IBM United States
Hardware Announcement 103-037
February 17, 2003

IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server Delivers “Bluefin” Support (SNIA SMIS) with the ESS API, and Enhances Linux Support and Interoperability

ENUS103-037.PDF (40KB)

At a Glance

New features and functions for the ESS are designed to help improve business efficiency and continuity:

ESS API supports LUN management activities through the use of the Bluefin interface as defined by the SNIA Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMIS).
New connectivity, solutions, and interoperability options for IBM zSeries and S/390 environments running the Linux operating system:
- FICON connectivity.
- FlashCopy and PPRC support.
- New Linux distributions.
Fibre Channel attachment for SGI Origin servers with IRIX.
72.8 GB, 15,000 rpm disk drives (Model 800 only).

For ordering, contact:

Your IBM representative, an IBM Business Partner, or the Americas Call Centers at 800-IBM-CALL (Reference: YE001).

Overview

The IBM TotalStorage™ Enterprise Storage Server™ (ESS) Models 800, F20, and F10 are enhanced with the following new functions designed to improve business efficiency and continuity:

The ESS Application Program Interface (ESS API), which can help simplify ESS administration and reduce the total cost of ownership by enabling ESS LUN management activities through implementation of the Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMIS), "Bluefin," as defined by the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA).
New connectivity, solutions, and interoperability options for IBM zSeries™ and S/390^® environments running the Linux operating system with support for:
- FICON™ to provide increased per channel bandwidth and greater simplicity of the channel fabric.
- FlashCopy^®, a point-in-time copy capability for logical volumes.
- Peer to Peer Remote Copy (PPRC), a hardware-based disaster recovery solution designed to provide real-time synchronous mirroring of logical volumes.
- New Linux distributions.
Fibre Channel attachment for SGI Origin servers with the IRIX operating system.

The ESS Model 800 is enhanced with support for 72.8 GB, 15,000 rpm disk drives, offering new levels of throughput and performance for high-capacity configurations.

Additionally, for all ESS models, the ESCON^® host attachment cable options (specify and priced) have been expanded. The ordering process has also been modified to now require the selection of a specify cable feature when ordering ESCON host adapters.

Preview: To provide additional flexibility, IBM plans to support the intermixing of 15,000 rpm drives with lower rpm drives of the same capacity within ESS Models 800, F10, and F20.

All statements regarding IBM's plans, directions, and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice. Availability, prices, ordering information, and terms and conditions will be provided when the product is announced for general availability.

Key Prerequisites

All features and functions in this announcement are supported on the ESS Models 800, F10, and F20, except as noted below, and require ESS Licensed Internal Code (LIC) level 2.1.1, or later.

72.8 GB, 15,000 rpm drives are supported on the Model 800 only.

Planned Availability Date

February 21, 2003

ESCON host attachment cable feature numbers 28xx, announced on October 22, 2002, are now planned to be available on February 21, 2003.

Description

ESS API

The ESS API presents yet another option for ESS management, complementing the IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server Specialist Web-based interface and the ESS Command Line Interface (CLI), to provide the flexibility for building efficiency and continuity into storage management processes. The ESS API can help simplify ESS administration and reduce total cost of ownership by enabling ESS LUN management activities through the implementation of the SNIA Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMIS).

The API can also help enable the integration of ESS configuration management support into industry-leading storage resource management (SRM) applications, allowing customers to leverage and exploit their investment in existing SRM applications and infrastructures. The API can also help enable configuration management automation through their integration into customer-written applications.

SMIS, which is based on the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) Common Information Model (CIM) and Web Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) technology, defines a common interface for the discovery and management of resources in a multi-vendor storage area network (SAN). With the SMIS interface, customers and vendors can develop applications to a single standard interface, eliminating the current requirement for developing to device-unique, proprietary interfaces.

The initial release of the ESS API supports routine LUN management activities, such as LUN creation, mapping, and masking. It is implemented through the IBM TotalStorage Common Information Model Agent (CIM Agent) for the ESS, a middleware application that provides a CIM-compliant interface.

