IBM's power software and solution guide

IBM Systems and Technology Group

IBM Systems Software

Unlocking the potential of IT to create smarter systems

Table of Contents

Introduction to IBM Systems Software 3

Platform Management and Energy 4
Overview 5
IBM Systems Director 6
IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager 7
IBM Tivoli Storage Productivity Center 8

Availability 9
Overview 10
IBM XIV Storage System 11
IBM Scale Out Network Attached Storage (SONAS) 12
IBM High-Performance Computing Open Source Software Stack 13
IBM PowerHA 14
IBM ProtecTIER 15

Virtualization 16
Overview 17
IBM Systems Director VMControl 18
IBM PowerVM 19
IBM Systems Director Network Control 20
IBM z/VM 21
IBM BladeCenter Open Fabric Manager 22
IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller 23

IBM Systems Software IBM Systems Software:
Realizing the value of smarter systems

In today’s information-driven economy, three key business hardware and operating systems. The result is greater business
Introduction challenges are coming to the forefront: service improvement, value from IT through the creation of a more capable infrastruc-
cost reduction and the management of risk. With organizations ture – one that is better able to meet the challenges of today’s
Platform Management and Energy
becoming more interconnected and dependent on real-time business environment.
Availability value and intelligence derived from new ways to use data, the
importance of robust IT systems cannot be underestimated. A new way of looking at IT
Virtualization But technology alone cannot effectively address these business For IT managers, this concept of technology and its role
imperatives. To meet these new demands, it is necessary to represents a new world view, one that focuses on optimizing
closely align IT with the business and make it a core part of the workloads and delivering IT services rather than performing
organization’s strategy. low-level management tasks. IBM Systems Software is a critical
enabler of this approach, providing efficient, consolidated man-
To achieve this important goal, a holistic approach to IT is agement of physical and virtual assets across the infrastructure.
needed; one that incorporates both the technology itself and IBM Systems Software solutions combine with and complement
the way in which it is employed. Systems need to be smarter – higher-level management platforms to provide comprehensive,
not just faster or less costly, but optimized for the needs and integrated service management that covers the full spectrum
workloads of today’s business. IT should be thought of in terms of value creation: from detailed platform management, to large-
of how it can enable the organization to become more agile scale resource optimization and alignment of IT with business
and competitive, by helping turn information into insight, deliver across the enterprise.
services better and faster, enable collaboration, drive efficiency
and manage risk. By centralizing, streamlining and automating system level
management tasks such as configuration and provisioning,
Smarter systems are created by combining technology with IBM Systems Software solutions can dramatically reduce cost
capable, streamlined and efficient systems management that and risk while improving service delivery, in a way not possible
makes extensive use of virtualization and automation, enabling with conventional approaches to IT management. Administrators
organizations to gain greater visibility and control of the infra- need not spend days or weeks bringing new resources online
structure. That’s the purpose of IBM Systems Software and its to respond to an outage or meet a new business need; with auto-
suite of solutions built to address critical IT needs including mated processes and virtualized technologies that are closely
platform and energy management, virtualization and availability. aligned and integrated with business priorities, needs can be
met immediately and without disruption.
IBM Systems Software closely aligns IT management solutions
with the IBM technology portfolio, allowing administrators to The ability to unlock the potential of technology is what IBM
make more effective use of the advanced features present in IBM Systems Software offers. It represents a vital link between IT
and the business–one that enables optimized business value
creation, more efficiently and effectively.
3


Overview 5
IBM Systems Director 6
IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager 7

Introduction to 3 Platform Management 4 Availability 9 Virtualization 16
IBM Systems Software and Energy

IBM Systems Software Platform Management and Energy overview

To achieve the ultimate goal of increased competitiveness that IBM System Software solutions for platform and energy manage-
Introduction smarter systems can provide, it is necessary to move beyond ment help IT administrators overcome this challenge, by bringing
the detailed management of systems – servers, storage and numerous functions and capabilities together to enable the
networks – to the optimization of workloads and the delivery of comprehensive management of IT resources from a single, uni-
Overview 5 high-value IT services in new ways. fied, simple point of control. Servers, storage and networks can
IBM Systems Director 6 all be viewed and managed from “a single pane of glass.” This
IBM Systems Director Active This is a different strategy for managers, one that is more aligned dramatically reduces costs and saves time, while increasing
Energy Manager 7
with the “business of business” and less focused on the “busi- effectiveness and speed of execution – which leads directly to
ness of IT.” To get there, IT administrators need a way to bridge improved business responsiveness.
Availability the gap between individual systems management and overall
infrastructure management provided by existing high-level man- In addition, centralized management improves service levels
Virtualization agement solutions. by automating and streamlining management tasks. Provision-
ing and configuration of virtualized server, storage and network
Streamlined, automated systems management directly resources is greatly simplified, enabling the rapid deployment
addresses key business concerns related to IT, such as the of new applications and workloads. What once might have taken
ability to more rapidly deploy services in response to business days or even weeks can now be accomplished in minutes.
needs, and the control of costs associated with capital expen-
diture and ongoing management. Leveraging advanced IBM The key to effective management is the ability to look across
technology and combining it with centralized systems manage- platforms and operating systems, without sacrificing the ability
ment even allows managers to reduce the cost of energy by to drill down to the individual device level and perform detailed
actively managing power consumption in the data center. management tasks. IBM System Software solutions improve
the ability to do this by embracing open industry standards
IT administrators are routinely faced with siloed systems and and offering a way to integrate into heterogeneous data
environments that must be managed in isolation using dedi- center environments.
cated, often proprietary solutions. The result is a disconnected
proliferation of management tools, interfaces, processes and This unified view of platform management will change the way
procedures that make the overall management task complex, IT administrators add value to the organization, by making it
cumbersome and time-consuming. Putting all the requisite possible for them to optimize workloads instead of spending
pieces in place becomes an exercise in juggling multiple, their time managing hardware, and enabling better, faster, more
sometimes conflicting priorities. flexible IT service delivery instead of devoting resources to
configuration and provisioning.

