IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server (ESS)

IBM ESS systems help set new standards in performance, automation and integration as well as capabilities that support continuous availability to data for the on demand world. This storage system also supports many advanced functions, which can be critical for increasing data availability during planned outages and for protecting data from planned and unplanned outages. These advanced functions can provide important disaster recovery and backup protection.

High availability to safeguard data access

Support for 24 x 7 operations is built into the ESS. The ability to implement RAID5 and RAID10 disk arrays helps provide data protection while remote copy technologies allow fast data backup and disaster recovery. The ESS features dual active processing clusters with failover switching, hot spares, hot-swappable disk drives, mirrored write cache and redundant power and cooling.

The ESS also contains integrated proactive self-diagnostics to help prevent downtime by constantly monitoring system functions.

For example, Predictive Failure Analysis can proactively notify you of pending issues with select hardware components so that you can remedy difficulties before they affect performance.

A technician can be dispatched to make repairs, often before the problem is noticed by data centre staff. Maintenance - including licensed internal code upgrades - typically can be performed without interrupting operations.

Virtually all types of servers can concurrently attach to the ESS - including S/390, Windows, Novell NetWare, iSeries, pSeries and many other types of UNIX servers.

As a result, the ESS is ideal for organisations with growing e-business operations that are being handled by multiple heterogeneous servers.

Replication Options

FlashCopy provides fast data duplication capability, which helps eliminate the need to stop applications for extended periods of time in order to perform backups and restores.

Peer-to-Peer Remote Copy maintains a synchronous copy (always up-to-date with the primary copy) of data in a remote location. This backup copy of data can be used to quickly recover from a failure in the primary system without losing any transactions-an optional capability that can literally keep your e-business applications running.

Extended Remote Copy (XRC) provides a copy of OS/390 data at a remote location (which can be connected using telecommunications lines at unlimited distances) to be used in case the primary storage system fails. The ESS enhances XRC with full support for unplanned outages. In the event of a telecommunications link failure, this optional function enables the secondary remote copy to be resynchronised quickly - without requiring duplication of all data from the primary location - for full disaster recovery protection.

Support for 24x7 operations is built into the IBM Enterprise Storage Server. RAID 5 disk arrays help provide data protection while remote copy technologies allow fast data backup and disaster recovery. The IBM Enterprise Storage Server is a high-performance RAID 5 storage server featuring dual active processing clusters with fail-over switching, hot spares, hot-swappable disk drives, and non-volatile fast write cache, and redundant power and cooling.

The ESS also contains integrated functions to help prevent storage server downtime by constantly monitoring system functions. If a potential problem is detected, the ESS automatically "calls home" to report the problem. A technician can be dispatched to make repairs, often before data centre staff notice the problem. Maintenance - including licensed internal code revisions - can typically be performed without interrupting operations.

The ESS is especially designed for e-business and other applications with unpredictable growth requirements. It provides unprecedented scalability (to over 55Tb) while maintaining excellent performance. Disk drives for the IBM Enterprise Storage Server are provided as integrated packages of eight disk drives (known as eight-packs). Disk drive capacities include 10,000 rpm 18.2GB, 36.4GB, 72.8GB and 145.6GB drives and 15,000 rpm 18.2GB, 36.4GB and 72.8GB drives.

IBM FAStT Storage Servers

The IBM FAStT Storage Server range deliver breakthrough disk performance and outstanding reliability for demanding applications in compute intensive environments.

High availability is critical in today's knowledge-based economy. The FAStT Storage Server is designed to support high availability, providing protection against component failures. On some models, dual hot-swap RAID controllers help provide high throughput and redundancy. Redundant and hot-swappable fans and power supplies, coupled with dynamic storage management provide further support for high availability.

Instead of purchasing multiple RAID controllers with their own dedicated disks and management, organisations can attach multiple servers to one central FAStT system, which is designed to provide hardware fail-over and common management.

Multiple FAStT systems can use a common pool of hot-spare disk drives as a cost-effective way of improving availability, even if the FAStT systems are attached to different servers.

Tivoli Storage Manager

As part of the IBM TotalStorage Open Software Family, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager protects your data from hardware failures and other errors by storing backup and archive copies of data on offline storage. Scaling to protect hundreds of computers running a dozen OS ranging from laptops to mainframes and connected together via the internet, WANs or LANs, Storage Manager's centralised web-based management, smart-data-move and store techniques and comprehensive policy-based automation all work together to minimise data protection administration costs and the impact to both computers and networks. Optional modules allow business-critical applications that must run 24x365 to utilise Storage Manager's centralised data protection with no interruption to their service.

Data backup and restore

Backups are copies of your active online data stored on offline storage. Should an online storage device fail, a data error occur or someone accidentally deletes a file, the offline copy of that data can be copied (restored) to online storage. IBM Tivoli Storage Manager uses multiple techniques to make data backups and restores as fast, flexible and low-impact as possible.

Managed data archive and retrieve

Data archives are copies of active or inactive data from online storage copied to offline storage. Archives are used to keep point-in-time copies of important data for regulatory or bookkeeping requirements and to move inactive data from expensive online storage to less-expensive offline storage. Managed data archives implemented by Storage Manager are managed for a defined lifetime through the policy-automation engine, just like backed-up data. The Storage Manager client can help quickly and easily retrieve the archived data, helping to effectively extend your data storage capabilities without the need for more expensive online storage.

Core Functions

IBM Tivoli Storage Manager's core functions include:

• Data backup and restore
• Managed data archive and retrieve
• Protection for 24x365 business-critical applications
• Support for small tape libraries (three drives and forty slots).

Attributes setting Tivoli Storage Manager apart:

• Centralised, comprehensive management
• Broad hardware support
• Intelligent data movement
• Intelligent data storage
• Policy-based automation