Implementing IBM FlashSystem 900

Implementing IBM FlashSystem 900

by Karen Orlando, Ingo Dimmer, Detlef Helmbrecht, Jon Herd, Carsten Larsen, Matt Levan
Released November 2016
Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
ISBN: 9780738442259

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Book description

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 FlashCore™ 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 Spectrum™ Storage family:

  • IBM Spectrum Storage™

  • IBM Spectrum Control™

  • IBM Spectrum Virtualize™

  • IBM Spectrum Scale™

  • IBM Spectrum Accelerate™

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    Table of contents

    1. Front cover
    2. Notices
      1. Trademarks
    3. IBM Redbooks promotions
    4. Preface
      1. Authors
      2. Now you can become a published author, too!
      3. Comments welcome
      4. Stay connected to IBM Redbooks
    5. Summary of changes
      1. November 2016, Second Edition
      2. May 2015, First Edition
    6. Chapter 1. FlashSystem storage introduction
      1. 1.1 FlashSystem storage overview
      2. 1.2 IBM FlashCore technology
        1. 1.2.1 Flash wear guarantee
      3. 1.3 Why flash technology matters
      4. 1.4 IBM FlashSystem family: Product differentiation
      5. 1.5 Technology and architectural design overview
        1. 1.5.1 Hardware-only data path
        2. 1.5.2 The 20nm flash card memory chips
        3. 1.5.3 Flash module capacities
        4. 1.5.4 Gateway interface FPGA
        5. 1.5.5 Flash controller FPGA
        6. 1.5.6 IBM Variable Stripe RAID and 2D Flash RAID overview
      6. 1.6 Variable Stripe RAID
        1. 1.6.1 How Variable Stripe RAID works
      7. 1.7 Two-dimensional (2D) Flash RAID
    7. Chapter 2. IBM FlashSystem 900 architecture
      1. 2.1 Introduction to the IBM FlashSystem 900 architecture
        1. 2.1.1 Capacity
        2. 2.1.2 Performance and latency
        3. 2.1.3 Power requirements
        4. 2.1.4 Physical specifications
        5. 2.1.5 FlashCore technology
        6. 2.1.6 Scalability
        7. 2.1.7 Protocol support
        8. 2.1.8 Encryption support
        9. 2.1.9 Comparison of IBM FlashSystem models 840 and 900
        10. 2.1.10 Management
      2. 2.2 Architecture of IBM FlashSystem 900
        1. 2.2.1 Overview of architecture
        2. 2.2.2 Hardware components
        3. 2.2.3 Canisters
        4. 2.2.4 Interface cards
        5. 2.2.5 MicroLatency modules
        6. 2.2.6 Battery modules
      3. 2.3 Administration and maintenance
        1. 2.3.1 Serviceability and software enhancements
        2. 2.3.2 System management
      4. 2.4 Support matrix
      5. 2.5 Product integration overview
        1. 2.5.1 IBM Spectrum Virtualize - SAN Volume Controller
        2. 2.5.2 IBM Storwize V7000 storage array
        3. 2.5.3 IBM DB2 database environments
        4. 2.5.4 IBM Spectrum Scale
        5. 2.5.5 IBM TS7650G ProtecTIER
        6. 2.5.6 VMware with IBM Storage Integration Server
    8. Chapter 3. Planning
      1. 3.1 Prerequisites to installation
        1. 3.1.1 Contact information and checklist
        2. 3.1.2 Completing the hardware location chart
      2. 3.2 Planning cable connections
        1. 3.2.1 Management port connections
        2. 3.2.2 Interface card connections
      3. 3.3 Planning for power
      4. 3.4 Planning for configuration
      5. 3.5 The call home option
      6. 3.6 TCP/IP requirements
      7. 3.7 Planning for encryption
