This e-Learning module is an overview of the IBM® DS8880(R) storage system family. You will learn about available product models and some of the functions available.
The new DS8880 storage system family is powered by the next generation of IBM's proven DS8000 platform and delivers critical application acceleration, uncompromising availability and industry-leading capabilities. The DS8880 is available in two models: the DS8884 and the DS8886. The DS8884 configuration helps clients running critical workloads on mainframe, power or distributed in single or mixed modes that need an affordable, flexible and space savings package. The DS8884 is configured for cost, by minimizing the number of device adapters and maximizing the number of storage enclosures attached to each system. The DS8886 configuration is configured for performance and throughput, by maximizing the number of device adapters and paths to the storage enclosures. The DS8886 provides options for flash integration and wide-range disk choices for up to five tiers of service all automated with IBM Easy Tier® for ease of management deployment, allowing the consolidation and simplification of all arrays.
The DS8880 includes the following features: POWER8® processors, a 19-inch frame, compliance with data center planning requirements, a 600mm x 120mm footprint, and increased capacity up to 40U for the DS8884 and 40 to 46U capacity for the DS8886. Other functions that are supported in both the DS8000 Storage Management GUI and the DS command-line interface (DS CLI) include: IBM Easy Tier, data encryption, and thin provisioning.
DS8880 integrates high-performance flash enclosures and flash cards to provide a higher level of performance. DS8880 continues to be available in a standard configuration with disk drives and flash drives in the DS8884 and DS8886 configurations. Each Flash enclosure has space for 30, 400®-GB 1.8-inch SAS flash cards, which support IBM® Full Disk Encryption (FDE). The Flash enclosures are directly attached to the POWER8™ processor complex which increases bandwidth and transaction-processing capability. The DS8886 configuration supports up to four high-performance flash enclosures in the base frame as well as in the first expansion frame. The DS8884 configuration supports up to two high-performance flash enclosures in the base frame and in the first expansion frame. Each high-performance flash enclosure also contains: • Two power supplies with integrated cooling fans • Two Flash RAID adapters, configured as a pair, that provide redundant data path to the flash cards in the high-performance flash enclosure • One back plane for plugging components.
The storage system consists of five types of hardware components: processor nodes, storage enclosures, I/O enclosures, HMCs for management, and UPSs for power. Host systems are attached to the storage system during system configuration.
To help you manage and configure your storage, the DS8880 storage system family provides an intuitive GUI that is accessible from any location that has network access using a web browser, a DS command line interface or DS CLI, an SMI-S industry-standard compatible API, or IBM Spectrum Control.
The DS8880 storage system family is monitored with advanced predictive analysis to predict error conditions before they happen. If a system failure or other problem occurs, you and IBM personnel will be automatically notified so that issues can be quickly diagnosed and resolved.
The DS8880 storage system family offers several advanced functions for data backup, remote mirroring, and disaster recovery. These copy services include several different types of copying and mirroring services, which provide continuous, synchronous, and asynchronous copies of a set of data to a local or remote location. The DS8880 storage system supports Remote Mirror, Remote Copy, and Point-in-Time functions. The key Copy Service Functions are: FlashCopy and FlashCopy Space Efficient, Remote Pair FlashCopy (Preserve Mirror) and Remote Mirror and Copy which includes Metro Mirror, Global Copy, Global Mirror, Metro/Global Mirror, z/OS Global Mirror, and z/OS Metro/Global Mirror. See the Remote Mirror and Copy e-Learning module or the IBM FlashCopy(R) e-Learning module in IBM Knowledge Center.
As you plan for your licensed functions, it is important to consider increases in your workload requirements. To provide more flexibility with licensing, the DS8880 storage management family now offers licensed functions in three convenient license groups: Base Function, Copy Services, and z-Synergy Services. A Base Function license is required for every base frame. All other licensed functions are optional and must have a capacity that is equal to or less than the Base Function license. Copy Services provides data duplication, data migration, and disaster recovery functions. z-Synergy Services includes z/OS® licensed features that are supported on the storage system. Recognizing that both your storage and data requirements will increase over time, you will want to ensure that you purchase and manage your licensed functions for maximum usage. It can be more cost effective to purchase more storage capacity to ensure that the maximum usage of your licensed features does not exceed the allowed capacity of the storage that was purchased. Consider the following guidelines: Plan for storage space allocation. Determine your typical storage requirements and consider how much more storage you would need if you have rapid or unpredictable growth. Finally, estimate the amount of capacity you need for current and future Copy Services functions.