The ESS API and CIM Agent are provided with the ESS at no additional charge. The CIM Agent is available for the AIX^®, Linux, and Windows^® 2000 operating system environments.

Today's announcement fulfills the ESS API Preview announcement. Refer to Hardware Announcement 102-279 , dated October 22, 2002, IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server Offers New Price/Performance Options with 145.6 GB Drives and Simplified Storage Administration with CLI.

New Connectivity, Solutions, and Interoperability Options for zSeries and S/390 Environments

FICON Extends the Performance Benefits of the ESS: Native FICON connection over short-wave or long-wave fibre links has been extended to zSeries or S/390 servers running the Linux operating system.

FICON extends the ESS's ability to deliver high bandwidth potential to the logical volumes needing it, when they need it. Older technologies are limited by the bandwidth of a single disk drive or a single ESCON channel, but FICON provides a high-speed pipe with multiplexed operation.

FICON offers increased per channel bandwidth that supports significant improvements in single stream sequential throughput (as much as two times as compared to ESCON). As a result, elapsed time for batch, data mining, or dump operations can be substantially improved, providing potential relief for customers whose batch or file maintenance windows are constrained.
The data rate offered by FICON during the data transfer portion of response time is more than five times faster than ESCON, which can help improve response time and reduce connect time. The larger the transfer, the greater the typical reduction as a percentage of the total I/O response time.
FICON can help reduce or eliminate the pend time caused by busy director ports. For customers whose ESCON directors are experiencing as much as 45-50% busy conditions, this can provide significant response time reduction.
Whereas ESCON channels can process only one operation at a time, FICON channels can process multiple concurrent data transfers.
With FICON, the ESS accepts multiple channel command words (CCWs) concurrently without waiting for completion of the previous CCW.
For those customers who access their disk systems remotely, FICON helps reduce or eliminate data rate "droop" for distances up to 100 km for both read and write operations by using enhanced data buffering and pacing schemes.

FICON also provides greater simplicity for the channel fabric. With support for more devices per channel (up to 16,384) and more logical subsystems per channel to match the increased channel bandwidth, ESCON channels can be consolidated into FICON channels at the rate of approximately 4:1. A well-configured ESS will typically need no more than eight FICON channel interfaces in order to exploit the bandwidth.

New Business Continuance Options with FlashCopy and PPRC: Support for the ESS FlashCopy and PPRC functions is now available for zSeries or S/390 servers running the Linux operating system.

FlashCopy is designed to provide a point-in-time copy capability for logical volumes. FlashCopy creates a physical point-in-time copy of the data, with minimal interruption to applications, and makes it possible to access both the source and target copies almost immediately. FlashCopy is an optional feature on the ESS.
PPRC is a hardware-based disaster recovery solution designed to provide real-time mirroring of logical volumes within an ESS or between two ESSs that can be located up to 103 km from each other. PPRC is a synchronous copy solution where write operations are completed on both copies (primary and secondary ESS) before they are considered to be done. PPRC is an optional feature on the ESS.
PPRC Extended Distance (PPRC-XD) offers a nonsynchronous long-distance copy option whereby write operations to the primary ESS are considered complete before they are transmitted to the secondary ESS. The nonsynchronous operation can result in a "fuzzy copy" at the secondary site; however, through operational procedures, a point-in-time consistent copy at the remote site can be created which is suitable for data migration, backup, and disaster recovery purposes. PPRC-XD can operate at very long distances — distances well beyond the 103 km supported with PPRC synchronous transmissions — with the distance typically limited only by the capabilities of the network and channel extension technologies. PPRC-XD support is included at no additional charge with PPRC.

Both FlashCopy and PPRC are managed for this environment using the ESS Specialist.

