IBM Virtualization Engine TS7700 with R3.1

Book description

This IBM® Redbooks® publication highlights TS7700 Virtualization Engine Release 3.1. It is intended for system architects who want to integrate their storage systems for smoother operation. The IBM Virtualization Engine TS7700 offers a modular, scalable, and high-performing architecture for mainframe tape virtualization for the IBM System z® environment. It integrates 3592 Tape Drives, high-performance disks, and a new disk cache subsystem into a storage hierarchy. This storage hierarchy is managed by robust storage management firmware with extensive self-management capability. It includes the following advanced functions:

  • Policy management to control physical volume pooling

  • Cache management

  • Redundant copies, including across a grid network

  • Copy mode control


  • The TS7700 Virtualization Engine offers enhanced statistical reporting. It also includes a standards-based management interface for TS7700 Virtualization Engine management.

    The new IBM Virtualization Engine TS7700 Release 3.1 continues the next generation of TS7700 Virtualization Engine servers for System z tape:

  • IBM Virtualization Engine TS7720 Server Model VEB with 3956-CS9 and 3-TB SAS drives with RAID 6 protection

  • IBM Virtualization Engine TS7740 Server Model V07 with 3956-CC9 with 600-GB SAS drives with RAID 6 protection


  • These Virtualization Engines are based on IBM POWER7® technology. They offer improved performance for most System z tape workloads compared to the first generation of TS7700 Virtualization Engine servers.

    TS7700 Virtualization Engine Release 3.1 builds on the existing capabilities of the TS7700 family. It also introduces the following capabilities:

  • 8-Gb IBM FICON® adapters for host attachment

  • Up to eight FICON channel host attachments, doubling the previous number of channels available

  • Up to 512 logical path definitions per FICON channel, doubling the previous number of logical paths per channel

  • IBM FlashCopy® for disaster recovery testing

  • Support for a second TS7720 expansion frame attached to a TS7720 system for a total TS7720 system capacity up to 1 PB before compression

