IBM Spectrum Virtualize Software 8.4

IBM Spectrum Virtualize software 8.4 delivers additional capabilities for supported platforms

It adds support for 3-site replication for HyperSwap, DRAID-1 on IBM FlashSystems 7200 and 9200, expansion of mirrored vDisks, support for additional storage-class memory (SCM) on some platforms, and updates to Data Reduction Pools (DRP).

It delivers additional features and updates to the IBM Spectrum Virtualize family of products, including IBM flashSystem 5000, 7000, and 9000 models, and IBM SAN Volume Controller (SVC).

The following updates are available in V8.4:

Three-site mirroring with HyperSwap support provides improved availability for data in 3-site implementations. This expands on the DR capabilities inherent in this topology.
Three-site mirroring using Metro Mirror was previously supported only in limited installations. With 8.4, this implementation is available.
DRAID-1 support provides the ability to extend distributed RAID advantages to smaller pools of drives. This improves performance over traditional RAID-1 implementations, allowing users to make better use of flash technology.
Expansion of mirrored vDisks allows the vDisk capacity to be expanded or reduced online, without requiring an offline format and sync. This improves the availability of the volume for use because the new capacity is available.
Up to 12 SCM devices per enclosure are supported in this release. Previously, the limit for all SCM drives was 4 per enclosure. With 8.4, FlashSystem 5100, 7000, and 9000 systems can support up to twelve Optane drives per enclosure. Simultaneously with this release, up to 12 Z-SSD drives can be supported in version 8.3.1, and later.
DRP improvements include redirect-on-write support for FlashCopy relationships, reduced failover times, improved availability of Compresstimator data, and improved reliability and availability of data in DRP pools through reconstruct read.

Key requirements

Software requirements

SVC (5641-VC8, 5641-CP8, 5725-M19, and 5725-H04) requires the base software feature. All other features are optional.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for SVC Encryption (5641-B08 and 5725-Y35) requires PID 5641-VC8 or 5725-M19.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for Storwize V7000 (5639-CB8, 5639-XB8, and 5639-EB8) requires the base software feature. All other features are optional.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for FlashSystem 5100 External Data Virtualization Software (5639-ET8) requires the base software feature. All other features are optional.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for FlashSystem 5100 (5639-SV9) requires the base software feature. All other features are optional.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for FlashSystem 7000 (5639-DB8) requires the base software feature. Externally virtualized storage is subject to the same capacity-based licenses as SAN Volume Controller and is optional.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for FlashSystem 7000 Expansions (5639-XD8) requires at least one FlashSystem 7000 expansion enclosure (2076-12G, 2076-24G, or 2076-92G) for installation. The high-density enclosures (2076-92G) require 4 of the base software charge codes to support the number of drive slots in the system.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for FlashSystem 9110 (5639-FA2) requires the base software feature. Externally virtualized storage is subject to the same capacity-based licenses as SVC and is optional.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for FlashSystem 9150 and 9200 (5639-FA3) requires the base software feature. Externally virtualized storage is subject to the same capacity-based licenses as SVC and is optional.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for FlashSystem 9×00 Expansions (5639-FA1) requires at least one FlashSystem 9100 expansion enclosure (9846-AFF, 9846-A9F, 9848-AFF, or 9848-A9F) for installation. The high-density enclosures (9846-A9F and 9848-A9F) require 4 of the base software charge codes to support the number of drive slots in the system.

Hardware requirements

Spectrum Virtualize Software for SVC requires at least one pair of System Storage SVC (2145-SV1, 2145-DH8, 2145-SA2, 2145-SV2, 2147- SV1, 2147-SA2, or 2147-SV2) storage engines for installation. This software is also used to license External Data Virtualization on the FlashSystem 7000 and 9000 families.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for SVC Encryption (5641-B08 and 5725-Y35) requires Encryption Enablement Feature ACE2 or ACE5.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for Storwize V7000 Controller (5639-CB8) requires at least one Storwize V7000 control enclosure (2076-724, 2076-U7B, 2076-U7A, 2076-AF6, 2076-624, or 2076-524) for installation. 2076-724 and 2076-U7B require version 8.2.0.2, or later.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for Storwize V7000 Expansion software (5639-XB8) requires at least one Storwize V7000 expansion enclosure (2076-A9F, 2076-92F, 2076-AFF, 2076-12F, or 2076-24F) for installation. The high-density enclosures (2076-A9F or 2076-92F) require 4 of the base software charge codes to support the number of disk slots in the system.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for Storwize V7000 External Data Virtualization (5639-EB8) requires at least one Storwize V7000 enclosure (2076-724, 2076-AF6, 2076-624, or 2076-524) for installation.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for FlashSystem 5100 (5639-SV9) requires at least one FlashSystem 5100 (2077-4H4, 2078-4H4, or 2078-UHB) or Storwize V5100 control enclosure (2077-AF4, 2077-424, 2078-AF4, 2078-424, or 2078-U5B) for installation.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for FlashSystem 7000 Controller software (5639-DB8) requires at least one FlashSystem 7000 control enclosure (2076-824 or 2076-U7C) for installation.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for FlashSystem 7000 Expansion software (5639-XD8) requires at least one FlashSystem 7000 expansion enclosure (2076-12G, 2076-24G, 2076-92G) for installation. The high-density enclosures (2076-92G) require four of the base software charge codes to support the number of drive slots in the system.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for FlashSystem 5100 External Data Virtualization (5639-ET8) requires at least one Storwize V5000 control enclosure (2077-AF4, 2077-424, 2077-AF3, 2077-312, 2077-324, 2078-AF4, 2078-424, 2078-AF3, 2078-312, or 2078-324) or one FlashSystem 5100 control enclosure (2077-4H4, 2078-4H4, or 2078-UHB) for installation.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for FlashSystem 5100 (5639-SV9) requires at least one FlashSystem 5100 (2077-4H4, 2078-4H4, or 2078-UHB) or Storwize V5100 control enclosure (2077-AF4, 2077-424, 2078-AF4, 2078-424, or 2078-U5B) for installation.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for FlashSystem 9110 Controller (5639-FA2) requires at least one flashSystem 9110 control enclosure (9846-AF7, 9848-AF7, or 9848-UF7) for installation.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for FlashSystem 9150 and 9200 Controller (5639-FA3) requires at least one FlashSystem 9150 control enclosure (9846-AF8, 9848-AF8, or 9848-UF8), or one FlashSystem 9200 (9846-AG8, 9848-AG8, or 9848-UG8), for installation.
Spectrum Virtualize Software for FlashSystem 9×00 Expansions (5639-FA1) requires at least one FlashSystem 9100 expansion enclosure (9846-AFF, 9846-A9F, 9848-AFF, or 9848-A9F) for installation. The high-density enclosures (9846-A9F and 9848-A9F) require 4 of the base software charge codes to support the number of drive slots in the system.