5

IBM Systems Software IBM Systems Director
Helps save 34 to 42 percent in administrative costs1 with management from a single pane of glass

Why it matters Additional functionality is provided using an open plug-in
Introduction Truly nimble IT can only be achieved by first integrating the sys- architecture making it easier for administrators to add capabili-
tems management task: providing a single console that spans ties while seamlessly integrating them with the Systems
the infrastructure to manage all IT resources, including physical Director interface. Systems Director is available separately as
Overview 5 assets, virtualized environments, storage and the network. It is a standalone product or packaged in Express, Standard and
IBM Systems Director 6 through this level of integration that workloads can be efficiently Enterprise editions, with increasing levels of capability to serve
IBM Systems Director Active optimized, flexibility achieved and new kinds of service delivery the spectrum of IT management needs. All include the core
Energy Manager 7
made to deliver business value. Systems Director application, with higher editions incorporating
additional plug-ins. The plug-ins are also available separately,
Availability The underlying challenge of platform management is complex- making future upgrades easy. All Systems Director Editions run
ity. Diverse IT environments have typically required a variety of on IBM Power Systems,™ while the Express Edition also supports
Virtualization separate tools to deal with countless discrete tasks, making the IBM System x.®
alignment and synchronization of IT resources difficult, and slow-
ing problem resolution. The Express Edition provides a clear view of the relationships
and status of IT components, giving the ability to reduce costs
The key value of IBM Systems Director is its ability to work in and improve availability by helping to identify and fix issues more
diverse IT environments, supporting multiple platforms and quickly. The Standard Edition builds on these capabilities with
operating systems, thanks to its basis in open standards. This monitoring and management of physical and virtual servers,
critically important capability is what allows businesses to derive storage, networks and energy usage, helping to simplify virtu-
the real benefits of centralized management, because it dramati- alization and energy management across the data center. The
cally reduces the number of management tools and interfaces, Enterprise Edition further enhances flexibility and workload
simplifying the way in which IT administrators perform their tasks. optimization with tools that help manage pools of virtualized
Power Systems servers as a single logical entity.
What it is
IBM Systems Director provides a core, comprehensive, unified Key takeaways
systems management platform that serves as the primary tool • Offers savings of 34 to 42 percent in administrative costs when
in the IT administrator’s arsenal. It is the single, central point of compared with unmanaged environments1
control and monitoring for all system resources, across the • Simplifies management tasks by providing cross-platform
entire infrastructure. It provides tools for discovery, inventory, monitoring, configuration and reporting tools
status, configuration, system health, resource monitoring, • Reduces cost and increases efficiency by streamlining
For more information
http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/ system updates, event notification and management automation. management through a single, unified interface
management/director/ It also allows administrators to tailor and optimize workloads by • Increases service levels by improving responsiveness and
allocating specific resources to specific tasks, delivering greater effectiveness of management
performance and improving service. • Speeds deployment by aligning management tasks
6

IBM Systems Software IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager
Helps reduce data center power costs by 15 to 50 percent

Why it matters It provides discovery, management and optimization of energy
Introduction A significant cost driver in today’s data centers is the use of usage, monitoring energy consumption and operating tempera-
power. Server sprawl and poor utilization lead to power con- ture of individual devices while offering pertinent metrics for
sumption that is far higher than it needs to be. For example, power distribution units and UPS devices.
Overview 5 a server running at 20 percent of capacity uses just as much
IBM Systems Director 6 electricity and requires just as much cooling as one running Active Energy Manager gives you the ability to not only exercise
IBM Systems Director Active at 80 percent. central control of this power-saving technology for your entire
Energy Manager 7
data center, but the intelligence you need to use it to its best
With the cost of IT taking on a higher profile in today’s eco- advantage. It lets you view historical trend data so you can spot
Availability nomic environment and increasing awareness of environmental how much energy is being used by each device and when.
concerns, the effective management of energy has become With that information you can associate power consumption
Virtualization more important than ever. Sound energy management takes a with specific servers and workloads, so you know when it’s
complete understanding of what’s actually going on in the data appropriate to curtail use.
center… from power consumption to temperature, right down to
the individual device level. By leveraging features built into IBM hardware, Active Energy
Manager can dynamically reduce energy consumption by limit-
The potential savings are considerable. For example, the largest ing the power a system is allowed to consume. As the load ap-
commercial data center in the world, operated by IBM, covers proaches a limit you set, the system will reduce its clock speed
more than eight million square feet. Through active energy and voltage of the processors to stay below the cap. The same
management, the company is expected to achieve a projected features can also be used to save energy across the board, by
savings of 5 billion kWh per year – an order of magnitude putting the systems into a low-power mode when the server’s full
more than any other IT company. And IBM data center energy performance is not needed.
assessments have confirmed that clients can save from 15 to 50
percent on energy through active management, with payback in Key takeaways
as little as two years. • Helps reduce data center power costs by 15 to 50 percent
through active energy management technologies such as
What it is power consumption capping
IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager is a plug-in • Provides real-time information on energy usage, giving
that integrates seamlessly with IBM Systems Director. It is the insight needed to effectively reduce power consumption
available pre-packaged with IBM Systems Director Standard • Leverages IBM hardware technology to actively manage
http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/software/ and Enterprise Editions. energy use by individual devices
director/aem/ • Integrates seamlessly with IBM Systems Director
to provide centralized management

7

IBM Systems Software IBM Tivoli Storage Productivity Center
Reduces service-level response times by up to 90 percent while identifying
resource-constrained applications