ESS Interoperability Enhanced with New Linux Distributions: The ESS is interoperable with new distributions of the Linux operating system running on zSeries and S/390 servers through FICON and ESCON channel attachment. Refer to the ESS Interoperability Matrix for details:

http://www.ibm.com/storage/hardsoft/products/ess/supserver.htm

Fibre Channel Attachment for SGI Origin Servers with IRIX

The extensive interoperability of the ESS has been expanded to include Fibre Channel attachment of SGI Origin servers with the IRIX operating system. This interoperability allows an ESS to connect to nonclustered SGI servers using switched fabric topology through SGI Fibre Channel host bus adapters and the IBM TotalStorage SAN Switch. The ESS can also connect directly to an SGI server using the arbitrated loop topology.

72.8 GB, 15,000 rpm Drives Offer New Price/Performance Options for the Model 800

The 72.8 GB, 15,000 rpm drive offers levels of throughput and performance that can translate into substantial price/performance benefits for the entire system. For example, a Model 800 ESS populated with eight RAID 5 ranks of 72.8 GB 15,000 rpm drives can provide up to 25% better service time for a cache standard workload than a similarly configured ESS with comparable capacity, 16 ranks of 36 GB 10,000 rpm drives. The 15,000 rpm 72.8 GB drives also allow up to 20% greater random throughput than the 10,000 rpm 72.8 GB drives. Thus, these new drives can help you process your workloads at significantly higher access densities, without performance degradation.

The new levels of performance and throughput provided by the 15,000 rpm drives can lead to cost savings. For disk-intensive workloads, fewer disk drives may be required to achieve high disk utilization rates. Improved service times can lead to shorter batch processing windows or improved productivity because transactions complete more quickly.

This new drive is also available for purchase under the "A Step Ahead" program. A Step Ahead is designed for customers who have dynamic or unpredictable growth or for those who simply want additional storage capacity to be available when it is needed.

Additional ESCON Host Attachment Cable Options Now Available

For all ESS models, additional ESCON host attachment cable options are available to specify the type of cable automatically shipped with the ESCON Host Adapter feature numbers 3011 and 3012. These new cables are also available as optional features to the ESS.

The ordering process has also been modified to now require the selection of a specify cable feature when ordering ESCON host adapters.

Refer to Planning Information — Cable Orders in the supplemental information for additional details on cable options and the ordering process.

Note: For ESCON Host Adapter feature number 3013 on the Model 800, the following additional ESCON host attachment cable options were made available in January 2003:

Feature number 9770: Standard ESCON Cable (MT-RJ/ESCON Duplex)
Feature number 9771: Plenum-Rated ESCON Cable (MT-RJ/ESCON Duplex)
Feature number 9775: 2m ESCON Conversion Cable (MT-RJ/ESCON Duplex)

Reference Information

Refer to Hardware Announcement 102-201 , dated July 15, 2002, IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server Model 800.

Refer to Hardware Announcement 102-279 , dated October 22, 2002, IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server Offers New Price/Performance Options with 145.6 GB Drives and Simplified Storage Administration with CLI.

Trademarks

: The e-business logo, Enterprise Storage Server, TotalStorage, zSeries, FICON, IBM eServer, iSeries, pSeries, and xSeries are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States or other countries or both.
: S/390, FlashCopy, ESCON, and AIX are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States or other countries or both.
: Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
: Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.

Publications

The following publication has been updated to reflect this announcement:

                                                            Order
Title                                                       Number
 
IBM TotalStorage(TM) Enterprise Storage                     GC26-7444
 Server Introduction and Planning Guide

The following new publication will be available with the planned availability of the ESS API:

                                                            Order
Title                                                       Number
 
IBM TotalStorage Common Information                         GC35-0485
 Model Agent for the Enterprise
 Storage Server: Installation and
 Configuration Guide

Publications shipped with the ESS will be updated to reflect this announcement with planned availability of the features and functions in this announcement.

These publications, as well as other ESS publications, are available at:

http://www.ibm.com/storage/support/ess

Publications can be ordered from your IBM representative, by direct order, or through the Publication Notification System (PNS) Web site at:

http://www.ibm.com/shop/publications/pns/

The Publications Center is a worldwide central repository for IBM product publications and marketing material. This site offers customized search functions to locate publications. This site also offers access to the Publication Notification System (PNS), a site where you can subscribe to receive e-mail notifications regarding new or revised publications that are of interest to you.