      8. 3.8 Checking web browser settings for the management GUI
      9. 3.9 Licensing
      10. 3.10 Supported hosts and operating system considerations
    9. Chapter 4. Installation and configuration
      1. 4.1 First-time installation
        1. 4.1.1 Installing the hardware
      2. 4.2 Cabling the system
        1. 4.2.1 Cabling for Fibre Channel
        2. 4.2.2 Cabling for FCoE
        3. 4.2.3 Cabling for iSCSI
        4. 4.2.4 Cabling for QDR InfiniBand
        5. 4.2.5 FC cable type
        6. 4.2.6 Ethernet management cabling
        7. 4.2.7 Power requirements
        8. 4.2.8 Cooling requirements
        9. 4.2.9 Cable connector locations
      3. 4.3 Initializing the system
        1. 4.3.1 Prepare for initialization using InitTool
        2. 4.3.2 Initializing the system through the web management interface
        3. 4.3.3 Service Assistant Tool
      4. 4.4 RAID storage modes
      5. 4.5 Connectivity guidelines for improved performance
        1. 4.5.1 Interface card configuration guidelines
        2. 4.5.2 Host adapter guidelines
        3. 4.5.3 Cabling guidelines
        4. 4.5.4 Zoning guidelines
    10. Chapter 5. IBM FlashSystem 900 client host attachment and implementation
      1. 5.1 Host implementation and procedures
      2. 5.2 Host connectivity
        1. 5.2.1 Fibre Channel SAN attachment
        2. 5.2.2 Fibre Channel direct attachment
        3. 5.2.3 General Fibre Channel attachment rules
      3. 5.3 Operating system connectivity and preferred practices
        1. 5.3.1 FlashSystem 900 sector size
        2. 5.3.2 File alignment for the best RAID performance
        3. 5.3.3 IBM AIX and FlashSystem 900
        4. 5.3.4 IBM i and FlashSytem 900
        5. 5.3.5 FlashSystem 900 and Linux client hosts
        6. 5.3.6 FlashSystem 900 and Microsoft Windows client hosts
        7. 5.3.7 FlashSystem 900 and client VMware ESX hosts
        8. 5.3.8 FlashSystem 900 and IBM SAN Volume Controller or Storwize V7000
        9. 5.3.9 FlashSystem iSCSI host attachment
        10. 5.3.10 FlashSystem iSCSI configuration
        11. 5.3.11 Windows 2008 R2 and Windows 2012 iSCSI attachment
        12. 5.3.12 Linux iSCSI attachment
      4. 5.4 Miscellaneous host attachment
        1. 5.4.1 FlashSystem 900 and Solaris client hosts
        2. 5.4.2 FlashSystem 900 and HP-UX client hosts
      5. 5.5 FlashSystem 900 preferred read and configuration examples
        1. 5.5.1 FlashSystem 900 deployment scenario with preferred read
        2. 5.5.2 Implementing preferred read
        3. 5.5.3 Linux configuration file multipath.conf example
        4. 5.5.4 Example of a VMware configuration
      6. 5.6 FlashSystem 900 and Easy Tier
      7. 5.7 Troubleshooting
        1. 5.7.1 Troubleshooting Linux InfiniBand configuration issues
        2. 5.7.2 Linux fdisk error message
        3. 5.7.3 Changing FC port properties
        4. 5.7.4 Changing iSCSI port properties
    11. Chapter 6. Using IBM FlashSystem 900
      1. 6.1 Overview of IBM FlashSystem 900 management tools
        1. 6.1.1 Access to the graphical user interface
        2. 6.1.2 Graphical user interface (GUI) layout
        3. 6.1.3 Navigation
        4. 6.1.4 Selecting multiple items
        5. 6.1.5 Status indicators
      2. 6.2 Monitoring menu
        1. 6.2.1 Monitoring System menu
        2. 6.2.2 Monitoring events
        3. 6.2.3 Monitoring performance menu
      3. 6.3 Volumes menu
        1. 6.3.1 Navigating to the Volumes menu