  • New Time Delayed Copy policy

  • Table of contents

    1. Front cover
    2. Notices
      1. Trademarks
    3. Preface
      1. Summary of contents
      2. Authors
      3. Now you can become a published author, too!
      4. Comments welcome
      5. Stay connected to IBM Redbooks
    4. Part 1 Architecture and planning
      1. Chapter 1. Introducing the IBM Virtualization Engine TS7700
        1. 1.1 Overview
        2. 1.2 Concepts of storage virtualization
        3. 1.3 Benefits of tape virtualization
        4. 1.4 Data storage values
      2. Chapter 2. Architecture, components, and functional characteristics
        1. 2.1 TS7700 Virtualization Engine architecture
          1. 2.1.1 Monolithic design of a Virtual Tape Server
          2. 2.1.2 Modular design of the TS7700 Virtualization Engine
          3. 2.1.3 Peer-to-peer VTS design
          4. 2.1.4 Principles of grid design
          5. 2.1.5 Management of the TS7700
        2. 2.2 Stand-alone cluster: Components, functionality, and features
          1. 2.2.1 Views from the Host: Library IDs
          2. 2.2.2 Tape Volume Cache (TVC)
          3. 2.2.3 Virtual volumes and logical volumes
          4. 2.2.4 Mounting a scratch virtual volume
          5. 2.2.5 Mounting a specific virtual volume
          6. 2.2.6 Logical WORM (LWORM) support and characteristics
          7. 2.2.7 Virtual drives
          8. 2.2.8 Selective device access control
          9. 2.2.9 Physical drives
          10. 2.2.10 Stacked volume
          11. 2.2.11 Selective Dual Copy function
          12. 2.2.12 General TVC management in a stand-alone cluster
          13. 2.2.13 TVC Cache management in a TS7740 stand-alone cluster
          14. 2.2.14 Expired virtual volumes and Delete Expired function
          15. 2.2.15 TVC management processes for TS7740
          16. 2.2.16 TS7720 TVC cache management
          17. 2.2.17 Copy Consistency Point: Copy policy modes in a stand-alone cluster
          18. 2.2.18 TVC selection in a stand-alone cluster
          19. 2.2.19 TVC encryption
          20. 2.2.20 Logical and stacked volume pooling
          21. 2.2.21 Logical and stacked volume management
          22. 2.2.22 Secure Data Erase function
          23. 2.2.23 Copy Export function
          24. 2.2.24 Encryption of physical tapes
          25. 2.2.25 Security identification using Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
          26. 2.2.26 Service preparation mode
          27. 2.2.27 Service mode
        3. 2.3 Multicluster grid configurations: Components, functionality, and features
          1. 2.3.1 Rules in multicluster grid
          2. 2.3.2 Required grid hardware
          3. 2.3.3 Data integrity by volume ownership
          4. 2.3.4 I/O TVC selection
          5. 2.3.5 Copy Consistency Points
          6. 2.3.6 Cluster family concept
          7. 2.3.7 Override settings concept
          8. 2.3.8 Host view of a multicluster grid and Library IDs
          9. 2.3.9 Tape volume cache (TVC)
          10. 2.3.10 Virtual volumes and logical volumes
          11. 2.3.11 Mounting a scratch virtual volume
          12. 2.3.12 Mounting a specific virtual volume
          13. 2.3.13 Logical WORM (LWORM) support and characteristics
          14. 2.3.14 Virtual drives
          15. 2.3.15 Allocation assistance
          16. 2.3.16 Selective Device Access Control
          17. 2.3.17 Physical drives
          18. 2.3.18 Stacked volume
          19. 2.3.19 Selective Dual Copy function
          20. 2.3.20 General TVC management in multicluster grids
          21. 2.3.21 Expired virtual volumes and Delete Expired function
          22. 2.3.22 TVC management for TS7740 in multicluster grid
          23. 2.3.23 TVC management for TS7720 in a multicluster grid
          24. 2.3.24 TVC management processes in a multicluster grid
          25. 2.3.25 Copy Consistency Point: Copy policy modes in a multicluster grid
          26. 2.3.26 TVC (I/O) selection in a multicluster grid
          27. 2.3.27 Remote (cross) cluster mounts
          28. 2.3.28 TVC encryption
          29. 2.3.29 Logical and stacked volume management
          30. 2.3.30 Secure Data Erase
          31. 2.3.31 Copy Export
          32. 2.3.32 Encryption of physical tapes
          33. 2.3.33 Autonomic Ownership Takeover Manager
          34. 2.3.34 Selective Write Protect for disaster recovery testing
          35. 2.3.35 FlashCopy for disaster recovery testing R3.1
