Technical overview

IBM® DS8880 is a high-performance, high-capacity storage system that supports continuous operation, data security, and data resiliency. It is the most advanced storage system in the IBM DS8000® series. The storage system consists of a base frame, and depending on the configuration, up to four expansion frames. For high-availability, the hardware components are redundant.

DS8880 adds a base frame and expansion frame to the 283x machine type family, and the 533x all-flash machine type family.

The base frame contains the processor nodes, I/O enclosures, Ethernet switches, and the Hardware Management Console (HMC), in addition to power and storage enclosures. The HMC is a small form factor computer and uses a keyboard and monitor that are stored in the base frame. An optional secondary HMC is also available in the base frame. A secondary HMC can provide high-availability, particularly for important processes such as encryption, Copy Services, and the HMC storage management functions.
Depending on the system configuration, you can add up to four expansion frames to the storage system. Only the first expansion frame contains I/O enclosures, which provide more host adapters, device adapters, and High Performance Flash Enclosure Gen2 flash RAID adapters.

The DS8880 features five system types: DS8884, DS8884F, DS8886, DS8886F, and DS8888F. The DS8884 (models 984 and 84E) is an entry-level, high-performance storage system.The DS8884F (model 984) is an entry-level, high-performance storage system featuring all High Performance Flash Enclosures Gen2. The DS8886 is a high-density, high-performance storage system with either single-phase power (models 985 and 85E) or three-phase power (models 986 and 86E). The DS8886F is a high-density, high-performance storage system with either single-phase power (models 985 and 85E) or three-phase power (models 986 and 86E) featuring all High Performance Flash Enclosures Gen2. The DS8888F is a high-performance, high-efficiency storage system featuring all High Performance Flash Enclosures Gen2.

Note: Previously available DS8880 models (980, 98B, 981, 98E, 982, 98F) are still supported, but not covered in this version documentation. For information on models not documented here, refer to previous version documentation (GC27-8525-06).

The DS8884 (models 984 and 84E) storage system includes 6-core processors and is scalable with up to 96 High Performance Flash Enclosure Gen2 flash cards, up to 768 standard drives, up to 256 GB system memory, and up to 64 host adapter ports. The DS8884 includes a base frame (model 984), up to two expansion frames (model 84E), and a 40U capacity in each frame.
The DS8884F (model 984) storage system includes 6-core processors and is scalable with up to 48 High Performance Flash Enclosure Gen2 flash cards, up to 256 GB system memory, and up to 32 host adapter ports. The DS8884F includes a base frame (model 984) and a 40U capacity.
The DS8886 (models 985 and 85E) has a single-phase power storage system and is scalable with up to 24-core processors, up to 192 High Performance Flash Enclosure Gen2 flash cards, up to 1,536 standard drives, up to 2048 GB system memory, and up to 128 host adapter ports. The DS8886 includes a base frame (model 985), up to four expansion frames (model 85E), and an expandable 40-46U capacity in each frame.
The DS8886F (models 985 and 85E) has a single-phase power storage system and is scalable with up to 24-core processors, up to 192 High Performance Flash Enclosure Gen2 flash cards, up to 2048 GB system memory, and up to 128 host adapter ports. The DS8886F includes a base frame (model 985) and one expansion frame (model 85E).
The DS8886 (models 986 and 86E) has a three-phase power storage system and is scalable with up to 24-core processors, up to 192 High Performance Flash Enclosure Gen2 flash cards, up to 1,440 standard drives, up to 2048 GB system memory, and up to 128 host adapter ports. The DS8886 includes a base frame (model 986), up to four expansion frames (model 86E), and an expandable 40-46U capacity in each frame.
The DS8886F (models 986 and 86E) has a three-phase power storage system and is scalable with up to 24-core processors, up to 192 High Performance Flash Enclosure Gen2 flash cards, up to 2048 GB system memory, and up to 128 host adapter ports. The DS8886F includes a base frame (model 986) and one expansion frame (model 86E).
The DS8888F (models 988 and 88E) has a three-phase power storage system and is scalable with up to 48-core processors, up to 384 High Performance Flash Enclosure Gen2 flash cards, up to 2048 GB system memory, and up to 128 host adapter ports. The DS8888F includes a base frame (model 988) and one expansion frame (model 88E).

The DS8880 features standard 19-inch wide frames and 19-inch wide frames with 6U extensions (DS8886 and DS8888F only).

Energy efficient DC-UPS modules provide 8 KW of single-phase power (model 984 and 985) and 8 KW of three-phase power (model 986 and 988).

DS8880 integrates High Performance Flash Enclosures Gen2 and flash cards for all models documented here to provide a higher level of performance. Previously available models (980, 98B, 981, 98E, 982, 98F) integrated High-Performance Flash Enclosures Gen1. For information on models not documented here, refer to previous version documentation (GC27-8525-06).

Licensed functions are available in four groups:

Base Function: The Base Function license is required for each DS8880 storage system. The licensed functions include Database Protection, Encryption Authorization, Easy Tier®, I/O Priority Manager, the Operating Environment License, and Thin Provisioning.
z-synergy Services: The z-synergy Services include z/OS® functions that are supported on the storage system. The licensed functions include High Performance FICON® for z Systems™, HyperPAV, PAV, and z/OS Distributed Data Backup.
Copy Services: Copy Services features help you implement storage solutions to keep your business running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by providing data duplication, data migration, and disaster recovery functions. The licensed functions include Global Mirror, Metro Mirror, Metro/Global Mirror, Point-in-Time Copy/FlashCopy®, z/OS Global Mirror, and z/OS Metro/Global Mirror Incremental Resync (RMZ).
Copy Services Manager on Hardware Management Console: The Copy Services Manager on Hardware Management Console (CSM on HMC) license enables IBM Copy Services Manager to run on the Hardware Management Console, which eliminates the need to maintain a separate server for Copy Services functions.

DS8880 also includes features such as:

POWER8® processors
Power-usage reporting
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SP 800-131A enablement

Other functions that are supported in both the DS8000 Storage Management GUI and the DS command-line interface (DS CLI) include:

Easy Tier
Data encryption
Thin provisioning

You can use the DS8000 Storage Management GUI and the DS command-line interface (DS CLI) to manage and logically configure the storage system.

Functions that are supported in only the DS command-line interface (DS CLI) include:

Point-in-time copy functions with IBM FlashCopy
Remote Mirror and Copy functions, including
- Metro Mirror
- Global Copy
- Global Mirror
- Metro/Global Mirror
- z/OS Global Mirror
- z/OS Metro/Global Mirror
- Multiple Target PPRC
I/O Priority Manager

DS8880 meets hazardous substances (RoHS) requirements by conforming to the following EC directives:

Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2011 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. It has been demonstrated that the requirements specified in Article 4 are met.
EN 50581:2012 technical documentation for the assessment of electrical and electronic products regarding the restriction of hazardous substances.

The IBM Security Key Lifecycle Manager stores data keys that are used to secure the key hierarchy that is associated with the data encryption functions of various devices, including the DS8000 series. It can be used to provide, protect, and maintain encryption keys that are used to encrypt information that is written to and decrypt information that is read from encryption-enabled disks. IBM Security Key Lifecycle Manager operates on various operating systems.