Front cover

IBM DS8900F Product Guide

Product Guide
IBM DS8900F Product Guide
Built on over 50 years of Enterprise storage expertise, the IBM® DS8000® series is the
flagship of disk storage systems within the IBM System Storage™ portfolio.

As of September 2019, the DS8900F is the latest addition and offers two new classes:
򐂰 DS8910F: Flexibility Class all-flash
The flexibility class delivers significant performance improvements as compared to the
previous IBM DS8880F generation.
򐂰 DS8950F: Agility Class all-flash
The agility class is efficiently designed to consolidate all your mission-critical workloads for
IBM Z®, IBM LinuxONE, IBM Power Systems, and distributed environments under a
single all-flash storage solution.

This IBM Redbooks® Product Guide gives an overview of the features and functions that are
available with the IBM DS8900F models running microcode Release 9.0 (Bundle 89.0 /
Licensed Machine Code 7.9.0.xxx).

Figure 1 shows the front view of the DS8910F (model 994), and DS8950F (model 996) base
frame. The height of the systems is 40U. The figure shows the standard doors (FC1105, left
side). As an alternative, SpaceSaver doors (FC1106) are available (right side).

Figure 1 IBM DS8900F base frame

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2020. All rights reserved. ibm.com/redbooks 1

 The DS8900F systems fit into a reduced-footprint, 19-inch wide rack.

The IBM DS8900F architecture relies on powerful IBM POWER9™ processor-based servers
that manage the cache to streamline disk input/output (I/O), which maximizes performance
and throughput. These capabilities are further enhanced with the availability of the
high-performance flash enclosures (HPFE Gen2).

All DS8000 models excel at supporting the IBM Z Enterprise server and IBM Power server
environments, which offers many synergy features for these environments in particular.

Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the DS8910F rack-mounted model 993 (left) when
installed (right) in an IBM z14® Model ZR1, or LinuxONE LR1. The IBM Z 3907 Business
Class hosts feature an opening of up to 16U, which can incorporate that storage system.

HPFE Gen2

Figure 2 Installing the DS8910F Model 993 in an IBM z14 Model ZR1

Did you know?

The IBM DS8900F family includes the following features:
򐂰 With three different possible tiers of flash drives (performance-optimized and
capacity-optimized), the DS8900F offers a wide range of flash choices for designing a
configuration that is balanced in cost and performance.
򐂰 The DS8900F height is now a unique 40U, for all full-rack models. The footprint was
further reduced, from a former depth of 144 cm (56.5 in, DS8880), to now only 117 cm
(46.06 in) with the new SpaceSaver doors.
򐂰 All DS8900F models offer 3-phase and single-phase power support.

2 IBM DS8900F Product Guide

 򐂰 POWER9 features 8 billion transistors per core. This ability almost doubles what was
available on the DS8880 models (IBM POWER8®), with the former 4.2 billion transistors
per core.
򐂰 The DS8910F model 993 is a modular rack-mountable enterprise all- flash storage system
that can be integrated into 16U contiguous space of an IBM z14 Model ZR1, LinuxONE
LR1, or other conforming 19-inch wide rack.
򐂰 Transparent Cloud Tiering (TCT) enables a DS8900F to migrate and recall data in cloud
storage. This functionality helps to reduce MIPS usage for Z clients during backup. TCT
allows direct data offload to the IBM TS7700. It also features cloud service offerings, such
as IBM Cloud™ Object Storage and Amazon Web Services (AWS).
TCT also enables the use of on-premises or public cloud storage for archiving data. Data
that is transmitted to the Cloud can be encrypted before leaving the DS8000. For more
information about TCT, see IBM DS8000 Transparent Cloud Tiering, SG24-8381.
򐂰 IBM Easy Tier®, a well-proven feature of the DS8000 series, is available at no charge as
part of the Base license package. Easy Tier dynamically optimizes performance for
multi-tiered systems. It can also rebalance data within a single tier to help maintain optimal
performance. For more information about Easy Tier, see IBM DS8000 Easy Tier (for
DS8000 R9.0), REDP-4667.
򐂰 The Cinder driver for OpenStack is a software component that integrates with the
OpenStack cloud environment and enables the use of storage resources that are provided
by supported IBM storage systems. After the driver is configured on the OpenStack Block
Storage nodes, storage volumes can be allocated by the Cinder nodes to the
Nova-compute nodes. Virtual machines on the Nova-compute nodes can then use these
storage resources.