          36. 2.3.36 Service preparation mode
          37. 2.3.37 Service mode
        4. 2.4 Grid configuration examples
          1. 2.4.1 Homogeneous versus hybrid grid configuration
          2. 2.4.2 Planning for high availability or disaster recovery in limited distances
          3. 2.4.3 Disaster recovery capabilities in a remote data center
          4. 2.4.4 Configuration examples
      3. Chapter 3. TS7700 usage considerations
        1. 3.1 Introduction
          1. 3.1.1 A short look at history
          2. 3.1.2 Challenges of today’s businesses
          3. 3.1.3 Challenges of technology progress
        2. 3.2 Gather your business requirements
        3. 3.3 What type of data do you store in your TS7700 environment
          1. 3.3.1 Environment: Source of data
          2. 3.3.2 Backup data, active data, and archive data
          3. 3.3.3 DB2 archive log handling
          4. 3.3.4 Object access method: Object processing
          5. 3.3.5 Batch processing: Active data
        4. 3.4 Features and functions
          1. 3.4.1 Stand-alone versus grid environments
          2. 3.4.2 Sharing a TS7700
          3. 3.4.3 Tape volume cache selection
          4. 3.4.4 Consistency policy
          5. 3.4.5 Override policies
          6. 3.4.6 Cluster family
          7. 3.4.7 Expire Time (resource efficient) versus previous implementations
          8. 3.4.8 Data security: Encryption
          9. 3.4.9 Allocation assistance
        5. 3.5 Operation aspects: Monitoring and alerting
          1. 3.5.1 Handling messages
          2. 3.5.2 Regularly scheduled performance monitoring
          3. 3.5.3 Optionally: Check your data
      4. Chapter 4. Preinstallation planning and sizing
        1. 4.1 Hardware installation and infrastructure planning
          1. 4.1.1 System requirements
          2. 4.1.2 Tape drives and media support (TS7740 Virtualization Engine only)
          3. 4.1.3 Limitations
          4. 4.1.4 TCP/IP configuration considerations
          5. 4.1.5 Remote installations and FICON switch support
          6. 4.1.6 Factors that affect performance at a distance
          7. 4.1.7 Host attachments
          8. 4.1.8 FICON Director support
          9. 4.1.9 FICON channel extenders
          10. 4.1.10 Cascaded switches
          11. 4.1.11 Planning for LDAP for user authentication in your TS7700 subsystem
        2. 4.2 Planning for a grid operation
          1. 4.2.1 Defining grid copy mode control
          2. 4.2.2 Defining scratch mount candidates
          3. 4.2.3 Retain Copy mode
          4. 4.2.4 Defining cluster families
          5. 4.2.5 TS7720 cache thresholds and removal policies
          6. 4.2.6 Data management settings (TS7740 Virtualization Engine)
        3. 4.3 Planning for software implementation
          1. 4.3.1 Host configuration definition
          2. 4.3.2 Software requirements
          3. 4.3.3 System Managed Storage tape environments
          4. 4.3.4 Sharing and partitioning considerations
          5. 4.3.5 Sharing the TS7700 Virtualization Engine by multiple hosts
          6. 4.3.6 Partitioning the TS7700 Virtualization Engine between multiple hosts
          7. 4.3.7 Logical path considerations
          8. 4.3.8 Library names, Library IDs, and port IDs
        4. 4.4 Planning for logical and physical volumes
          1. 4.4.1 Logical volumes
          2. 4.4.2 Logical WORM (LWORM)
          3. 4.4.3 Physical volumes for TS7740 Virtualization Engine
          4. 4.4.4 Data compression
          5. 4.4.5 Secure Data Erase function
          6. 4.4.6 Copy Policy Override settings
          7. 4.4.7 Planning for cache thresholds and removal policies for a TS7720 cluster
          8. 4.4.8 Planning for tape encryption in the TS7740 Virtualization Engine
          9. 4.4.9 Planning for Cache Disk Encryption in the TS7700
        5. 4.5 Tape analysis and sizing the TS7700 Virtualization Engine
          1. 4.5.1 IBM tape tools
          2. 4.5.2 BatchMagic
          3. 4.5.3 Workload considerations
          4. 4.5.4 Education and training
          5. 4.5.5 Implementation services
    5. Part 2 Implementation and migration
      1. Chapter 5. TS7700 implementation
        1. 5.1 TS7700 Virtualization Engine implementation
        2. 5.2 TS3500 Tape Library definitions (TS7740 Virtualization Engine)
        3. 5.3 Setting up the TS7700 Virtualization Engine
          1. 5.3.1 Definitions for TS7740 Virtualization Engine only
          2. 5.3.2 TS7700 Virtualization Engine definitions
