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.

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.

Almost all technological components in the data center are getting faster: central processing units, networks, storage area networks (SANs), and memory. All of them have improved their speed by a minimum of 10X; some of them by 100X, for example, data networks. However, spinning disk performance has only increased by 1.2 times. IBM® FlashSystemTM 840 version 1.3 closes this gap. The FlashSystem 840 is optimized for the data center to enable organizations of all sizes to strategically harness the value of stored data. It provides flexible capacity and extreme performance for the most demanding applications, including virtualized or bare-metal online transaction processing (OLTP) and online analytical processing (OLAP) databases, virtual desktop infrastructures (VDI), technical computing applications, and cloud environments. The system accelerates response times with IBM MicroLatency® access times as low as 90 μs write latency and 135 μs read latency to enable faster decision making. The introduction of a low capacity 1 TB flash module allows the FlashSystem 840 to be configured in capacity points as low as 2 TB in protected RAID 5 mode. Coupled with 10 GB iSCSI, the FlashSystem is positioned to bring extreme performance to small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) and growth markets. Implementing the IBM FlashSystem® 840 provides value that goes beyond those benefits that are seen on disk-based arrays. These benefits include better user experience, server and application consolidation, development cycle reduction, application scalability, data center footprint savings, and improved price performance economics. This IBM Redbooks® publication discusses IBM FlashSystem 840 version 1.3. It provides in-depth knowledge of the product architecture, software and hardware, its implementation, and hints and tips. Also illustrated are use cases that show real-world solutions for tiering, flash-only, and preferred read, as well as examples of the benefits gained by integrating the FlashSystem storage into business environments. Also described are product integration scenarios running the IBM FlashSystem 840 with the IBM SAN Volume Controller, and the IBM Storwize® family of products such V7000, V5000, and the V3700, as well as considerations when integrating with the IBM FlashSystem 840. The preferred practice guidance is provided for your FlashSystem environment with IBM 16 Gbps b-type products and features, focusing on Fibre Channel design. This book is intended for pre-sales and post-sales technical support professionals and storage administrators, and for anyone who wants to understand and learn how to implement this exciting technology.

IBM® Spectrum Virtualize Software Version 7.8 provides software-defined storage capabilities across various platforms, including IBM SAN Volume Controller, IBM Storwize® V7000, Storwize V7000 (Unified), Storwize V5000, Storwize V3700, and Storwize V3500. These offerings help clients reduce the complexities and cost of managing their storage in the following ways: Centralizing management of storage volumes to enable administrators to manage storage volumes from a single point Improving utilization of storage capacity with virtual volumes to enable businesses to tap into previously unused disk capacity Avoiding downtime for backups, maintenance, and upgrades Performing data migration without disruption to applications Enabling all storage devices to be organized into storage pools from which virtual volumes, whether standard, compressed, or thin-provisioned, are created with the characteristics that you want Delivering automation of storage management with SmartCloud Virtual Storage Center, IBM Tivoli® Storage Productivity Center (as applicable by platform), and IBM Tivoli Storage FlashCopy® Manager (as applicable by platform) Increasing the performance efficiency of storage pools with IBM Easy Tier® Restoring data access quickly with near and remote copy capabilities across Fibre Channel (FC), Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), and IP networks In this IBM Redbooks® publication, which is aimed at storage administrators and technical professionals, we describe the IBM HyperSwap® capability in IBM SpectrumTM Virtualize Software V7.8. HyperSwap delivers high availability (HA) and disaster recovery (DR) in one solution and reuses capital investments to achieve a range of recovery and management options that are transparent to host operations. This book describes how you can use HyperSwap with VMware to create an environment that can withstand robust workloads.

Today's global organizations depend on being able to unlock business insights from massive volumes of data. Now, with IBM® FlashSystem 900 Model AE3 that is powered by IBM FlashCore® technology, they can make faster decisions that are based on real-time insights. They also can 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 Model AE3. It provides in-depth knowledge of the product architecture, software and hardware, implementation, and hints and tips. Also presented are use cases that show real-world solutions for tiering, flash-only, and preferred-read. Examples of the benefits that are gained by integrating the FlashSystem storage into business environments also are described. This book is intended for pre-sales and post-sales technical support professionals and storage administrators, and anyone who wants to understand how to implement this new and exciting technology.

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.

Data is the currency of the new economy, and organizations are increasingly tasked with finding better ways to protect, recover, access, share, and use data. Traditional storage technologies are being stretched to the breaking point. This challenge is not because of storage hardware performance, but because management tools and techniques have not kept pace with new requirements. Primary data growth rates of 35% to 50% annually only amplify the problem. Organizations of all sizes find themselves needing to modernize their IT processes to enable critical new use cases such as storage self-service, Development and Operations (DevOps), and integration of data centers with the Cloud. They are equally challenged with improving management efficiencies for long established IT processes such as data protection, disaster recovery, reporting, and business analytics. Access to copies of data is the one common feature of all these use cases. However, the slow, manual processes common to IT organizations, including a heavy reliance on labor-intensive scripting and disparate tool sets, are no longer able to deliver the speed and agility required in today's fast-paced world. Copy Data Management (CDM) is an IT modernization technology that focuses on using existing data in a manner that is efficient, automated, scalable, and easy to use, delivering the data access that is urgently needed to meet the new use cases. Catalogic ECX, with IBM® storage, provides in-place copy data management that modernizes IT processes, enables key use cases, and does it all within existing infrastructure. This IBM Redbooks® publication shows how Catalogic Software and IBM have partnered together to create an integrated solution that addresses today's IT environment.

This IBM® Redbooks® publication captures several of the preferred practices and describes the performance gains that can be achieved by implementing the IBM FlashSystem® 9100. These practices are based on field experience. This book highlights configuration guidelines and preferred practices for the storage area network (SAN) topology, clustered system, back-end storage, storage pools and managed disks, volumes, remote copy services, and hosts. It explains how you can optimize disk performance with the IBM System Storage® Easy Tier® function. It also provides preferred practices for monitoring, maintaining, and troubleshooting. This book is intended for experienced storage, SAN, IBM FlashSystem, SAN Volume Controller and Storwize® administrators and technicians. Understanding his book requires advanced knowledge of these environments. Important, IBM FlashSystem 9200: On 11th February 2020 IBM announced the arrival of the IBM FlashSystem 9200 to the family. This book was written specifically for IBM FlashSystem 9100, however most of the general principles will apply to the IBM FlashSystem 9200. If you are in any doubt as to their applicability to the FlashSystem 9200 then you should work with your local IBM representative. This book will be updated to include FlashSystem 9200 in due course.