IBM FlashSystem A9000 and IBM FlashSystem A9000R Architecture and Implementation

IBM FlashSystem A9000 and IBM FlashSystem A9000R Architecture and Implementation

by Bert Dufrasne, Mariya Atanasova, Matthew DiVito, Andrew Greenfield, Petar Kalachev, Lisa Martinez, Markus Oscheka, Stephen Solewin, Axel Westphal
Released February 2018
Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
ISBN: 9780738442914

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Book description

Abstract

This IBM® Redbooks publication presents the architecture, design, concepts, and technology that are used in IBM FlashSystem® A9000 and IBM FlashSystem A9000R.

FlashSystem A9000 and FlashSystem A9000R deliver the microsecond latency and high availability of IBM FlashCore® technology with grid architecture, simple scalability, and industry-leading IBM software that is designed to drive your business into the cognitive era.

Comprehensive data reduction capabilities, including inline deduplication and a new compression engine, help lower total cost of ownership, and a highly intuitive user interface simplifies management. FlashSystem A9000 and FlashSystem A9000R transform technology infrastructure into business innovation.

From a functional standpoint, FlashSystem A9000 and FlashSystem A9000R take advantage of most of the software-defined storage features that are offered by the IBM Spectrum Accelerate™ software, including multi-tenancy and business continuity functions. Starting with software version 12.1, the IBM HyperSwap® feature delivers always-on, high availability (HA) storage service for storage volumes in a production environment. Software version 12.2 introduces cross-generation asynchronous mirroring with IBM XIV® Gen3.

This publication is intended for those individuals who need to plan, install, tailor, and configure FlashSystem A9000 and FlashSystem A9000R.

For detailed information about configuration, management, and replication functions and their usage, see the following publications:

  • , SG24-8376

    IBM Spectrum Accelerate Family Storage Configuration and Usage for IBM FlashSystem A9000, IBM FlashSystem A9000R, and IBM XIV Gen3

  • , REDP-5401

    IBM FlashSystem A9000 and A9000R Business Continuity Solutions

  • , REDP-5434

    IBM HyperSwap for IBM FlashSystem A9000 and A9000R

  • , SG24-8368.