        4. 5.4 Hardware configuration definition
          1. 5.4.1 Defining devices through HCD
          2. 5.4.2 Activate the I/O configuration
        5. 5.5 Set values for the Missing Interrupt Handler
        6. 5.6 TS7700 Virtualization Engine software definitions
      2. Chapter 6. Hardware configurations and upgrade considerations
        1. 6.1 TTS7700 Virtualization Engine hardware components
          1. 6.1.1 Common components for the TS77000 Virtualization Engine models
          2. 6.1.2 TS7720 Virtualization Engine components
          3. 6.1.3 TS7740 Virtualization Engine components
        2. 6.2 Hardware configurations
          1. 6.2.1 TS7740 Virtualization Engine configuration details
          2. 6.2.2 TS7720 Virtualization Engine configuration details
          3. 6.2.3 TS3000 System Console (TSSC)
          4. 6.2.4 Cables
        3. 6.3 TS7700 Virtualization Engine component upgrades
          1. 6.3.1 TS7700 Virtualization Engine concurrent system component upgrades
          2. 6.3.2 TS7700 Virtualization Engine non-concurrent system component upgrades
          3. 6.3.3 TS7720 Virtualization Engine Cache upgrade options
          4. 6.3.4 TS7740 Virtualization Engine Cache upgrade options
        4. 6.4 TS7700 Virtualization Engine upgrade to Release 3.1
          1. 6.4.1 Planning for the upgrade
        5. 6.5 Adding clusters to a grid
          1. 6.5.1 TS7700 Virtualization Engine grid upgrade concept
          2. 6.5.2 Considerations when adding a cluster to the existing configuration
          3. 6.5.3 Considerations for merging an existing cluster or grid into a grid
        6. 6.6 Removing clusters from a grid
          1. 6.6.1 Reasons to remove a cluster
          2. 6.6.2 High-level description of the process
      3. Chapter 7. Migration
        1. 7.1 Migration to a TS7700 Virtualization Engine
        2. 7.2 Upgrading drive models in an existing TS7740
        3. 7.3 Moving data in and out of the TS7700 Virtualization Engine
          1. 7.3.1 Phased method of moving data
          2. 7.3.2 Quick method of moving data
          3. 7.3.3 Products to simplify the task
          4. 7.3.4 Considerations for static VOLSERs
          5. 7.3.5 Combining methods to move data into the TS7700 Virtualization Engine
          6. 7.3.6 Moving data out of the TS7700 Virtualization Engine
        4. 7.4 Migration of DFSMShsm managed data
          1. 7.4.1 Volume and data set sizes
          2. 7.4.2 TS7700 Virtualization Engine implementation considerations
          3. 7.4.3 DFSMShsm task-related considerations
        5. 7.5 DFSMSrmm and other tape management systems
        6. 7.6 IBM Tivoli Storage Manager
        7. 7.7 DFSMSdss
          1. 7.7.1 Full volume dumps
          2. 7.7.2 Stand-Alone Services
        8. 7.8 Object access method
        9. 7.9 Database backups
          1. 7.9.1 DB2 data
          2. 7.9.2 CICS and IMS
          3. 7.9.3 Batch data
    6. Part 3 Operation
      1. Chapter 8. Operation
        1. 8.1 User interfaces
          1. 8.1.1 TS3500 Tape Library Specialist
          2. 8.1.2 Call Home and Electronic Customer Care
        2. 8.2 TS7700 Virtualization Engine Management Interface
          1. 8.2.1 Connecting to the management interface
          2. 8.2.2 Using the TS7700 Management Interface
          3. 8.2.3 The Systems icon
          4. 8.2.4 The Monitor icon
          5. 8.2.5 The Virtual icon
          6. 8.2.6 The Physical icon
          7. 8.2.7 The Constructs icon
          8. 8.2.8 The Access icon
          9. 8.2.9 The Settings icon
          10. 8.2.10 The Service icon
        3. 8.3 Common procedures
          1. 8.3.1 TS3500 Tape Library with a TS7740 Virtualization Engine
          2. 8.3.2 TS7740 Virtualization Engine definitions
          3. 8.3.3 TS7700 Virtualization Engine definitions
          4. 8.3.4 TS7700 Virtualization Engine multi-cluster definitions
        4. 8.4 System-managed tape
          1. 8.4.1 DFSMS operator commands
          2. 8.4.2 Library LMPOLICY command
          3. 8.4.3 Host Console Request function
          4. 8.4.4 MVS system commands
        5. 8.5 Basic operations
          1. 8.5.1 Clock and time setting
          2. 8.5.2 Library online/offline to host
          3. 8.5.3 Library in Pause mode
          4. 8.5.4 Preparing for service
          5. 8.5.5 TS3500 Tape Library inventory
          6. 8.5.6 Inventory upload
        6. 8.6 Tape cartridge management