Product highlights
The IBM DS8900F family includes the following highlights:
򐂰 The DS8900F offers next-level cybersecurity with Safeguarded Copy: Safeguarded Copy
provides protection against data corruption or loss that is caused by malicious events,
such as malware and ransomware, which delivers data stability and system resiliency for
mission-critical workloads.
򐂰 The fastest application response time for IBM Z: Latency is the most important
performance metric in storage. With shortest response times being as fast as
19 microseconds for mainframe (assuming zHyperLink) and 90 microseconds for
distributed systems, the DS8900F family provides ultra-low latency to help clients process
huge volumes of transactions faster and deliver real-time insights to differentiate their
products and gain a competitive advantage.
򐂰 The DS8900F family was developed under the same microcode core as DS8880F. It
inherited most of the advanced functions that were available in its predecessor.
򐂰 Performance improvements: As compared to the previous DS8880F generation, DS8910F
can deliver a 60% increase in random IOPS and up to 150% increase in sequential
throughput. DS8950F delivers up to 38% more random IOPS.
򐂰 Recovery options: The DS8000 models offer various disaster-recovery configurations with
three- and four-site replication.
򐂰 A total of 32 GFC host adapters with authentication and line-rate encryption capability
provide up to two times the bandwidth performance, higher IOPS, and lower latency
compared to 16 GFC host adapters.

3
 򐂰 Support for IBM Fibre Channel Endpoint Security: DS8900F host adapters include support
for IBM Fibre Channel Endpoint Security as part of the cybersecurity solutions when
connected to an IBM z15™.
For more information, see IBM Fibre Channel Endpoint Security for DS8900F and IBM Z,
SG24-8455.
򐂰 Simplified rack power distribution: Intelligent power distribution units (iPDUs) support
single-or three-phase power in all models.
򐂰 Non-volatile dual in-line memory modules (NVDIMM) for write cache retention: Eliminates
system battery requirements.

The DS8910F rack-mounted model 993 can be considered as a successor to

smaller-capacity DS8870, DS8800, and DS8700 systems. Because of its compact size and
flexibility, it targets a much wider market and is an attractive choice wherever a smaller
capacity is needed in combination with the reliability and overall benefits of an IBM DS8900F.

It also is an ideal combination for IBM Z clients who have the Z Business Class models ZR1
or LR1 with the 16U of reserved space. The DS8910F is also well-suited for distributed
environments with high-demanding IBM Power Systems or in any mainframe environment in
which many hundreds of terabytes of capacity is not required.

Note: For more information about the DS8910F Model 993, see Introducing the IBM
DS8910F Model 993 Rack Mounted Storage System, REDP-5556.

All DS8900F models include a 533x machine type and support the HPFE Gen2 flash
enclosures.

All DS8900F models can be ordered with a one-year, two-year, three-year, or four-year
support period.

Scalability and performance

The IBM DS8900F models feature POWER9 server technology to help support higher
performance. Consider the following points:
򐂰 The DS8900F family is available with different processor options. The DS8910F models
support dual 8-core processors, and up to 512 GB system memory.
The DS8950F supports dual 10-core, or dual 20-core processors, and up to 2 TB of
system memory to cover a wide range of performance needs.
򐂰 Memory configurations are available in 192 GB - 2 TB system memory. System memory
supports the operating system and functional code, flash drive storage cache, and
non-volatile dual in-line memory modules (NVDIMM) for persistent write data.
򐂰 The storage server architecture of the DS8000, with its powerful POWER9 processors,
make it possible to manage large caches with small cache segments of 4 KB, and thus
large segment tables, without the need to partition the cache. The POWER9 processors
feature enough processing power to implement sophisticated caching algorithms. These
algorithms and the small cache segment size optimize cache hits result in excellent I/O
response times.
򐂰 The Adaptive Multi-stream Prefetching (AMP) caching algorithm can improve sequential
performance dramatically, which reduces times for backup, processing for business
intelligence, and processing for streaming media. Sequential Adaptive Replacement
Cache is a caching algorithm that allows you to run different workloads, such as
sequential and random workloads, without negatively affecting each other.