Why it matters administrators can plan for and execute new storage strategies
Introduction The virtualization of storage resources enables integrated before problems arise. Managers can also use this information
systems management and the optimization of workloads, helping to proactively manage the performance of the SAN, through the
businesses reach their goal of delivering the right IT services at enforcement of service levels.
Overview 5 the right time to the right users, quickly and efficiently. The use
IBM Systems Director 6 of Storage Area Networks (SANs) is a highly effective means of New technology from IBM Research provides a discrete, dedi-
IBM Systems Director Active storage virtualization, but alone it does not optimize the perfor- cated (out-of-band) storage optimization engine to efficiently
Energy Manager 7
mance and utilization of storage resources. optimize virtualized storage environments. Working in harmony
with SAN Volume Controller, Tivoli Storage Productivity Center
Availability Many SANs suffer from a high degree of management complex- can help quickly identify resource-constrained applications
ity, with hosts and storage devices from numerous vendors, and reduce service-level response times by an average of 48 to
Virtualization multiple operating systems, diverse file systems and different 90 percent.2
access methods all being used at the same time. Centralized
management that is able to look across systems and manage all Architected to ANSI SAN standards, Tivoli Storage Productivity
of them in a unified manner is key to the effective use of SANs Center helps companies to massively scale their storage
as the basis for a virtualized storage infrastructure – one of the networks using best-of-breed products to meet increasing busi-
foundations of smarter systems. ness requirements. SAN fabrics may also be divided into zones
for greater control by using the product’s built-in tools.
What it is
IBM Tivoli® Storage Productivity Center provides management Key takeaways
capabilities for diverse SANs that incorporate products from • Helps reduce service-level response times by an average of
multiple vendors. These capabilities help improve service 48 to 90 percent
levels by automating file system capacity provisioning and • Boosts workload optimization through enhanced, proactive
device configuration, which speeds deployment. In addition, management of storage area networks
Productivity Center enhances efficiency by helping to • Reduces cost and increases management effectiveness with
manage capacity utilization, file systems and databases. cross-platform capabilities
• Improves service by simplifying configuration and provisioning,
Automatic discovery of resources and topology further enabling resources to be brought into service more quickly
simplifies management, yielding a comprehensive view of the • Reduces risk by alerting IT administrators to resource-
entire storage infrastructure. Transparency is enhanced through constrained applications and potential storage bottlenecks
http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/storage/ real-time performance monitoring, analytics and alerting capa- before they become a problem
software/center/ bilities that notify administrators of potential bottlenecks and help
them understand usage and performance trends. Consequently,

8

Availability

Overview 10
IBM Scale Out Network Attached Storage (SONAS) 12
IBM High-Performance Computing Open Source Software Stack 13
IBM PowerHA 14
IBM ProtecTIER 15


IBM Systems Software Availability overview

A global economy that is highly interconnected and interdepen- As the number of systems and connections between them
Introduction dent is incredibly productive and responsive, but at the same increases, so do the number of potential points of failure. But,
time far more sensitive to service interruptions than it once was. it’s more than just sheer scale. The increasing interdependence
Even brief periods of downtime can have a dramatic impact. For between systems means that complexity also skyrockets,
Availability example, in 2003 Amazon.com suffered a service interruption making effective, timely management across the enterprise and
that lasted only an hour… yet by mid-afternoon that day, inves- beyond more critical. This is particularly true given the hetero-
Overview 10
tors were so shaken that its stock price had dipped by over four geneous nature of today’s computing landscape, with standalone
percent. From the point of view of users and customers, the systems, public and private clouds, and virtualized infrastruc-
IBM Scale Out Network
Attached Storage (SONAS) 12 source of the outage is irrelevant. What matters is that the service tures of all kinds coexisting and depending on one another to
IBM High-Performance Computing is unavailable. The gold standard is continuous, uninterrupted deliver services.
Open Source Software Stack 13 service, no matter what.
IBM PowerHA 14 Maintaining the highest levels of availability requires not only
IBM ProtecTIER 15 One way of maintaining high availability is to rely on robust, highly reliable hardware, but robust, fault-tolerant network,
redundant systems – a focused, technology-intensive approach system, application and process architectures, as well as auto-
Virtualization
that’s served mainframe users well for many years. But on a mated management that can react immediately and find a way
smarter planet, the emphasis is on doing more with available to circumvent any outage, planned or unplanned. That’s the
resources, using smarter systems to add flexibility and agility. IBM smarter systems approach, and it means resiliency, the
Today, we need to find ways to seamlessly shift workloads so key to maintaining business continuity.
that service continues with little or no disruption – an adaptive ap-
proach that relies on the intelligent use of technology along with IBM Systems Software offerings for high availability leverage
systems management to build in resiliency that goes beyond the our hardware and software innovations to deliver both host-
data center. based replication and storage server-based replication tech-
nologies. For example, combining the IBM System Storage®
This contrasts with the way many systems are managed today. DS8000® with IBM PowerHATM SystemMirror Enterprise Edition
Processing power is often re-allocated manually, either through yields one of the most robust enterprisewide or multi-site HA/DR
a non-automated management system or by physically moving solutions available. It’s this tight, end-to-end integration with
cables, servers, cards and the like. Such a labor-intensive IBM systems and software that delivers greater business value,
approach can impact service availability and cost while increas- in the form of highly optimized solutions that make the most of
ing the risk of an outage through human error. your investment in IT.