The Publications Center can be accessed at:

http://www.ibm.com/shop/publications/order

Technical Information

Specified Operating Environment

Hardware and Software Requirements: The ESS ships with IBM Licensed Internal Code (LIC) that is licensed for use by a customer on a specific machine, designated by serial number, under the terms and conditions of the IBM Customer Agreement or the IBM Agreement for Licensed Internal Code.

All features and functions in this announcement are supported on the ESS Models 800, F20, and F10, except as noted below, and require ESS Licensed Internal Code (LIC) level 2.1.1, or later.

72.8 GB, 15,000 rpm drives are supported on the Model 800 only.

Refer to the ESS Interoperability Matrix for a list of interoperable environments and configurations, including minimum operating system levels for the functions included in this announcement:

http://www.ibm.com/storage/hardsoft/products/ess/supserver.htm

Limitations: The ESS supports the intermixing of 10,000 rpm and 15,000 rpm Disk Eight-Pack features subject to the following limitations:

For a given capacity, the 15,000 rpm Disk Eight-Pack features (#214x and #215x) cannot be intermixed with 10,000 rpm Disk Eight-Pack features (#212x and #213x) of the same capacity.
- Feature numbers 2142 and 2152 (18.2 GB, 15,000 rpm) cannot be intermixed with #2122 or #2132 (18.2 GB, 10,000 rpm).
- Feature numbers 2143 and 2153 (36.4 GB, 15,000 rpm) cannot be intermixed with #2123 or #2133 (36.4 GB, 10,000 rpm).
- Feature numbers 2144 and 2154 (72.8 GB, 15,000 rpm) cannot be intermixed with #2124 or #2134 (72.8 GB, 10,000 rpm).

To install 15,000 rpm Disk Eight-Pack features into an ESS that already contains Disk Eight-Pack features of the same capacity (but at 10,000 rpm), those existing Disk Eight-Pack features must first be converted either to 15,000 rpm Disk Eight-Pack features (of the same capacity) or to Disk Eight-Pack features of a different capacity using the Disk Eight-Pack feature conversions.

Planning Information

Customer Responsibilities

Physical Configuration Planning: Your disk marketing specialist can help you plan and select the ESS physical configuration and features. Introductory information, including required and optional features, can be found in the IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server™ Introduction and Planning Guide (GC26-7444).

Capacity and performance planning assistance is also available. Through the use of Disk Magic, your disk marketing specialist can help you plan and anticipate performance characteristics for specific workloads by modelling proposed configurations.

Installation Planning: Installation planning is a customer responsibility. Information about planning the installation of your ESS, including equipment, site, and power requirements, can be found in the IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server Introduction and Planning Guide (GC26-7444).

Logical Configuration Planning and Application: Logical configuration planning is a customer responsibility. Logical configuration refers to the creation of RAID ranks, volumes, and/or LUNs, and the assignment of the configured capacity to servers.

During the ESS installation, your disk marketing specialist can help you plan your initial logical configuration, and IBM will apply the logical configuration to the machine.

Following the ESS installation, all modifications to the logical configuration are a customer responsibility and are performed using the IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server Specialist. IBM Global Services (IGS) will also modify the logical configuration (fee-based services).

Refer to the following publications for additional information:

IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server Configuration Planner for Open Systems Hosts (SC26-7477)
IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server Configuration Planner for S/390^® and IBM zSeries™ Hosts (SC26-7476)
IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server Web Interface User's Guide (SC26-7448)

ESS API: For information on the ESS API, including ESS object classes and their properties, refer to the IBM TotalStorage Common Information Model Agent for the Enterprise Storage Server: Installation and Configuration Guide (GC35-0485).

Cable Orders

Host Attachment Cables for ESCON^® Host Adapters (#3011 and #3012): An ESCON cable is required to attach the ESCON Host Adapters to ESCON channels on zSeries and S/390 servers or ESCON directors. These adapters support the use of 62.5 micron multi-mode fiber optic cable terminated with an industry-standard ESCON Duplex connector.