          1. 8.6.1 3592 tape cartridges and labels
          2. 8.6.2 Manual insertion of stacked cartridges
          3. 8.6.3 Exception conditions
        7. 8.7 Managing logical volumes
          1. 8.7.1 Scratch volume recovery for logical volumes
          2. 8.7.2 Ejecting logical volumes
        8. 8.8 Messages and displays
          1. 8.8.1 Console name message routing
          2. 8.8.2 Alert setting messages
          3. 8.8.3 Grid messages
          4. 8.8.4 Display grid status
          5. 8.8.5 Warning link status degraded messages
          6. 8.8.6 Warning VTS operation degraded messages
          7. 8.8.7 Warning cache use capacity (TS7720 Virtualization Engine)
        9. 8.9 Recovery scenarios
          1. 8.9.1 Hardware conditions
          2. 8.9.2 TS7700 Virtualization Engine software failure
        10. 8.10 TS7720 Virtualization Engine operational considerations
      2. Chapter 9. Performance and monitoring
        1. 9.1 Overview
        2. 9.2 TS7700 Virtualization Engine performance characteristics
        3. 9.3 Performance overview
          1. 9.3.1 TS7700 components and task distribution
          2. 9.3.2 Grid Considerations and Replication Modes
          3. 9.3.3 Workload profile from your hosts
          4. 9.3.4 Lifecycle Management of your data
          5. 9.3.5 Parameters and Customization of the TS7700
          6. 9.3.6 Types of throughput
          7. 9.3.7 Throttling in the TS7700
          8. 9.3.8 TS7740 tape drives usage considerations
        4. 9.4 Monitoring TS7700 Virtualization Engine performance
          1. 9.4.1 Base information: Types of statistical records
          2. 9.4.2 Using the TS3500 Tape Library Specialist for monitoring
          3. 9.4.3 Using the TS7700 management interface to monitor IBM storage
          4. 9.4.4 Replication Monitoring
          5. 9.4.5 Management of unwanted copies
          6. 9.4.6 Alerting of specific events
        5. 9.5 TS7700 cache throughput
          1. 9.5.1 Performance evaluation tool - Plotting cache throughput from VEHSTATS
          2. 9.5.2 Interpreting cache throughput
        6. 9.6 Adjusting the TS7700
          1. 9.6.1 Deferred Copy throttle value and threshold
          2. 9.6.2 Preferred premigration and premigration throttling thresholds
          3. 9.6.3 Making your cache deeper
          4. 9.6.4 Back-end drives
          5. 9.6.5 Grid links
        7. 9.7 Bulk Volume Information Retrieval
          1. 9.7.1 Overview of the BVIR function
          2. 9.7.2 Prerequisites
          3. 9.7.3 Request data format
          4. 9.7.4 Response data format
          5. 9.7.5 Interpreting the BVIR response data
        8. 9.8 IBM Tape Tools
          1. 9.8.1 Introduction to IBM Tape Tools
          2. 9.8.2 Tools download and installation
          3. 9.8.3 IBM Tape Tools for TS7700 monitoring
        9. 9.9 Using VEHSTATS and VEHGRXCL for monitoring and reporting
          1. 9.9.1 VEHSTATS tool overview
          2. 9.9.2 Running the VEHSTATS jobs
          3. 9.9.3 VEHSTATS reports
          4. 9.9.4 VEHGRXCL tool overview
        10. 9.10 z/OS commands for monitoring
          1. 9.10.1 Display SMS command
          2. 9.10.2 Library command
        11. 9.11 What to look for and where
        12. 9.12 Virtual Device Allocation in z/OS with JES2
          1. 9.12.1 EQUAL allocation
          2. 9.12.2 BYDEVICES allocation
          3. 9.12.3 Allocation and Copy Consistency Point setting
          4. 9.12.4 Allocation and device allocation assistance
          5. 9.12.5 Allocation and scratch allocation assistance
      3. Chapter 10. Disaster recovery
        1. 10.1 TS7700 Virtualization Engine grid failover principles
        2. 10.2 Failover scenarios
          1. 10.2.1 Test configuration
          2. 10.2.2 Failover scenario 1
          3. 10.2.3 Failover scenario 2
          4. 10.2.4 Failover scenario 3
          5. 10.2.5 Failover scenario 4
          6. 10.2.6 Failover scenario 5
          7. 10.2.7 Failover scenario 6
          8. 10.2.8 Failover scenario 7
          9. 10.2.9 Failover scenario 8
        3. 10.3 Planning for disaster recovery
          1. 10.3.1 Grid configuration
          2. 10.3.2 Planning guidelines
        4. 10.4 High availability and disaster recovery configurations
        5. 10.5 Copy Export overview and Considerations
          1. 10.5.1 General considerations for Copy Export
          2. 10.5.2 Copy Export grid considerations
          3. 10.5.3 Reclaim process for Copy Export physical volumes