10

IBM Systems Software IBM XIV Storage System
Lowers storage power, cooling and operating costs by up to 70 percent while simplifying management

Why it matters The XIV Storage System is fully virtualized, with self-management
Introduction Today’s services are more data-dependent than ever before. The built in. It automatically provisions and distributes storage loads,
shrinking cost of storage, combined with the ubiquity of devices taking into account changes in configuration, capacity and
and processes that capture data, has allowed developers to application demand.
Availability leverage information in entirely new ways to create new business
value and new intelligence based on sophisticated analytics and Utilization is continuously optimized, thanks to the ability of the
Overview 10
the ready availability of information. system to treat all installed storage devices as a single, dynami-
cally managed virtual pool of storage. The built-in automated
Attached Storage (SONAS) 12 For this new breed of applications to work, however, data must management software continuously reclaims unused space and
IBM High-Performance Computing be continuously available from systems with rapid access and can create logical storage volumes that are larger than any one
Open Source Software Stack 13 retrieval. At the same time, these systems need to be easy and installed storage device.
IBM PowerHA 14 inexpensive to upgrade and scale to keep up with the rapid pace
IBM ProtecTIER 15 of storage technology development. Cost is minimized in several ways. The use of economical,
standard storage devices reduces hardware cost and speeds
Virtualization
What it is time-to-value, making it economically feasible to upgrade more
The IBM XIV® Storage System is a high-end, next-generation, often to take advantage of new technology. Greater utilization
standalone open storage system based on a grid architecture, also makes the most of existing investments, helping to
capable of housing up to 180 disks, each with a capacity of defer upgrade expenses. And, the high degree of automated
one terabyte. Its components are standard units based on Intel® management reduces IT staff involvement in configuration
technology and Linux,® connected in an any-to-any manner to and provisioning.
provide extreme redundancy of all key components, ease of
scalability and non-disruptive component replacement. Key takeaways
• Helps reduce tier 1 storage power, cooling and operating
Internal connectivity is made via massively parallel Gigabit Ether- costs by up to 70 percent in open environments
net connections, which helps deliver outstanding throughput. Up • Supports business flexibility by creating a single, virtual
to 24 Fibre Channel ports are provided, supporting transfer rates storage pool in a consolidated hardware platform
of up to 4 Gbps. • Raises the levels of availability with a massively redundant,
high-density storage system that reduces complexity
Reliability and availability are further enhanced through • Lowers cost and provides investment protection through an
partition mirroring and self-healing hardware features that enable open design using standard components
http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/storage/ rapid rebuild times. The system has the ability to create as • Optimizes workloads and simplifies management to drive
disk/xiv/ many as 16,000 differential snapshots, with near-zero perfor- greater efficiency
mance overhead. • Improves service levels to reduce the cost of outages

11

IBM Systems Software IBM Scale Out Network Attached Storage (SONAS)
High-performance storage ideal for cloud computing – up to 14.4 petabytes in a single,
easily managed system

Why it matters the limitations of other NAS solutions by eliminating the need
Introduction The world today is awash in information. Billions of sensors to deploy separate file systems on separate servers. SONAS
embedded in everything from medical devices to cell phones are thereby does away with a daunting management challenge,
producing ceaseless streams of it. And businesses everywhere making it easier to allocate resources and providing an ideal
Availability are finding new ways to put it to work. choice for cloud storage.

Overview 10
The volume of data stored in today’s systems is beyond SONAS enables efficient unified, policy-based automated data
comprehension and it’s growing exponentially. A number of management. This solution is optimized for high performance
Attached Storage (SONAS) 12 factors lie behind the information explosion: the rise of massive, with high data volume. Data is stored in a very efficient format
IBM High-Performance Computing globally integrated value chains, new applications that lever- that makes extensive use of metadata and GPFS to speed
Open Source Software Stack 13 age vast quantities of data to generate business value, and scanning, search and retrieval.
IBM PowerHA 14 new network-centric delivery models such as cloud computing
IBM ProtecTIER 15 to name a few. The result is a new need for storage systems of SONAS is built from the ground up to simplify the management
unprecedented scope – in the multi-petabyte range. of the system itself and the information it contains. Centralized
Virtualization
management, provisioning, control and automated information
Supporting large enterprise means that these extended, global lifecycle management features are all standard. This allows
systems must meet the most rigorous standards of resiliency organizations to devote fewer resources to storage manage-
and availability, while at the same time delivering high levels of ment and more to running the business.
performance under extreme loads. Equally important is the need
to manage large numbers of file servers and massive amounts Key takeaways
of data. Finding ways to reliably store data on a global scale and • Delivers high-performance storage ideal for cloud computing,
work with it efficiently through smarter systems is vital. with up to 14.4 petabytes in a single, easily managed system,
with utilization rates of over 80 percent and the ability to scan
What it is one billion files in minutes
The IBM Scale Out Network Attached Storage (SONAS) • Makes use of proven, mature technology to help ensure
solution is designed for the largest storage infrastructure reliability and availability, thereby reducing risk and improving
requirements, in support of global enterprises. Incorporating the service levels
flagship IBM General Parallel File System (GPFSTM) running on • Allows businesses to create a single storage namespace that
Linux, SONAS has the potential to deliver up to 14.4 petabytes can handle millions to billions of active files, simplifying large-
of storage without sacrificing ease of management or reliability. scale storage management
http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/storage/ • Improves service with a design optimized for high
network/sonas/index.html It is designed to support millions to billions of active files in a performance with high data volume
single namespace. This is what differentiates SONAS from
conventional NAS solutions. Its extreme scalability bypasses
12

IBM Systems Software IBM High-Performance Computing Open Source
Software Stack
Offers high availability and performance in a pre-integrated, open-source software stack

