High Availability for Storage
IBM solutions for high availability of storage:
- Enterprise Storage Server (ESS)
- FAStT Storage Solutions
- Tivoli Storage Manager
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
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