IBM XIV Storage System Gen3: Architecture, Implementation, and Usage

This IBM® Redbooks® publication describes the concepts, architecture, and implementation of the IBM XIV® Storage System.The XIV Storage System is a scalable enterprise storage system that is based on a grid array of hardware components. It can attach to both Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) and IP network Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) capable hosts. This system is a good fit for clients who want to be able to grow capacity without managing multiple tiers of storage. The XIV Storage System is suited for mixed or random access workloads, including online transaction processing, video streamings, images, email, and emerging workload areas, such as Web 2.0 and storage cloud.The focus of this edition is on the XIV Gen3 hardware Release 3.2, running Version 11.2 of the XIV system software. With this version, XIV Storage System offers up to five times the iSCSI throughput with new 10 GbE ports, a performance boost with new CPUs, and enhanced caching with optional solid-state drives (SSDs).The IBM XIV software Version 11.2 also offers support for Windows Server 2012, including space reclamation. And, the software enables drive rebuild times as fast as 26 minutes for a fully utilized 2 TB hard disk drive under heavy load.In the first few chapters of this book, we describe many of the unique and powerful concepts that form the basis of the XIV Storage System logical and physical architecture. We explain how the system is designed to eliminate direct dependencies between the hardware elements and the software that governs the system.In subsequent chapters, we explain the planning and preparation tasks that are required to deploy the system in your environment. A step-by-step procedure is presented that describes how to configure and administer the system. Illustrations are provided about how to perform those tasks by using the intuitive, yet powerful XIV Storage Manager GUI or the XIV command-line interface (XCLI).We describe the performance characteristics of the XIV Storage System and present options that are available for alerting and monitoring, including an enhanced secure remote support capability.This book is intended for IT professionals who want an understanding of the XIV Storage System. It also targets readers who need detailed advice on how to configure and use the system.