Why it matters By automating many of the steps involved in deploying and
Introduction Many applications in today’s world involve highly specialized, configuring these components, the HPC Stack enables
often non-commercial workloads that entail intense computa- businesses to get a head start on a robust total solution, reducing
tion along with the management and manipulation of enormous time to value when rolling out these specialized systems.
Availability amounts of data. The visualization of complex data sets gener-
ated by the modeling of complex dynamic physical processes The HPC Stack enhances availability by making use of well-
Overview 10
such as weather or traffic flow is a good example. established components that have proven themselves time and
again. The stack is designed and thoroughly tested to reduce the
Attached Storage (SONAS) 12 Many of the new applications that are arising out of the increas- risk of service interruption.
IBM High-Performance Computing ing availability of information and interconnections on a smarter
Open Source Software Stack 13 planet rely on this kind of deep computing power to create Drawing on IBM expertise in deep computing and workload
IBM PowerHA 14 business value and competitive advantage. This is computing optimization, the HPC Stack enables businesses to leverage the
IBM ProtecTIER 15 on a new level, one that requires precise tuning and optimization work of IBM industry and technical experts, while both reducing
of systems and intelligent solution design in addition to raw hard- costs and protecting investments through the use of open
Virtualization
ware performance. That brings the cost-effectiveness of these source software.
solutions into sharper focus; by their very nature, these are not
“out of the box” systems, and obtaining value from them requires Key takeaways
careful, expert implementation and management. • Delivers high availability and performance via a pre-integrated,
open-source software stack
What it is • Enables faster and less costly deployment of high-
With the high agility and flexibility needed by today’s performance computing solutions
businesses, the kind of workload optimization demanded by • Offers rapid time to value, thereby increasing competitiveness
high-performance computing needs to be accomplished as and agility
quickly and efficiently as possible. That is the purpose of the • Provides more effective workload optimization
IBM High-Performance Computing (HPC) Open Source • Improves service through the use of established,
Software Stack. reliable components
• Integrates with IBM tools to provide ease of
Prepackaged, pre-integrated and optimized by IBM, the HPC services management
Stack leverages a combination of proven open-source software
components, in conjunction with IBM tools and scripts, to help
http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/x/solutions/ organizations build and deploy customized high-performance
infrastructure/departmentalclusters/index.html computing solutions on IBM hardware running Red Hat Linux.

13

IBM Systems Software IBM PowerHA
Provides world-class high availability and disaster recovery – resiliency without downtime

Why it matters • IBM PowerHA pureScale TM – The underlying technology
Introduction A key driver in today’s business environment is cost containment. behind IBM DB2® pureScale, PowerHA pureScale reduces
That means optimizing IT investments in many ways: from the risk and cost of business growth by providing unlimited
improving utilization and reducing physical and power footprints, database capacity as well as continuous availability and
Availability to building IT infrastructures that feature greater ease and effec- application transparency.
tiveness of management. • IBM iCluster ® – Based on journal replication. iCluster is a logi-
Overview 10
cal replication solution that is optimized for geographic disper-
The holistic approach to smarter systems practiced by IBM helps sion. iCluster allows you to replicate critical data and objects
Attached Storage (SONAS) 12 businesses achieve far greater value with less investment and in from a primary system to one or more secondary systems to
IBM High-Performance Computing effort, by addressing the whole issue of availability – not just one enable backup and disaster recovery.
Open Source Software Stack 13 aspect. That means solutions that address both hardware and • IBM Capacity BackUp for Power Systems – This high availabili-
IBM PowerHA 14 software. IBM also leverages its IT expertise and the leading ty/disaster recovery offering provices a second, fully redundant
IBM ProtecTIER 15 features of its offerings to provide better overall capabilities than system that automatically takes over in the event of an outage.
could be obtained through a mix of point solutions.
Virtualization
The key to the value of the PowerHA family of solutions is their
What it is integrated, optimized design, which leverages the advanced
IBM PowerHA is a family of solutions designed specifically features inherent in IBM operating systems and the POWER
for users of IBM POWER® systems running IBM AIX® or IBM i. platform to deliver enhanced availability.
These solutions provide a broad spectrum of availability-related
capabilities, from system mirroring, to clustering, to nondisruptive Key takeaways
database scalability, to backup and recovery. • Delivers world-class, easy-to-manage high availability and
disaster recovery for businesses of any size, providing
Solutions in the PowerHA family include: resiliency without downtime
• IBM PowerHA SystemMirror for AIX and IBM PowerHA • Provides multiple high-availability solutions optimized
System Mirror for i – Available in versions that address the for IBM Power Systems, to help increase service levels
needs of centralized data centers and dispersed IT infra- • Reduces risk through pre-integrated, platform-specific design
structures respectively, these clustering solutions provide that speeds deployment and reduces cost
reliable monitoring, failure detection and automated recovery • Leverages the leading capabilities of IBM hardware and
of business application environments to backup resources. operating systems to improve availability and reliability

http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/power/
software/availability/

14

IBM Systems Software IBM ProtecTIER
Delivers best-in-kind, enterprise-class data deduplication with proven data integrity

Why it matters At the same time, full retrieval of the information remains not only
Introduction The sheer volume of data stored in today’s systems, coming possible, but seamless and simple. Backup and restore service
from myriad sensors, inputs and transactions, has created an levels are improved with a high-performance, inline deduplica-
information management challenge of unprecedented scope and tion approach, delivering sustained tape processing throughput
Availability scale. Despite the rapidly shrinking cost of storage, solutions for of 500 MB/s or more. This helps to ensure that processing
dealing with this vast ocean of data represent a considerable windows are met and existing operations are not disrupted.
Overview 10
investment.
ProtecTIER incorporates sophisticated virtual replication
Attached Storage (SONAS) 12 Compounding the storage management challenge is the need technologies to make backup more secure and reliable. Virtual
IBM High-Performance Computing for efficient data handling. Finding information, working with tape cartridges can be automatically replicated to a remote
Open Source Software Stack 13 it and archiving it needs to be done quickly and efficiently to location and restored in the same manner. This eliminates the
IBM PowerHA 14 prevent data storage from becoming a bottleneck that hurts need for the transport of physical cartridges, which can prevent
IBM ProtecTIER 15 business agility and flexibility. That means, in part, keeping the loss during transport and make recovery far faster. ProtecTIER
volume of data under control. To that end, it is essential to find also enables the rapid and efficient cloning of virtual tape
Virtualization
ways to reduce file sizes and properly manage the information cartridges onto physical media for secure off-site storage.
lifecycle to keep old or unwanted data out of the way.
Key takeaways
What it is • Delivers enterprise-class performance, scalability, and proven
IBM ProtecTIER® is a family of data deduplication solutions, rang- enterprise-level data integrity – one of the only data deduplica-
ing from enterprise-class clustered storage gateways supporting tion solutions able to do so
up to one petabyte of storage to easy-to-deploy, preconfigured • Enables targeted storage efficiency with solutions ranging from
appliance solutions. All ProtecTIER solutions dramatically reduce standalone appliances to platform-specific gateways
storage requirements while protecting information and improving • Reduces backup and recovery costs through sophisticated
service levels, through the use of patented HyperFactor® data data deduplication technology that provides up to 25-fold
deduplication technology. data compression with no loss of data integrity
• Increases efficiency and service levels through automated,
ProtecTIER deduplication works by removing redundant copies high-speed replication of data to remote sites
of the same information – for example, a file that was originally at- • Improves responsiveness by lessening the time needed for
tached to thousands of e-mails – while still maintaining the integ- backup and replication through concurrent, inline processing.
rity of linkages and relationships. This means that only the unique • Mitigates risk by limiting the need to handle and transport
http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/storage/ data necessary to the business is retained. In doing so, storage physical media
tape/protectier/ requirements can be reduced by a factor of up to 25.