    IBM Spectrum Accelerate Family: Host Attachment and Interoperability

    •

    Table of contents

    1. Front cover
    2. Notices
      1. Trademarks
    3. Preface
      1. Authors
      2. Now you can become a published author, too
      3. Comments welcome
      4. Stay connected to IBM Redbooks
    4. Chapter 1. IBM FlashSystem A9000 and IBM FlashSystem A9000R
      1. 1.1 FlashSystem A9000 and FlashSystem A9000R overview
        1. 1.1.1 FlashSystem A9000
        2. 1.1.2 FlashSystem A9000R
      2. 1.2 Feature set
      3. 1.3 Licensing
      4. 1.4 Management tools
      5. 1.5 Product positioning
    5. Chapter 2. Logical architecture and concepts
      1. 2.1 Overall architecture
        1. 2.1.1 Parallelism and grid architecture
        2. 2.1.2 Cache resiliency
      2. 2.2 IBM FlashCore technology
      3. 2.3 Data reduction and capacity concepts
        1. 2.3.1 Data reduction technology
      4. 2.4 Storage provisioning concepts
        1. 2.4.1 Storage pools
        2. 2.4.2 Volumes
        3. 2.4.3 Snapshots
        4. 2.4.4 Consistency groups
      5. 2.5 Multi-tenancy
        1. 2.5.1 Domains
      6. 2.6 Data security
        1. 2.6.1 Key management
        2. 2.6.2 User access control
      7. 2.7 Auditing through syslog
    6. Chapter 3. Hardware and technology
      1. 3.1 Systems overview
        1. 3.1.1 FlashSystem A9000R
        2. 3.1.2 FlashSystem A9000
      2. 3.2 System components details
        1. 3.2.1 Grid controller
        2. 3.2.2 Flash enclosure
      3. 3.3 FlashSystem A9000R specifics
        1. 3.3.1 FlashSystem A9000R switched InfiniBand
        2. 3.3.2 InfiniBand switch battery backup unit
        3. 3.3.3 FlashSystem A9000R rack
      4. 3.4 Scaling FlashSystem A9000R
      5. 3.5 FlashSystem A9000 specifics
        1. 3.5.1 FlashSystem A9000 direct InfiniBand
      6. 3.6 Reliability, availability, and serviceability
        1. 3.6.1 Reliability
        2. 3.6.2 Availability
        3. 3.6.3 Serviceability
      7. 3.7 IBM FlashCore technology
        1. 3.7.1 Technology and architectural design overview
        2. 3.7.2 Hardware-only data path
        3. 3.7.3 Flash card memory chips
        4. 3.7.4 Flash module capacities
        5. 3.7.5 Field Programmable Gate Array
        6. 3.7.6 Overprovisioning
        7. 3.7.7 Wear leveling
      8. 3.8 IBM Variable Stripe RAID and 2D Flash RAID protection overview
        1. 3.8.1 Variable Stripe RAID
        2. 3.8.2 Two-dimensional (2D) Flash RAID
    7. Chapter 4. Capacity planning and management
      1. 4.1 Introduction and definitions
        1. 4.1.1 System capacity specifications
        2. 4.1.2 Capacity allocation
      2. 4.2 Capacity planning with data reduction
        1. 4.2.1 Workload types
        2. 4.2.2 Data reduction planning
      3. 4.3 Capacity representation and reporting
        1. 4.3.1 Data usage collection
        2. 4.3.2 Capacity representation in the Hyper-Scale Manager GUI
        3. 4.3.3 Capacity planning report
    8. Chapter 5. Installation requirements
      1. 5.1 Physical space requirements
        1. 5.1.1 FlashSystem A9000
        2. 5.1.2 FlashSystem A9000R
      2. 5.2 Delivery requirements for FlashSystem A9000R
        1. 5.2.1 Delivery clearance requirements
        2. 5.2.2 Delivery weight requirements
        3. 5.2.3 Height and weight reduction features
      3. 5.3 Site requirements
        1. 5.3.1 Power supply requirements
        2. 5.3.2 Power consumption and thermal dissipation
        3. 5.3.3 Other equipment
      4. 5.4 Basic configuration
      5. 5.5 Network connections
        1. 5.5.1 Remote mirroring connectivity
        2. 5.5.2 Planning for growth
        3. 5.5.3 IPv6 addressing and planning
        4. 5.5.4 IP protocols
        5. 5.5.5 SMTP server
        6. 5.5.6 IBM service ports (model 415 only)
      6. 5.6 Physical installation
        1. 5.6.1 Initial setup
        2. 5.6.2 Completing the physical installation
        3. 5.6.3 System shutdown/power-off and power-on
      7. 5.7 Host connections
        1. 5.7.1 Fibre Channel connections
        2. 5.7.2 iSCSI connections
        3. 5.7.3 Fibre Channel cabling and configuration
        4. 5.7.4 iSCSI cabling and configuration
        5. 5.7.5 iSCSI IP configuration
    9. Chapter 6. Performance
      1. 6.1 Performance considerations
        1. 6.1.1 Sizing
        2. 6.1.2 Multipathing considerations
      2. 6.2 Quality of service
        1. 6.2.1 Limitation by bandwidth
        2. 6.2.2 Limitation by input/output operations per second
      3. 6.3 Performance monitoring
        1. 6.3.1 Using the Storage Management GUI
        2. 6.3.2 Using the command-line interface
    10. Chapter 7. Monitoring and troubleshooting
      1. 7.1 Monitoring
        1. 7.1.1 Monitoring events
        2. 7.1.2 Monitoring alerts and events
        3. 7.1.3 Monitoring statistics
        4. 7.1.4 Monitoring hardware
        5. 7.1.5 Simple Network Management Protocol monitoring
        6. 7.1.6 Call Home
        7. 7.1.7 Subscribe to support notifications
      2. 7.2 Troubleshooting
        1. 7.2.1 IBM Support process
        2. 7.2.2 Collecting logs
        3. 7.2.3 IBM Remote Support
    11. Related publications
      1. IBM Redbooks publications
      2. Other publications and online resources
      3. Help from IBM
    12. Back cover

    Product information

    • Title: IBM FlashSystem A9000 and IBM FlashSystem A9000R Architecture and Implementation
    • Author(s): Bert Dufrasne, Mariya Atanasova, Matthew DiVito, Andrew Greenfield, Petar Kalachev, Lisa Martinez, Markus Oscheka, Stephen Solewin, Axel Westphal
    • Release date: February 2018
    • Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
    • ISBN: 9780738442914