More on IBM Virtualization Engine TS7700

IBM Virtualization Engine TS7700 is designed to bring efficiency to tape operation and offer versatile models that support attachment to tape libraries.

The TS7700 Virtualization Engine Release 1.5 machine code is designed to deliver support for these capabilities:

• The TS7720 Virtualization Engine disk only configuration with new disk cache models providing up to 70 TB disk cache capacity
• Support for two additional Model CX6 Cache Drawers providing a maximum disk cache capacity up to 9 TB for existing TS7740 configurations
• Larger disk cache models providing over 13 TB capacity for new TS7740 configurations
• Integrated library manager support
• New Grid adapters
• TS1130 Model E06/EU6 Tape Drive support
• Workflow Management controls and Customer Set alerts

The TS7720 Virtualization Engine: The TS7720 Virtualization Engine is a new member of the TS7700 Virtualization Engine family. The TS7720 does not attach to a physical tape library; it is a disk cache only configuration. The TS7720 is configured with different server and disk cache models from the TS7740. A TS7720 consists of a 3952 Model F05 Tape Frame containing:

• One TS7720 Server, 3957 Model VEA
• One TS7720 SATA Cache Controller, 3956 Model CS7
• Three or six TS7720 SATA Cache Drawers, 3956 Model XS7

Each 3956 model for the TS7720 provides 10 TB of useable capacity. The maximum capacity for the TS7720 is 70 TB before compression.

The TS7720 will generate out of space warning messages to its attached hosts as available cache space falls below preset thresholds. It is then up to you to decide what to delete from the appliance’s cache to provide space for continued workloads. If the amount of available cache falls below a critical threshold, all fast ready mount requests will be failed and the appliance will prevent any more writes to existing volumes (logical write protect).

The TS7720 also includes the integration of the library manager functionality, Workflow Management controls, and new Grid adapters as described below, along with the existing TS7700 functionality that is not related to physical tape library attachment or back-end tape drive support.

TS7720 Grids are supported in two and three site configurations where all attached clusters are TS7720s. The intermix of full TS7740s with TS7720s in a Grid is not supported at this time.

Additional cache drawers in a TS7740: An existing TS7740 configuration with four 3956 cache models installed may be upgraded in the field to a total capacity of 9 TB by installing two more 3956 Model CX6 Cache Drawers. These Model CX6 Cache Drawers will include the same 146 GB fibre channel HDD technology used in other Model CC6 and CX6 cache models. The existing TS7740 configuration must contain one 3956 Model CC6 and three 3956 Model CX6s before the fourth and fifth 3956 Model CX6s may be ordered. The fourth and fifth 3956 Model CX6s must be installed together.

Higher capacity cache models for the TS7740: Release 1.5 introduces new disk cache models for the TS7740. Each of these disk cache models includes 16 300 GB fibre channel HDDs, providing approximately 3.43 TB of usable capacity after RAID formatting. New Release 1.5 configurations, built in the plant, may include one 3956 Model CC7 Cache Controller. When the Model CC7 is included in the TS7740, the configuration may optionally include one or three 3956 Model CX7 Cache Drawers. The Model CX7s may be installed in the plant or in the field. The total usable capacity of a TS7740, with one Model CC7 and three Model CX7s, is approximately 13.72 TB before compression.

Integrated Library Manager support: The functionality of the library manager is integrated into the TS7720 and TS7740. All TS7700s updated to the Release 1.5 code level will no longer communicate with the 3953 Model L05 Library Manager for management of the TS3500 library. The key aspects of the integration:

• Logical volume management is now completely controlled by the TS7700 instead of being split between the library manager and the TS7700. This means that all library related host commands are now executed by the TS7700 directly.
• The set-up, policy management, and monitoring functions relating to the logical library (logical volume and drives), previously performed through the library manager are now part of the TS7700 Management Interface. In a 3494 configuration, the library manager console is only used for management of the native partitions or the physical volumes used by the TS7740.
• In a TS3500 (3584) library configuration, the 3953 and its associated components in the 3953 F05 frame are no longer needed for the TS7700.
• The TS7740 directly issues physical volume requests to the underlying automation. For the TS3500 (3584) library, the TS7740 issues SMC commands through the drive’s interfaces. For the 3494 library, the TS7740 uses the LAN interface. In essence, the TS7740 looks like an AIX server using the library.
• An outage will be required to upgrade an existing TS7700 to the R1.5 code level. The machine code upgrade includes the migration of the TS7700 related database information from the 3953 or 3494 library manager into the TS7700 database, and any movement of components and cables that are required.
• Other System z tape drives, such as tape controller attached drives or 3494 VTS back-end tape drives, still will require the 3953 when connected to the TS3500 library. These other System z drives and their associated media will be in a TS3500 logical library that is separate from the drives and media of the TS7700.

New Grid adapters: TS7700 Release 1.5 introduces new adapter features to support expanded grid interconnections. Support is provided for:

• New features for dual ported 1Gb/sec Ethernet adapters. Feature #1032 provides a dual-port copper RJ45 Ethernet adapter. Feature #1033 provides a dual port shortwave optical fibre Ethernet adapter. These adapters have an LC Duplex connector. Only one port on each dual port adapter card will be activated.
• As with the current Ethernet adapters, the new adapters may not be intermixed. Both Grid adapters installed must be the same feature.

TS1130 support: Support for the third generation of the 3592 drive family is included in TS7700 Release 1.5. The third generation of the 3592 drive family is the TS1130 Tape Drive, Models E06 and EU6. The 3592 Model EU6 Tape Drive is only available as a field upgrade from the TS1120 Tape Drive Model E05. When a TS1130 Tape Drive is attached to a TS7740, all attached drives must be TS1130 Tape Drives; no intermix is supported with 3592 J1A or 3592 E05 drives. If TS1130 drives are detected and there are also other generations of 3592 drives detected, the TS1130 drives will not be configured. TS1130 drives will read data that has been written by either of the prior generations of 3592 drives.

Workflow Management controls and Customer Set alerts: These functions operate through the host console request function to modify many of the workflow management controls of the TS7700, and to set alert thresholds for many of the resources managed by the TS7700. Workflow management controls supported include:

• Enable/Disable copies to follow storage class preference
• Set the premigration priority threshold
• Set the premigration throttling threshold
• Enable/Disable recalls preferred to be removed from cache
• Enable/Disable full cache copy throttling
• Set the deferred copy throttling value
• Enable/Disable immediate mode copy throttling

For each TS7700 resource managed, two alert thresholds can be set. For each threshold, a message is sent to all attached hosts when the threshold is exceeded and when the resource falls back into an acceptable area. The resources that are monitored are:

• The amount of data in cache that needs to be copied to a peer.
• The amount of data resident in the cache (for a TS7740, this is also the amount of data that needs to be copied to physical tape).
• Number of logical scratch volumes.
• Number of physical scratch volumes.
• Number of available physical tape drives.

IBM Virtualization Engine TS7700 Release 1.5 is available as of December 5, 2008.