15

Virtualization

Overview 17
IBM PowerVM 19
IBM Systems Director Network Control 20
IBM z/VM 21
IBM BladeCenter Open Fabric Manager 22
IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller 23


IBM Systems Software Virtualization overview

Traditional IT deployment models are not sustainable over the production in hours or days instead of weeks or months.
Introduction long term. The underlying reason is the explosion of data that This combination of lower costs and greater capability offers
the world is currently experiencing. The ever-more-instrumented, tremendous business value.
increasingly interconnected and interdependent global economy
Availability is creating new information and new demands for computing that True virtualization, however, is about more than just technology
were unthinkable only a few years ago, and the trend is accel- that consolidates resources to increase utilization. That’s just the
Virtualization erating. By 2012, total IP traffic will amount to more than half a start of the journey. Virtualization gives the ability to dynamically
Overview 17 zettabyte (or 522 exabytes).3 A zettabyte is a trillion gigabytes. manage diverse workloads, which in turn enables workflow and
IBM Systems Director VMControl 18 process automation, leading to delivery optimization. At each
IBM PowerVM 19 Businesses worldwide are facing a technology crunch that puts stage of the journey, business agility increases. Virtualization,
IBM Systems Director them at considerable risk due to the rising cost of IT. The number then, is a key input into the creation of true business flexibility,
Network Control 20 of systems in service is increasing dramatically, but utilization which lies at the heart of business value.
IBM z/VM 21 remains low. Enormous amounts of storage and computing
IBM BladeCenter Open power lies dormant, yet still needs to be maintained, powered, The ultimate goal is to make IT transparent and business-
Fabric Manager 22
cooled, and housed. Adding a new server for a new workload focused, bringing vitally needed services to users when and
IBM System Storage SAN
only compounds the problem. where needed, in a highly automated way. A business user who
Volume Controller 23
needs to ramp up the capacity of an e-commerce site to deal
This pressing need has driven the rise and wide adoption with a sudden surge in online shopping, for example, should be
of virtualization technologies. Long established in high-end able to do so without getting into the details of provisioning or
mainframe-based data centers, virtualization has become more configuration. A task that, under traditional IT models, could have
widespread and can now be found in entry-level and midrange taken months of hardware procurement, deployment, planning
x86-based servers, making it available to more businesses and execution should be completed in minutes if IT is to serve
than ever before. the immediate business need.

With the advanced virtualization capabilities found in today’s That level of sophistication takes advanced software solutions
smarter systems, businesses can realize significant benefits. that can help dynamically manage complete infrastructures from
Utilization rates can be increased dramatically, leading to much end to end, unlocking the potential of virtualization technology.
lower total cost of ownership through hardware savings, as And that is what IBM Systems Software provides: an essential set
well as reduced power and cooling costs. Rapid provisioning of capabilities that takes IT to the next level.
and easy scalability also yields significant business flexibility
and agility, enabling companies to bring new workloads into

17

IBM Systems Software IBM Systems Director VMControl
Industry-leading hypervisor support and management across x86 to mainframe

Why it matters VMControl supports IBM PowerVM,TM z/VM,® VMware, Microsoft®
Introduction Often, virtualization is thought of only in the context of a single Xen and KVM server virtualization technologies on IBM Power
computing platform – for example, reducing the number of Systems, IBM System z,® IBM System x or IBM BladeCenter®
physical x86 servers in the data center. But in practice, IT hardware, providing the ability to manage a variety of environ-
Availability environments tend to be diverse, with a variety of platforms and ments with a single, consistent, automated solution. This stands
operating systems to contend with. Most virtualization solutions in stark contrast to products that force administrators to manage
Virtualization in the industry do not acknowledge this reality and are more each environment separately.
Overview 17 narrowly focused.
IBM Systems Director VMControl 18 VMControl is offered in three different editions with increasing
IBM PowerVM 19 The resulting silos of virtualization do yield tangible business levels of capability. This allows businesses to select the optimal
IBM Systems Director benefits, but they still leave the IT department with the larger level of VMControl functionality (Express, Standard or Enterprise)
Network Control 20 challenge of managing the infrastructure as a whole. Rather for immediate needs and to seamlessly scale up as it evolves.
IBM z/VM 21 than fundamentally changing and optimizing the way IT services All editions provide the ability to visualize, create, manage and
IBM BladeCenter Open are delivered to create new business value, the task is merely relocate virtual machines. The Standard edition adds control via
Fabric Manager 22
shifted from managing individual systems to managing isolated time-saving image management capabilities, while the Enterprise
virtualized environments using a range of tools that do not edition delivers automation based on virtual systems to provide
integrate seamlessly. true enterprisewide virtualization and infrastructure optimization.