4 IBM DS8900F Product Guide

 򐂰 Write data is always protected by maintaining a copy of modified data in the NVDIMMs.
This persistent-memory write cache eliminates the need for the large DC-UPS battery
modules that equipped earlier DS8000 generations. Data is encrypted when it is written to
NVDIMM flash.
򐂰 The POWER9-based servers that are used in the Processor Complexes feature Peripheral
Component Interconnect® Express (PCIe) Generation 4. The I/O enclosures are directly
connected to the DS8900F storage servers with point-to-point PCI Express Gen-3 cables,
with improved sequential read/write throughput and IOPS compared to DS8880 and
earlier models.
򐂰 The HPFE Gen2 is populated with 2.5-inch encryption-capable flash drives on a dedicated
architecture. Each HPFE pair can contain up to 48 flash drives, with capacities ranging
between 800 GB and 15.36 TB per flash drive.
򐂰 The DS8900F models are packaged in a 19-inch high-density frame. Consider the
following points:
– The DS8950F all-flash model supports up to 384 flash drives.
– The DS8910F racked model supports up to 192 flash drives. When integrated in the
16U space of an IBM Z 3907 Business Class, up to 48 flash drives are supported.

DS8900F family
This section summarizes the associated DS8900F models. For more information about each
model, see “DS8900F models” on page 18.

DS8900F all-flash models

An all-flash model means that the system can be provisioned only with flash drives that are
installed in HPFE Gen-2 drive enclosures.

Flash drives are high-performance (tier 0 flash drive) or high-capacity (tier 1 and tier 2 flash
drives). They provide the system with a balance between capacity and performance.
Automated tiering is available to provide an optimized load distribution.

5
 Figure 3 shows the DS8910F and DS8950F racked models. The DS8910F model 994 is a
single-frame model. The DS8950F is one-frame (996) or can be extended with one extra
expansion frame (E96).

DS8910F DS8950F
40 40

38 38
HPFE Gen2 4 HPFE Gen2 4
36 36

34 34
HPFE Gen2 3 HPFE Gen2 3
32 32

30 30

28 28

26 26

24 24
HPFE Gen2 8
HPFE Gen2 2 HPFE Gen2 2
22 22

20 20 HPFE Gen2 7
HPFE Gen2 1 HPFE Gen2 1
18 18

16 16

14 14

12 12
HPFE Gen2 6
10 10

8U 8U
HPFE Gen2 5
6U 6U

4U 4U

2U 2U

Figure 3 DS8910F and DS8950F racked models

The DS8910F Flexibility Class model 993 provides a modular rack-mountable enterprise
storage system.

The modular system can be integrated into an IBM Z model ZR1 (FC 0937), IBM LinuxONE
Rockhopper II model LR1 (FC0938), or other standard 19-inch wide rack that conforms to EIA
310D specifications (FC0939). DS8910F model 993 includes all of the advanced features as
DS8900F while limiting data center footprint and power infrastructure requirements.

The modular system contains two Power Server processor nodes, an I/O Enclosure pair,
High-Performance Flash Enclosures, and a Management Enclosure (which includes the
HMCs, Ethernet Switches, and RPCs). Figure 4 on page 7 shows two rack-mounted models
993. One is integrated into the ZR1/LR1.

The console is shared with ZR1/LR1via the Z’s KVM. The other rack-mounted model 993
shown is the maximum configuration (two HPFE pairs) that can be integrated into a standard
19-inch wide rack.

The DS8910F model 993 supports single-phase and three-phase electrical power
attachment.

6 IBM DS8900F Product Guide

 Rack Mounted 993 in ZR1/LR1

Rack Mounted 993 for standard 19-inch Rack

Figure 4 DS8910F All-Flash rack-mounted model 993

Performance and IBM Z synergy

In this section, the performance improvement functions and features are described.

IBM Easy Tier

Easy Tier is a DS8000 series optional feature that is provided at no cost. It can greatly
increase the performance of your system by ensuring frequently accessed data is put on
faster storage.

