"Do everything that is necessary and absolutely nothing that is not." In this IBM® Redbooks® publication, which is an update and major revision of the previous version, we have consolidated as much of the critical information as possible while discussing procedures and tasks that are likely to be encountered on a daily basis. Each of the products described has much more functionality than we could cover in just one book. The IBM SAN portfolio is rich in quality products that bring a vast amount of technicality and vitality to the SAN world. Their inclusion and selection is based on a thorough understanding of the storage networking environment that positions IBM, and therefore its customers and partners, in an ideal position to take advantage by their deployment. We discuss the latest additions to the IBM/Cisco SAN family and we show how they can be implemented in an open systems environment, focusing on the Fibre Channel protocol (FCP) environment. We address some of the key concepts that they bring to the market, and in each case, we give an overview of those functions that are essential to building a robust SAN environment.

This IBM® Redbooks® publication introduces the products, concepts, and technology in the IBM System StorageTM SAN Routing portfolio, which is based on Cisco products and technology. It also discusses the features of each product, and offers examples of how you can deploy and use them. The book targets storage network administrators, system designers, architects, and IT professionals who sell, design, or administer SANs. The rapid spread and adoption of production storage area networks (SANs) has fueled the need for multiprotocol routers. The routers provide improved scalability, security, and manageability by enabling devices in separate SAN fabrics to communicate without merging fabrics into a single, large SAN fabric. This capability enables clients to initially deploy separate SAN solutions at the departmental and data center levels. Then, clients can consolidate these separate solutions into large enterprise SAN solutions as their experience and requirements grow and change. Alternatively, multiprotocol routers can help to connect existing enterprise SANs for a variety of reasons. For example, the introduction of Small Computer System Interface over IP (iSCSI) provides for the connection of low-end, low-cost hosts to enterprise SANs. The use of an Internet Protocol (IP) in the Fibre Channel (FC) environment provides for resource consolidation and disaster recovery planning over long distances. And the use of FC-FC routing services provides connectivity between two or more fabrics without having to merge them into a single SAN. To derive the maximum benefit from this book, you should already be familiar with SANs. Otherwise, we recommend that you first read the following IBM Redbooks publications: IBM TotalStorage: SAN Product, Design, and Optimization Guide, SG24-6384 Introduction to Storage Area Networks, SG24-5470 Implementing an IBM/Cisco SAN, SG24-7545

Booting servers from a storage area network (SAN) is being used increasingly in complex data center environments today, due to its significant benefits over the traditional method of booting from local disks. SAN Boot enables organizations to maximize consolidation of their IT resources, minimize their equipment costs, and realize the considerable management benefits of centralizing the boot process. In SAN Boot, you can deploy diskless servers in an environment where the boot disk is located on (often RAID-capable) storage connected to the SAN. The server (initiator) communicates with the storage device (target) through the SAN using the Fibre Channel host bus adapter (HBA). The system downtime is greatly minimized in case a critical component such as a processor, memory, or host bus adapter fails and needs to be replaced. The system administrator needs to swap only the hardware and reconfigure the HBA's BIOS, switch zoning, and host-port definitions on the storage server. The system image still exists on the logical drive, therefore the server is fully operational after the hardware swap and configuration change is completed. This IBM® Redbooks® publication can help you with the SAN Boot implementation. We present various SAN Boot scenarios using IBM System Storage® products that include DS5000, DS8000®, XIV®, and SVC. The operating systems that are covered include Windows 2008, Red Hat Linux, SUSE Linux, and VMware.

This IBM® Redbooks® publication is an IBM and Cisco collaboration that articulates how IBM and Cisco can bring the benefits of their respective companies to the modern data center. It documents the architectures, solutions, and benefits that can be achieved by implementing a data center based on IBM server, storage, and integrated systems, with the broader Cisco network. We describe how to design a state-of-the art data center and networking infrastructure combining Cisco and IBM solutions. The objective is to provide a reference guide for customers looking to build an infrastructure that is optimized for virtualization, is highly available, is interoperable, and is efficient in terms of power and space consumption. It will explain the technologies used to build the infrastructure, provide use cases, and give guidance on deployments.