To radically transform the enterprise, virtualization needs to Key takeaways
be viewed not as the end goal, but as a tool to better manage • Offers broad cross-platform, cross-hypervisor and cross-
the entire IT infrastructure and, as a result, provide optimum virtualization technology management, helping to eliminate
service delivery. This holistic view of the desired result and an isolated silos of virtualization
approach to achieve it is the key value of the IBM smarter • Brings together server, storage and networking resources to
systems approach and IBM Systems Software. simplify virtualization management, provides faster time-to-
value and greater business agility
What it is • New workloads can be deployed in minutes instead of weeks4
IBM Systems Director VMControl is a plug-in option for the • Server administration costs can be reduced up to 34 percent
industry-leading IBM Systems Director management platform. It while delivering repeatable accuracy4
provides cross-platform, cross-hypervisor visibility and control of
the virtualized environments, all from a single user interface. This
For more information critically important capability, unmatched in the industry, reduces
http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/software/
director/vmcontrol/ complexity and improves administrator productivity.

18

IBM Systems Software IBM PowerVM
Supports up to 1,000 virtual machines on a single physical server

Why it matters PowerVM unleashes the true potential of the new IBM POWER7TM
Introduction The principal benefits of virtualization are: processor, taking scalability to a new level. With PowerVM,
• Lower cost through server sprawl reduction and high-end POWER7-based systems can support up to 1,000
greater utilization logical partitions (LPARs) on a single server. PowerVM also
Availability • The ability to respond to business needs faster through allows far more efficient utilization through dynamic, non-
dynamic resource allocation disruptive resource sharing that automatically allocates
Virtualization • Optimized workload management processor resources, borrowing processing power from idle
Overview 17 • Improved service levels through infrastructure simplification LPARs to handle high transaction volumes in other partitions.
IBM PowerVM 19 To get there, one must start with the right platform and the right PowerVM runs on all Power Systems, from blades to the top of
IBM Systems Director virtualization software. For businesses worldwide, that platform is the line. Businesses can deploy the most appropriate mix of
Network Control 20 IBM Power Systems and the software is IBM PowerVM. physical servers for their needs, making the infrastructure more
IBM z/VM 21 cost-effective. Three separate editions – Express, Standard and
IBM BladeCenter Open With the current drive towards cloud computing as an Enterprise – provide increasing levels of capability to meet
Fabric Manager 22
increasingly important delivery model, performance is critical. different business requirements. The Express Edition supports
IBM Power Systems deliver higher levels of performance than three LPARs per server, while the Standard and Enterprise
x86 systems, yet with the Lx86 feature of PowerVM, it is still Editions can support 10 LPARs per processor core. The
possible to run x86 applications in a virtual server. Enterprise Edition also provides active memory sharing and
live partition mobility to increase performance and availability
PowerVM stands out because it is designed from the ground up by allowing workloads to be moved, without disruption, while
to leverage the reliability, availability and scalability features of they are running.
industry-leading IBM Power Systems servers. It supports key
operating systems, including IBM AIX, IBM i, and Linux (both Key takeaways
SUSE and Red Hat). The result is industrial-strength virtualization • Allows live partitions to be moved, dynamically allocating
that is the first step to optimized service delivery. resources to maximize utilization without impacting workloads
• Reduces cost by increasing utilization of physical hardware,
What it is while enhancing business agility and flexibility through
IBM PowerVM provides a secure, stable and sophisticated dynamic, optimized workload management
virtualization environment for IBM Power Systems. With • Provides a vital first step on the path to a fully virtualized,
PowerVM, a single physical server can be divided into mul- automated IT infrastructure that leads to better service delivery
For more information tiple virtual servers as little as 1/10 of a processor or up to • Leverages IBM hardware and software technology to provide
http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/power/
software/virtualization/ 64 processors, each running its own application workloads increased performance and capability
and its own operating system while sharing resources includ- • Simplifies and streamlines management through support for all
ing processors, memory and I/O. Power Systems and key operating systems
19

IBM Systems Software IBM Systems Director Network Control
Simplifies heterogeneous network device management to reduce costs

Why it matters Based on open industry standards, Systems Director Network
Introduction While it is essential to consolidate servers in order to realize the Control provides investment protection and reduced complexity,
benefits of virtualization, stopping there falls short of produc- by integrating multiple platforms, operating systems and vendor
ing the greatest business benefit. To attain the highest levels of applications. It is capable of managing both physical and
Availability business agility and flexibility through optimized service delivery, virtualized network assets. Network Control brings together
the entire infrastructure needs to be virtualized, managed and multiple capabilities such as converged support for Ethernet
Virtualization automated. That includes storage and network assets as well. network devices into one tool.
Overview 17
IBM Systems Director VMControl 18 But even this step may not be enough. The key to unlocking With better control and more transparency, it becomes possible
IBM PowerVM 19 the value of virtualization is comprehensive management of all to make better use of network assets. This allows for greater
IBM Systems Director virtualized assets in the infrastructure, so that it can be treated utilization of existing devices and overall network simplification.
Network Control 20 as a transparent, unified, agile, IT system. This requires a In addition, risk can be managed through increased visibility into
IBM z/VM 21 management platform capable of consolidating management the state of the network at any given time.
IBM BladeCenter Open functions into a consistent, centralized interface. That’s what IBM
Fabric Manager 22
Systems Director Network Control provides. By making network management part of the larger management
capabilities inherent in IBM Systems Director, Network Control
What it is allows IT managers to simplify and streamline management tasks,
IBM Systems Director Network Control is a plug-in option for reducing costs and improving productivity and service levels.
IBM Systems Director and is available separately or as part of
Systems Director Standard and Enterprise Editions. This Key takeaways
solution offers integration of server, storage, and network • Reduces cost and simplifies the management of network
management for virtualization environments across multiple devices in heterogeneous environments
platforms. It also leverages the functionality of Systems Director • Enables integrated control of network assets under
to provide centralized management. Key functions IBM Systems Director, consolidating all management functions
include discovery, monitoring, configuration, topology visualiza- into a single product
tion, management and troubleshooting, all accessed from a • Improves productivity and service levels by simplifying and
single integrated interface. streamlining management tasks
• Increases asset utilization through more efficient management

http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/software/
director/network/