The DS8880 storage system family supports data encryption through the use of the IBM Full Disk Encryption feature and IBM Security Key Lifecycle Manager, to protect your sensitive data from internal and external threats. This solution automatically secures all the information on a disk drive when physically removed from a storage system. This also helps provide a simpler and more cost effective approach to cleansing sensitive data from storage systems that are being retired or re-purposed. To learn more, see the Encryption e-Learning module in IBM Knowledge Center.
The IBM Easy Tier feature is designed to determine the appropriate tier of storage based on data access requirements and then automatically and non-disruptively move data, at the sub-volume or sub-LUN level, to the appropriate tier on the DS8880 system. Easy Tier is an optional feature that offers enhanced capabilities through features such as auto-rebalancing, hot spot management, rank depopulation, and manual volume migration. Easy Tier enables the DS8880 system to automatically balance I/O access to drives to avoid hot spots on arrays. Easy Tier can place data in the storage tier that best suits the access frequency of the data. Highly accessed data can be moved non-disruptively to a higher tier, and likewise cooler data is moved to a lower tier (for example, to Nearline drives). To learn more, see the Easy Tier e-Learning module in IBM Knowledge Center.
The IBM® DS8880 command-line interface (DS CLI) can be used to create, delete, modify, and view Copy Services functions and the logical configuration of a storage unit. These tasks can be performed either interactively, in batch processes (operating system shell scripts), or in DS CLI script files. A DS CLI script file is a text file that contains one or more DS CLI commands and can be issued as a single command. DS CLI can be used to manage logical configuration, Copy Services configuration, and other functions for a storage unit, including managing security settings, querying point-in-time performance information or status of physical resources, and exporting audit logs.
The DS8000 Storage Management GUI is a web-based GUI that is installed on the Hardware Management Console (HMC). You can access the DS8000 Storage Management GUI from any network-attached system by using a supported web browser. You can also access the DS8880 through the IBM Spectrum Control GUI. IBM Spectrum Control is an integrated software solution that can help you improve and centralize the management of your storage environment through the integration of products. With IBM Spectrum Control, it is possible to manage and fully configure multiple DS8880® systems from a single point of control. Note: IBM Spectrum Control is not required for the operation of DS8880, however, it is recommended.
You can use the DS8000 Storage Management GUI to create and manage fixed block, or FB, volumes on open systems. An open system is a system whose characteristics comply with industry standards and therefore can be connected to other systems complying with the same standards. Applied to the DS8880 storage system family, such systems are those hosts that connect to the DS8880 system through SCSI or FCP protocols. All major server types are supported, including a variety of operating systems and hardware platforms such as IBM SAN Volume Controller, IBM® Power Systems™, IBM i servers, as well as Microsoft Windows servers, and Linux platforms. For the latest interoperability information, visit the IBM System Storage Interoperation Center.
You can also create CKD LCUs and volumes for use with DS8880 storage system family disk systems. If you are allocating storage for z System host systems, you must create logical volumes to be used by specific host systems. The format for these volumes is count key data (or CKD). On z System hosts, a logical subsystem (or LSS) is a group of CKD volumes that are associated with a logical control unit image (or LCU).
The I/O Priority Manager function can help you effectively manage quality of service levels for each application running on your system. This function aligns distinct service levels to separate workloads in the system to help maintain the efficient performance of each DS8880 volume. The I/O Priority Manager detects when a higher-priority application is hindered by a lower-priority application that is competing for the same system resources. This detection might occur when multiple applications request data from the same drives. When I/O Priority Manager encounters this situation, it delays lower-priority I/O data to assist the more critical I/O data in meeting its performance targets. Use this function to consolidate more workloads on your system and to ensure that your system resources are aligned to match the priority of your applications. Note: The default setting for this feature is disabled. If the I/O Priority Manager LIC key is activated, you can enable I/O Priority Manager on the Advanced tab of the System settings page in the DS8000 Storage Management GUI.
In this topic, you learned about some of the advanced features and functions available with the DS8880 series. This IBM disk system is designed to deliver the highest levels of reliability, performance, ease of use, scalability, and total overall value for the most demanding, heterogeneous storage environments. To learn more, see the other e-Learning modules or other topics in IBM Knowledge Center.