Two 31-meter ESCON cables (62.5 micron) are automatically shipped with each ESCON Host Adapter and are specified using the following features:

#9770: ESCON Cable (MT-RJ/ESCON Duplex connectors)
#9771: Plenum-Rated ESCON Cable (MT-RJ/ESCON Duplex connectors)
#9780: ESCON Cable (ESCON Duplex connectors)
#9781: Plenum-Rated ESCON Cable (ESCON Duplex connectors)

Each feature ships two cables; only one feature can be specified per ESCON Host Adapter feature. ESCON cables will not be shipped when a cable feature is not specified.

Additional cables can be ordered with using the optional (priced) cable features (#28xx).

Host Attachment Cables for 64-bit ESCON Host Adapter (#3013): An ESCON cable is required to attach the 64-bit ESCON Host Adapter to ESCON channels on zSeries and S/390 servers or ESCON directors. The adapter supports the use of 62.5 micron multi-mode fiber optic cable terminated with a small form factor, industry standard MT-RJ connector.

Two ESCON cables (62.5 micron) are automatically shipped with each 64-bit ESCON Host Adapter and are specified using the following features:

#9770: ESCON Cable (31 meter, MT-RJ/ESCON Duplex connectors)
#9771: Plenum-Rated ESCON Cable (31 meter, MT-RJ/ESCON Duplex connectors)
#9775: ESCON Conversion Cable (2 meter, MT-RJ/connector and ESCON Duplex receptacle)
#9790: ESCON Cable (31 meter, MT-RJ connectors)
#9791: Plenum-Rated ESCON Cable (31 meter, MT-RJ connectors)

Each feature ships two cables; only one feature can be specified per 64-bit ESCON Host Adapter feature. ESCON cables will not be shipped when a cable feature is not specified.

Additional cables can be ordered using the optional (priced) cable features (#28xx).

Additional Cable Options Available from IBM Global Services: In many situations, the required lengths and installation of host attachment cables will be unique to each customer's configuration and facility specifications. Additional cable options and product support services offered by IBM Global Services' Networking Services can provide assistance for these unique cabling and installation requirements.

Direct Customer Support: Direct customer support for the 2105 ESS is provided by IBM Operational Support Services — Support Line. This fee service can enhance your productivity by providing voice and electronic access into the IBM support organization. IBM Operational Support Services — Support Line will help answer questions pertaining to product and feature usage ("how to"), configuration, and product compatibility for eligible products. For a list of the products supported via Support Line, visit the following Web site:

http://www.ibm.com/services/sl/products/

For more information on services, call 800-IBM-4YOU (426-4968).

Security, Auditability, and Control

This product uses the security and auditability features of the host hardware, host software, and/or application software to which it is attached.

The customer is responsible for evaluation, selection, and implementation of security features, administrative procedures, and appropriate controls in application systems and communications facilities.

Terms and Conditions

This product is available for purchase under the terms of the IBM Customer Agreement.

IBM hardware products are manufactured from new parts and used parts. In some cases, the hardware product may have been previously installed. Regardless, IBM's warranty terms apply.

MES Discount Applicable: No

Field-Installable Feature: Yes

Warranty Period: Three years

Customer Setup: No

Licensed Internal Code: Same license terms and conditions as designated machine.

Prices

Contact your IBM representative for charges information for this announcement.

Order Now

To order, contact the Americas Call Centers, your local IBM representative, or your IBM Business Partner.

To identify your local IBM representative or IBM Business Partner, call 800-IBM-4YOU (426-4968).

 Phone:     800-IBM-CALL (426-2255)
 Fax:       800-2IBM-FAX (242-6329)
 Internet:  ibm_direct@vnet.ibm.com
 Mail:      The Americas Call Centers
            Dept. YE001
            P.O. Box 2690
            Atlanta, GA  30301-2690
 
 Reference: YE001

The Americas Call Centers, our national direct marketing organization, can add your name to the mailing list for catalogs of IBM products.

Note: Shipments will begin after the planned availability date.