          4. 10.5.4 Copy Export process messages
        6. 10.6 Implementing and running Copy Export
          1. 10.6.1 Setting up data management definitions
          2. 10.6.2 Validating before activating the Copy Export function
          3. 10.6.3 Running the Copy Export operation
          4. 10.6.4 Canceling a Copy Export operation
          5. 10.6.5 Host completion message
        7. 10.7 Using Copy Export Recovery
          1. 10.7.1 Planning and considerations for testing Copy Export Recovery
          2. 10.7.2 Performing Copy Export Recovery
          3. 10.7.3 Restoring the host and library environments
        8. 10.8 Geographically Dispersed Parallel Sysplex for z/OS
          1. 10.8.1 GDPS considerations in a TS7700 grid configuration
          2. 10.8.2 GDPS functions for the TS7700
          3. 10.8.3 GDPS implementation
        9. 10.9 Disaster recovery testing basics
          1. 10.9.1 Disaster Recovery General Considerations
          2. 10.9.2 Breaking the interconnects between the TS7700 Virtualization Engines
          3. 10.9.3 Considerations for DR tests without Selective Write Protect mode
        10. 10.10 Disaster recovery testing detailed procedures for Flash Copy
          1. 10.10.1 Plan your DR test
          2. 10.10.2 Run Phase 1 Preparation
          3. 10.10.3 Run Phase 2 Enablement
          4. 10.10.4 Run Phase 3 Run DR test
          5. 10.10.5 Run Phase 4 Clean Up
          6. 10.10.6 Run Phase 5 Disable of the Write Protect and Flash Copy
          7. 10.10.7 Expected Failures during the DR test
        11. 10.11 Disaster recovery testing detailed procedures for alternatives before R3.1
          1. 10.11.1 TS7700 two-cluster grid using Selective Write Protect
          2. 10.11.2 TS7700 two-cluster grid not using Selective Write Protect
          3. 10.11.3 TS7700 three-cluster grid not using Selective Write Protect
        12. 10.12 A real disaster
    7. Part 4 Appendixes
      1. Appendix A. Feature codes
        1. Feature code (FC) lists
        2. TS7700 Virtualization Engine feature code descriptions
      2. Appendix B. IBM Virtualization Engine TS7700 Implementation for z/VM, z/VSE, TPF, and z/TPF
        1. Software Requirements
        2. Software implementation in z/VM and z/VSE
        3. Software implementation in Transaction Processing Facility (TPF)
        4. Implementing Outboard Policy Management for non-z/OS hosts
      3. Appendix C. JES3 examples and information
        1. JES3 support for system-managed tape
        2. Example with two separate Tape Libraries
        3. Example with three Tape Libraries
        4. Processing changes
      4. Appendix D. DEVSERV QLIB command
      5. Appendix E. Sample JCL
        1. BVIR jobs to obtain historical data
        2. Extra BVIR reporting
        3. VEHSTATS reports
        4. Export list volume sample JCL
        5. JCL for TS7700 Virtualization Engine migration scenarios
      6. Appendix F. Library Manager volume categories
      7. Appendix G. TS7700 parameter examples
        1. General example setup
      8. Appendix H. Extra IODF examples
        1. General IODF principles
      9. Appendix I. Case study for logical partitioning of a two-cluster grid
        1. Overview of partitioning
        2. Definitions and settings in z/OS
        3. Definitions on the TS7700 Management Interface
        4. Verification of changes
    8. Related publications
      1. IBM Redbooks publications
      2. Other publications
      3. Technical documents on the IBM Techdocs website
      4. Help from IBM
    9. Back cover
    10. IBM System x Reference Architecture for Hadoop: IBM InfoSphere BigInsights Reference Architecture
      1. Introduction
      2. Business problem and business value
      3. Reference architecture use
      4. Requirements
      5. InfoSphere BigInsights predefined configuration
      6. InfoSphere BigInsights HBase predefined configuration
      7. Deployment considerations
      8. Customizing the predefined configurations
      9. Predefined configuration bill of materials
      10. References
      11. The team who wrote this paper
      12. Now you can become a published author, too!
      13. Stay connected to IBM Redbooks
    11. Notices
      1. Trademarks

    Product information

    • Title: IBM Virtualization Engine TS7700 with R3.1
    • Author(s):
    • Release date: October 2014
    • Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
    • ISBN: None