        2. 6.3.2 Volumes menu
        3. 6.3.3 Volumes by Host
      4. 6.4 Hosts menu
        1. 6.4.1 Navigating to the Hosts menu
        2. 6.4.2 Volumes by Host
      5. 6.5 Access menu
        1. 6.5.1 Navigating to the Access menu
        2. 6.5.2 Users window
        3. 6.5.3 Accessing CLI by using PuTTY
        4. 6.5.4 User groups
        5. 6.5.5 Audit log menu
    12. Chapter 7. Configuring settings
      1. 7.1 Settings menu
        1. 7.1.1 Navigating to the Settings menu
        2. 7.1.2 Notifications menu
        3. 7.1.3 Security menu
        4. 7.1.4 Network menu
        5. 7.1.5 Support menu
        6. 7.1.6 System menu
      2. 7.2 Service Assistant Tool
        1. 7.2.1 Accessing Service Assistant Tool
        2. 7.2.2 Log in to Service Assistant Tool
    13. Chapter 8. Product integration
      1. 8.1 Running FlashSystem 900 with IBM Spectrum Virtualize - SAN Volume Controller
        1. 8.1.1 IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller introduction
        2. 8.1.2 SAN Volume Controller architecture and components
        3. 8.1.3 SAN Volume Controller hardware options
        4. 8.1.4 IBM Spectrum Virtualize - SAN Volume Controller advanced functionality
      2. 8.2 SAN Volume Controller connectivity to FlashSystem 900
        1. 8.2.1 SAN Volume Controller FC cabling to SAN
        2. 8.2.2 SAN zoning and port designations
        3. 8.2.3 Port designations
        4. 8.2.4 Verifying FlashSystem 900 connectivity in SAN Volume Controller
        5. 8.2.5 Import and export
      3. 8.3 Integration considerations: FlashSystem 900 and SAN Volume Controller
      4. 8.4 Integration considerations: FlashSystem 900 and IBM Storwize V7000
    14. Chapter 9. Use cases and solutions
      1. 9.1 Introduction to the use cases
      2. 9.2 Tiering
        1. 9.2.1 Easy Tier or block-level tiering
        2. 9.2.2 Information Life Management or file-level tiering
      3. 9.3 Preferred read
        1. 9.3.1 Implementing preferred read
      4. 9.4 Flash only
      5. 9.5 Comparison
    15. Chapter 10. Hints and tips
      1. 10.1 Encryption hints
      2. 10.2 Setting up call home
      3. 10.3 System check
        1. 10.3.1 Checking the Fibre Channel connections
      4. 10.4 Host attachment hints
        1. 10.4.1 Fibre Channel link speed
        2. 10.4.2 Host is in a degraded state
        3. 10.4.3 FlashSystem port status
        4. 10.4.4 AIX multipathing
        5. 10.4.5 Direct attach hints
      5. 10.5 General guidelines for testing a specific configuration
        1. 10.5.1 Save the default configuration
        2. 10.5.2 Test scenarios
        3. 10.5.3 Supported System Configurations
        4. 10.5.4 Secure erase of data
        5. 10.5.5 Performance data gathering basics
      6. 10.6 Troubleshooting
        1. 10.6.1 Troubleshooting prerequisites and information to record
        2. 10.6.2 User interfaces for servicing your system
        3. 10.6.3 Event reporting
        4. 10.6.4 Resolving a problem
      7. 10.7 IBM System Storage Interoperation Center (SSIC)
    16. Related publications
      1. IBM Redbooks
      2. Online resources
      3. Help from IBM
    17. Back cover

    Product information

    • Title: Implementing IBM FlashSystem 900
    • Author(s): Karen Orlando, Ingo Dimmer, Detlef Helmbrecht, Jon Herd, Carsten Larsen, Matt Levan
    • Release date: November 2016
    • Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
    • ISBN: 9780738442259