Its capabilities include manual volume capacity rebalance, auto performance rebalancing in
both homogeneous and hybrid pools, hot-spot management, rank depopulation, manual
volume migration, and thin provisioning support (ESE volumes only). Easy Tier determines
the appropriate tier of storage that is based on data access requirements and then
automatically and non-disruptively moves data (at the subvolume or sub-LUN level) to the
appropriate tier in the storage system.

Use Easy Tier to dynamically move your data to the appropriate drive tier in your storage
system with its automatic performance monitoring algorithms. You can use this feature to
increase the efficiency of your flash drives and the efficiency of all the tiers in your storage
system.

7
 You can use the features of Easy Tier between three tiers of storage within a DS8000. Use
the capabilities of Easy Tier to support:
򐂰 Three tiers
Using three tiers (each representing a separate drive class) and efficient algorithms
improves system performance and cost effectiveness. You can select from various flash
drive types to create up to three tiers. The drives within a tier must be homogeneous.
The tiers are listed according to the following values:
– Tier 0
Hot data tier, which contains the most active data. This tier can also serve as the home
tier for new data allocations.
– Tier 1
Hot data tier, which contains the most active data. This tier can also serve as the home
tier for new data allocations.
– Tier 2
Cold data tier, which contains the least active data.
򐂰 Drive classes
The following drive classes are available, in order from highest to lowest performance. A
pool can contain up to three drive tiers:
– Flash Tier 0 drives
The highest performance drives, which provide highest I/O throughput and lowest
latency.
– Flash Tier 1 drives
The first tier of high-capacity drives.
– Flash Tier 2 drives
The second tier of high-capacity drives.

Easy Tier also includes the following capabilities:

򐂰 Easy Tier Application enables clients to assign distinct application volumes to a particular
tier in the Easy Tier pool, which disregards Easy Tier’s advanced data migration function.
This capability provides a flexible option for clients who want to ensure that certain
applications remain on a particular tier to meet performance and cost requirements.
򐂰 Easy Tier Heat Map Transfer provides whatever the data placement algorithm is on the
Metro Mirror/Global Copy/Global Mirror (MM/GC/GM) primary site. It can also reapply it on
the MM/GC/GM secondary site through the Easy Tier Heat Map Transfer utility when
failover occurs. With this capability, the IBM DS8000 models can maintain application-level
performance on the secondary site when they take over supporting a workload after a
failover from the primary to secondary site.
򐂰 Easy Tier includes detailed reporting, such as workload skew curve, workload
categorization, and a data movement daily report, and intra-tiering and micro-tiering
support for storage tier with more than one drive technology. This combination can be a
mix of high-performance and high-capacity flash drives (Flash Tier 0, 1, and 2).
򐂰 Easy Tier reporting is fully integrated into the DSGUI.

The 32 and 16 GFC FC/IBM FICON® host adapters in the DS8900F offer enhanced
connectivity. They are available as 4-port only. The host adapters in the I/O enclosures are
directly connected to the processor complexes.

8 IBM DS8900F Product Guide

 The host adapters support FICON attachment to IBM Z servers. You can configure each port
to operate as a Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) port, or Fibre Channel connection (FICON)
port.

High-Performance FICON
High-Performance FICON for IBM Z (zHPF) is a z/OS® I/O architecture that includes several
generations of enhancements. Step-by-step, z/OS access methods were converted to use
the new I/O commands.

zHPF is included in the DS8000 Z feature code package. The DS8900F family is at the most
up-to-date support level for zHPF. Enhancements to zHPF include Extended Distance
capability, zHPF List Pre-fetch support for IBM Db2® and utility operations, and zHPF support
for sequential access methods. All of Db2 I/O is now zHPF-capable and supports the Db2
castout accelerator function, which allows the DS8000 to treat a castout as a single chain of
I/Os.

IBM zHyperLink
zHyperLink is a short distance link technology that dramatically reduces latency by
inter-connecting the IBM Z central electronics complexes (CECs) directly to the I/O bays of
the DS8900F.

The current zHyperLink release supports read and write I/O. zHyperLink is intended to
complement FICON technology to accelerate I/O requests that are typically used for
transaction processing.

