needs, proposed solutions, and results. This paper can help you to understand current organizational capabilities and challenges, and to identify specific business objectives to be achieved by implementing an SDS solution in your enterprise.

Today's global organizations depend on being able to unlock business insights from massive volumes of data. Now, with IBM® FlashSystem 900, powered by IBM FlashCoreTM technology, they can make faster decisions based on real-time insights and unleash the power of the most demanding applications, including online transaction processing (OLTP) and analytics databases, virtual desktop infrastructures (VDIs), technical computing applications, and cloud environments. This IBM Redbooks® publication introduces clients to the IBM FlashSystem® 900. It provides in-depth knowledge of the product architecture, software and hardware, implementation, and hints and tips. Also illustrated are use cases that show real-world solutions for tiering, flash-only, and preferred-read, and also examples of the benefits gained by integrating the FlashSystem storage into business environments. This book is intended for pre-sales and post-sales technical support professionals and storage administrators, and for anyone who wants to understand how to implement this new and exciting technology. This book describes the following offerings of the IBM SpectrumTM Storage family: IBM Spectrum StorageTM IBM Spectrum ControlTM IBM Spectrum VirtualizeTM IBM Spectrum ScaleTM IBM Spectrum AccelerateTM

VersaStack, an IBM and Cisco integrated infrastructure solution, combines computing, networking, and storage into a single integrated system. It combines the Cisco Unified Computing SystemTM (Cisco UCS®) Integrated Infrastructure with IBM Spectrum VirtualizeTM, which includes IBM FlashSystem® V9000 and IBM Storwize® storage offerings, for quick deployment and rapid time to value for the implementation of modern infrastructures. With comprehensive reference architectures that include Cisco Validated Designs (CVDs), IBM Redbooks® publications, sizing guidelines, and single-call support, the solution sets a benchmark to accelerate data center infrastructure deployment and to help manage information and resources efficiently amid business change. This IBM Redbooks Solution Guide provides an overview of the VersaStack solution that uses IBM FlashSystem V9000 as an all-flash storage layer. This VersaStack solution delivers extraordinary levels of storage virtualization performance and efficiency in a networking infrastructure, and compute capabilities that are based on the Cisco UCS. This guide explains how the IBM FlashSystem V9000 all-flash storage arrays add performance by using IBM MicroLatency®, macro efficiency, superior reliability, and software-defined storage enterprise features to the cloud computing-ready VersaStack solution. This guide is intended for individuals who want to learn more about the VersaStack integrated solution.

IBM® FlashSystem 9100 combines the performance of flash and Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) with the reliability and innovation of IBM FlashCore® technology and the rich features of IBM SpectrumTM Virtualize — all in a powerful 2U storage system. Providing intensive data driven multi-cloud storage capacity, FlashSystem 9100 is deeply integrated with the software-defined capabilities of IBM Spectrum StorageTM, which allows you to easily add the multi-cloud solutions that best support your business. In this IBM Redbooks® publication, we discuss the product's features and planning steps, architecture, installation, configuration, and hints and tips.

This IBM Redbooks® Product Guide describes IBM FlashSystem® V9000, which is a comprehensive all-flash enterprise storage solution that delivers the full capabilities of IBM FlashCore® technology. In addition, it provides a rich set of software-defined storage features, including IBM Real-time CompressionTM, data reductions, dynamic tiering, thin provisioning, snapshots, cloning, replication, data copy services, and IBM HyperSwap® for high availability. Scale out scale up configurations can now add a hot spare node to further enhance availability. With the release of FlashSystem V9000 Software V8.1, extra functions and features are available, including support for new and more powerful FlashSystem V9000 storage enclosure Model AE3. Software features added include GUI enhancements, a new dashboard, support assistance, and data deduplication. AE3 capacities include Small (3.6 TB), Medium (8.5 TB), and Large (18 TB) IBM MicroLatency® modules for between 14.4 TB and 180 TB usable capacity (TBu), with inline hardware compression increasing the capacity up to 219 TB effective capacity (TBe). New SAS-based small form factor (SFF) and large form factor (LFF) expansion enclosures that provide a mixture of nearline hard disk drives (HDDs) and flash MDisks in a pool that can be used for IBM Easy Tier®. The new IBM FlashSystem V9000 SFF expansion enclosure Model92F offers new tiering options with low-cost solid-state drive (SSD flash drives) and nearline HDDs. Up to 784 drives per node pair of serial-attached SCSI (SAS) expansions are supported per FlashSystem V9000 controller pair, providing up to 480 drives with expansion Model 24F and up to 240 drives with expansion Model 12F. FlashSystem V9000 Software version 8.1 replaces version 7.8, and is available to all IBM FlashSystem V9000 customers with current warranty or software maintenance agreements.