20

IBM Systems Software IBM z/VM
Distribute memory and CPU dynamically for capacity on demand without sacrificing
availability and security

Why it matters ment. Reliability, availability and scalability features
Introduction Virtualization has been part of the mainframe landscape for such as processor error recovery are built in to z/VM and
many years, leveraging and enhancing the unparalleled reli- provided automatically. At the same time, support for dynamic
ability, availability, scalability, security and raw performance of reconfiguration allows hardware to be added to or removed from
Availability the mainframe platform. Mainframe systems are the mainstay of the configuration without disturbing Linux guests. Provisioning
high-performance transaction processing, providing high-level and overall management is simple, enabling new Linux servers
Virtualization services to banks, governments many other enterprises as well. to be set up for test, development or standby purposes quickly
Overview 17 and easily.
IBM Systems Director VMControl 18 The world has changed, and so too have IBM mainframes.
IBM PowerVM 19 Cost pressures, underutilized business and IT assets and Resources such as CPU, memory, storage, I/O and crypto-
IBM Systems Director increasing operational complexity are forces that call upon the graphy can be shared among Linux guest images. Internal
Network Control 20 mainframe to take on an extended role. Massive server consoli- communication between Linux servers is very fast and efficient,
IBM z/VM 21 dation enables mainframes to support new kinds of applications and systems management is highly automated. The ability to
IBM BladeCenter Open based on technologies such as Java,TM Web 2.0 or Linux. That’s support thousands of servers also greatly simplifies horizontal
Fabric Manager 22
what the breakthrough IBM z/VM operating system is all about. scalability, helping to support business flexibility.
What it is Key takeaways
IBM z/VM is an operating system for IBM System z ® that permits • Allows dynamic distribution of CPU and memory among virtual
anywhere from tens to thousands of virtual Linux servers to run servers, to deliver capacity when and where it is needed
on single physical mainframe. z/VM hypervisor technology without sacrificing high availability or service levels
enables these virtual servers to enjoy the highest levels of • Supports hundreds or thousands of virtual Linux servers in a
resource sharing, with an overall system utilization rate that can single 2.83 square meter footprint
exceed 95 percent for extended periods of time. These “guest” • Enables deployment of new servers in minutes – on demand,
servers can run alongside other System z operating systems expediting response to business demands
such as z/OS,® z/VSETM and z/TPF. Alternatively, the System z can • Offers full virtualization of Linux on IBM System z through
be configured as a large-scale, Linux-only server solution, known an advanced 64-bit hypervisor
as the IBM Enterprise Linux Server. • Improves service levels and reduces risk by leveraging
System z reliability, availability and scalability features
This advanced virtualization software allows Linux-based • Reduces infrastructure and management costs through
businesses to take advantage of System z mainframe technology resource sharing and simplified management
For more information characteristics – such as extremely high performance and secu-
http://www.vm.ibm.com/
rity – and combine them with the benefits of a virtualized environ-

21

IBM Systems Software IBM BladeCenter Open Fabric Manager
Configure up to 1,400 blade servers from a single advanced management module

Why it matters Rather than having to manage I/O and network interconnections
Introduction Rapid deployment and configuration of IT assets is a key separately, Open Fabric Manager streamlines the process by
capability for smarter systems, because it minimizes service virtualizing key network parameters such as World Wide Name
disruptions that hurt business responsiveness. When a device (WWN) and Media Access Control (MAC) addresses. When
Availability has to be moved or replaced, it is essential to get it back online a blade is moved or a workload reassigned, LAN and SAN
as quickly as possible. configurations are not affected. They can be preconfigured and
Virtualization the necessary I/O connections are made the moment the blade
Overview 17 Virtualized, automated data centers can address this funda- is plugged in. Should a blade fail, I/O is automatically switched
IBM Systems Director VMControl 18 mental challenge by eliminating single points of failure; work- over to a new blade.
IBM PowerVM 19 loads can be automatically shifted to other servers should a
IBM Systems Director single machine go out of service. But the task of setting up and A key part of the value provided by Open Fabric Manager is its
Network Control 20 configuring a replacement remains – and the time spent doing grounding in open industry standards, including Ethernet, iSCSI,
IBM z/VM 21 so drives up costs and reduces productivity. Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE, Fibre Channel, InfiniBand
IBM BladeCenter Open and Serial Attached SCSI (SAS). It also allows the use of high-
Fabric Manager 22
Effective, automated tools can help curtail the complexity of the speed switching modules from IBM as well as other vendors,
management and configuration task dramatically. In data center including Cisco, BNT, Brocade and QLogic. This broad-based
environments with large numbers of physical servers, this can support enables it to provide simplified, streamlined I/O
result in significant cost and time savings. management even in heterogeneous data center environments.

What it is Key takeaways
IBM BladeCenter Open Fabric Manager software offers • Provides simple virtualization that manages up to 1,400 blade
centralized, automated I/O configuration for IBM BladeCenter servers from a single advanced management module
environments. Ideal for large-scale deployments, it is capable • Reduces management costs by enabling faster server
of supporting up to 100 chassis, 1,400 blades and more deployment and reduced complexity, with a single user
than 11,000 SAN/LAN addresses, all from a single, simple interface that integrates with IBM Systems Director
Web-based management interface that integrates seamlessly • Facilitates scalability with support for large numbers of blade
with IBM Systems Director. chassis, servers and SAN/LAN connections
• Improves service by virtualizing and automating
I/O configuration
• Helps reduce risk through more efficient data
For more information center management
http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/bladecenter/
news/openfabricmanager/

22

IBM's power software and solution guide

IBM's power software and solution guide

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