In this IBM® Redbooks® publication, we compiled best practices for planning, designing, implementing, and maintaining IBM Midrange Storage Solutions. In this publication, we use IBM System Storage® DS5000 storage subsystem for the implementation procedures, and the same procedures can be used for implementations with DCS3700 or DS3500 storage subsystems. We also compiled configurations for a VMware ESX and VMware ESXi Server host environment. Setting up an IBM Midrange Storage Subsystem is a challenging task. Our principal objective in this book is to provide you with a sufficient overview to effectively enable storage area network (SAN) storage and VMware. There is no single configuration that is satisfactory for every application or situation. However, the effectiveness of the VMware implementation is enabled by careful planning and consideration. Although the compilation of this publication is derived from an actual setup and verification, we did not stress test or test for all possible use cases that are used in a limited configuration assessment. Because of the highly customizable nature of a VMware ESXi host environment, you must consider your specific environment and equipment to achieve optimal performance from an IBM Midrange Storage Subsystem. When you are weighing the recommendations in this publication, you must start with the first principles of input/output (I/O) performance tuning. Each environment is unique and the correct settings that are used depend on the specific goals, configurations, and demands for the specific environment. This publication is intended for technical professionals who want to deploy VMware ESXi and VMware ESX Servers with IBM Midrange Storage Subsystems.

This IBM® Redbooks® publication represents a compilation of best practices for deploying and configuring the IBM System Storage® DS5000 Series family of products. This book is intended for IBM technical professionals, Business Partners, and customers responsible for the planning, deployment, and maintenance of the IBM System Storage DS5000 Series family of products. We realize that setting up DS5000 Storage Servers can be a complex task. There is no single configuration that will be satisfactory for every application or situation. First, we provide a conceptual framework for understanding the hardware in a Storage Area Network. Then, we offer our guidelines, hints, and tips for the physical installation, cabling, and zoning, using the Storage Manager setup tasks. Next, we provide a quick guide to help you install and configure the DS5000 using best practices. After that, we turn our attention to the performance and tuning of various components and features, including numerous guidelines. We look at performance implications for various application products such as IBM DB2®, Oracle, IBM Tivoli® Storage Manager, Microsoft SQL server, and in particular, Microsoft Exchange server. Then we review the various tools available to simulate workloads and to measure, collect, and analyze performance data. We also consider the IBM AIX® environment, including IBM High Availability Cluster Multiprocessing (HACMPTM) and IBM General Parallel File System (GPFSTM). This edition of the book also includes guidelines for managing and using the DS5000 with the IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller (SVC) and IBM Storwize® V7000.

This IBM® Redbooks® publication represents a compilation of best practices for deploying and configuring IBM Midrange System StorageTM servers, which include the DS4000® and the DS5000 family of products. This book is intended for IBM technical professionals, Business Partners, and customers responsible for the planning, deployment, and maintenance of the IBM Midrange System Storage family of products. We realize that setting up DS4000 and DS5000 Storage Servers can be a complex task. There is no single configuration that will be satisfactory for every application or situation. First, we provide a conceptual framework for understanding the hardware in a Storage Area Network. Then we offer our guidelines, hints, and tips for the physical installation, cabling, and zoning, using the Storage Manager setup tasks. After that, we turn our attention to the performance and tuning of various components and features, including numerous guidelines. We look at performance implications for various application products such as DB2®, Oracle, Tivoli® Storage Manager, Microsoft® SQL server, and in particular, Microsoft Exchange with IBM Midrange System Storage servers. Then we review the various tools available to simulate workloads and to measure, collect, and analyze performance data. We also consider the AIX® environment, including High Availability Cluster Multiprocessing (HACMPTM) and General Parallel File System (GPFSTM). Finally, we provide a quick guide to the storage server installation and configuration using best practices. This edition of the book also includes guidelines for managing and using the DS4000 and DS5000 with the IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller (SVC).