IBM storwize V7000 usher in new upgrades

IBM storwize V7000 ushered in a new upgrade. IBM has added a NAS header similar to the Sonas system, thus emerging as a storwize V7000 Unified storage Product (V7000U). This is also a product that incorporates the Sonas and N-series (from NetApp) file Manager.

The Storwize V7000 is a tiered, mid-tier-level access storage array built with the source code of the San Volume Controller (SVC), which enables it to virtualize storage into a single storage pool. And you can integrate EMC and other vendors ' third-party vendor arrays into this pool. Similar to this functionality are the NetApp V series and EMC's Vplex offerings. In short, storwize V7000 supports the collaborative work of different array products.

Sonas is an IBM enterprise-class product that employs a scale-out network-attached storage architecture. While the N series provides uniform block and file-level access, IBM has positioned it as a pure File Manager application.

V7000U In addition to the base V7000 and SVC products, there are two file access modules: 1, NAS headers, connected to its controller, 2, a unified management console. Supported file access methods include NFS,CIFS,FTP,HTTPS and SCP file protocols, and file-level replication and snapshot protection.

V7000U supported storage media including 2TB and 3TB near-line SAS drives (3.5-inch 7200 RPM), 160 and 300GB 15K 2.5-inch drives, 300, 450 and 600GB 2.5-inch 10K SAS drives, 1TB 2.5-inch 7.2K SAS disks, as well as 200, 300 and 400GB EMLC flash drives. Its supported RAID levels include 0,1,5,6 and 10. V7000U Each controller cabinet can install 240 drives, which means that one cluster can install 480 drives.

Using IBM's Active Cloud Engine (ACE), users can develop policies to assign v7000u stored files to different tiers of storage. These layers include tape media in the Tivoli Storage Manager system. With the ACE policy, files that do not need and expire can also be deleted.

V7000U is an antivirus package that integrates McAfee and Symantec to help users prevent malicious software from damaging files. Other features of this system include easy Tier, flashcopy, and automatic finish.

V7000 Operating system upgrades

At the same time, the SVC (V7000 and V7000U product base) has also been updated. The 6.3 version includes the following features:

1. The distance from the separation cluster configuration is expanded: the distance between devices can reach 300 km, which makes the data movement and migration of metropolitan cluster possible.

2. New snapshot based replication: More flexibility in global mirroring distances (balanced network bandwidth and RPO).

3. Enhanced external Virtualization Architecture attachments: The Round Robin, which is connected to the store through multipath, can be virtualized.

4. The enhanced user interface for statistical data collection: In the new GUI, further details of real-time performance data can be seen.

5. Local LDAP support

6. Enhanced storage interoperability with XIV GEN3, HP 3PAR, violin flash systems, new Fujitsu Eternus, Bull Storeway, and TMS Ramsan.

According to outside speculation, IBM's previous attempt to acquire BlueArc (which was eventually taken by HDS) suggests it wants to end its OEM partnership with NetApp. V7000U seems to overlap with the NetApp N-series functionality, so let's be prepared to think that IBM may be less focused on N-series sales in the future.

We are still waiting for the compression feature to be added to the V7000, and if this happens, it will be a higher level of storage efficiency.

(Responsible editor: Lu Guang)