This IBM® Redbooks® publication helps administrators and technical professionals understand Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) and how to implement it for use with IBM Storwize® storage systems. iSCSI can be used alone or with other technologies. This publication provides an overview of the iSCSI protocol and helps you understand how it is similar to and different from Fibre Channel (FC) technology. It helps you plan and design your network topology. It explains how to configure your IBM Storwize storage systems and hosts (including IBM AIX®, Linux, VMware, and Microsoft Windows hosts) to interact with it. It also provides an overview of using IBM Storwize storage systems with OpenStack. This book describes configuring iSCSI for IBM Storwize and SAN Volume Controller storage systems at Version 7.6 or later. In addition to configuration, this publication provides information about performance and troubleshooting.

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.

High-speed I/O workloads are moving away from the SAN to Ethernet and IBM® Spectrum Scale is pushing the network limits. The IBM Spectrum® Scale team discovered that many infrastructure Ethernet networks that were used for years to support various applications are not designed to provide a high-performance data path concurrently to many clients from many servers. IBM Spectrum Scale is not the first product to use Ethernet for storage access. Technologies, such as Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), scale out NAS, and IP connected storage (iSCSI and others) use Ethernet though IBM Spectrum Scale as the leader in parallel I/O performance, which provides the best performance and value when used on a high-performance network. This IBM Redpaper publication is based on lessons that were learned in the field by deploying IBM Spectrum Scale on Ethernet and InfiniBand networks. This IBM Redpaper® publication answers several questions, such as, "How can I prepare my network for high performance storage?", "How do I know when I am ready?", and "How can I tell what is wrong?" when deploying IBM Spectrum Scale and IBM Elastic Storage® Server (ESS). This document can help IT architects get the design correct from the beginning of the process. It also can help the IBM Spectrum Scale administrator work effectively with the networking team to quickly resolve issues.

Businesses of all sizes are faced with the challenge of managing huge volumes of data that are becoming increasingly valuable. But storing this data can be costly, and extracting value from the data is becoming more and more difficult. IT organizations have limited resources and cannot afford to make investment mistakes. The IBM® Storwize® V3500 system provides a smarter solution that is affordable, simple, and efficient, which enables businesses to overcome their storage challenges. IBM Storwize V3500 is the most recent addition to the IBM Storwize family of disk systems. It delivers easy-to-use, entry-level configurations that are specifically designed to meet the modest budgets of small and medium-sized businesses. IBM Storwize V3500 features the following highlights: - Consolidate and share data with low cost iSCSI storage networking. - Deploy storage in minutes and perform storage management tasks quickly and easily through a breakthrough graphical user interface. - Experience peace of mind with proven IBM Storwize family high-availability data protection with snapshot technology and IBM warranty support. - Optimize efficiency by allocating only the amount of disk space needed at the time it is required with high performance, thin-provisioning capabilities.

Continuing its commitment to developing and delivering industry-leading storage technologies, IBM® introduces the IBM Storwize® V7000 solution powered by IBM SpectrumTM Virtualize. This innovative storage offering delivers essential storage efficiency technologies and exceptional ease of use and performance, all integrated into a compact, modular design that is offered at a competitive, midrange price. The IBM Storwize V7000 solution incorporates some of the top IBM technologies that are typically found only in enterprise-class storage systems, which raises the standard for storage efficiency in midrange disk systems. This cutting-edge storage system extends the comprehensive storage portfolio from IBM and can help change the way organizations address the ongoing information explosion. This IBM Redbooks® publication introduces the features and functions of the IBM Storwize V7000 and IBM Spectrum VirtualizeTM V8.2.1 system through several examples. This book is aimed at pre-sales and post-sales technical support and marketing and storage administrators. It helps you understand the architecture of the Storwize V7000, how to implement it, and how to take advantage of its industry-leading functions and features.

Organizations of all sizes face the challenge of managing massive volumes of increasingly valuable data. But storing this data can be costly, and extracting value from the data is becoming more difficult. IT organizations have limited resources but must stay responsive to dynamic environments and act quickly to consolidate, simplify, and optimize their IT infrastructures. The IBM® Storwize® V5000 Gen2 system provides a smarter solution that is affordable, easy to use, and self-optimizing, which enables organizations to overcome these storage challenges. The Storwize V5000 Gen2 delivers efficient, entry-level configurations that are designed to meet the needs of small and midsize businesses. Designed to provide organizations with the ability to consolidate and share data at an affordable price, the Storwize V5000 Gen2 offers advanced software capabilities that are found in more expensive systems. This IBM Redbooks® publication is intended for pre-sales and post-sales technical support professionals and storage administrators. It applies to the Storwize V5030, V5020, and V5010, and to IBM Spectrum VirtualizeTM V8.2.1.

Continuing its commitment to developing and delivering industry-leading storage technologies, IBM® introduces the IBM FlashSystem® solution that is powered by IBM Spectrum® Virtualize V8.4. This innovative storage offering delivers essential storage efficiency technologies and exceptional ease of use and performance, all integrated into a compact, modular design that is offered at a competitive, midrange price. The solution incorporates some of the top IBM technologies that are typically found only in enterprise-class storage systems, which raises the standard for storage efficiency in midrange disk systems. This cutting-edge storage system extends the comprehensive storage portfolio from IBM and can help change the way organizations address the ongoing information explosion. This IBM Redbooks® publication introduces the features and functions of an IBM Spectrum Virtualize V8.4 system through several examples. This book is aimed at pre-sales and post-sales technical support and marketing and storage administrators. It helps you understand the architecture, how to implement it, and how to take advantage of its industry-leading functions and features.