Parallel access volumes

Traditional performance features for IBM Z system environments include parallel access
volumes (PAVs), HyperPAV, SuperPAV, Multiple Allegiance, I/O priority queuing, and zHPF.
SuperPAV extends the previous HyperPAV capability by enabling alias devices to be used
across multiple logical subsystems (LSSs).

FICON Dynamic Routing

FICON Dynamic Routing (FIDR) is another performance-relevant function that is available
with newer FICON cards, such as those provided by recent IBM Z models. When considering
the many paths in a SAN (for example, with many inter-switch links [ISLs]), the traditional
static routing often led to unbalanced ISLs with not all available bandwidth being used. FIDR
leads to an optimally balanced SAN, which means more efficient use of SAN ISL bandwidth.

Availability and serviceability

The DS8000 family is designed and implemented with component redundancy to avoid
potential single points of failure. The DS8900F models offer high availability and multiplatform
support, including IBM Z and distributed systems. Consider the following points:
򐂰 Up to 128 host adapter ports can be individually configured to operate as FC ports or
FICON ports. The Host Adapters can auto-negotiate down by two speed factors:
– The 32 GFC adapters can operate down to 8 Gbps
– The 16 GFC adapters can operate down to 4 Gbps
Data transfers are full-duplex, over longwave or shortwave fiber links
򐂰 A nondisruptive upgrade path within each DS8900F model allows configuration upgrades
for processors, memory, and storage capacity enhancement to be performed concurrently.
Each DS8900F model supports a scalable upgrade path from the smallest to the largest
processor configuration.

9
 Note: Upgrades between the DS8900F models are not possible.

򐂰 The DS8900F features Smart Rebuild, a function that is designed to help reduce the
possibility of secondary failures and data loss in RAID arrays. In a RAID 6, while still
online, a predicted failure starts a cloning of the affected drive, which is similar to a RAID 1
for this specific drive and eliminates a RAID rebuild. The cloning reduces the duration of
the rebuild time. The procedure falls back to a classical rebuild when the flash drive is
failing.
򐂰 Dynamic Volume Expansion simplifies management by enabling easier, online volume
expansion (for Open Systems and IBM Z) to support application data growth. It also
supports data center migration and consolidation to larger volumes to ease addressing
constraints.
򐂰 For data protection and availability, the DS8000 series supports advanced disaster
recovery (DR) and business continuity solutions, such as Copy Services functions, which
are available for thin-provisioned volumes. Also, Copy Services Manager is preinstalled
(although, not licensed) on the DS8000 Hardware Management Console (HMC).
򐂰 Resiliency highlights include the following capabilities:
– IBM FlashCopy® handling of volume reservations provides the detection of SCSI
reserves for devices in a Metro Mirror or Global Mirror environments. It resets the
reserve when creating a FlashCopy after it is identified as not being a valid reserve for
a running server.
– The Safeguarded Copy function delivers the ability to create and retain hundreds of
point-in-time copies to protect against logical data corruption or malicious destruction.
These copies can be used to verify customer data, analyze the nature of the
corruption, and restore critical customer data. Safeguarded Copy management is done
with Copy Services Manager. For more information, see IBM DS8880 Safeguarded
Copy, REDP-5506.
– z/OS Soft Fence prevents any system from accessing data from the former remote
mirror primary site when an unplanned IBM HyperSwap® occurs.
򐂰 Active Volume Protection is a feature that prevents deleting volumes that are still in use.
򐂰 Support for T10 Data Integrity Field is standard. The Data Integrity Field standard of SCSI
T10 enables end-to-end data protection, from the application or host HBA down to the
storage drives.
򐂰 Support for IBM i variable LUNs adds flexibility for volume sizes and can increase capacity
usage for IBM i environments. Before this advance, clients were limited to fixed LUN sizes,
such as 35, 70, 141, or 282 GB.
򐂰 Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) authentication support allows single
sign-on (SSO) functionality. LDAP can simplify user management by allowing the IBM
DS8000 to rely on a centralized LDAP directory rather than a local user repository. For
more information, see IBM DS8880 Integrated Copy Services Manager and LDAP Client
on the HMC, REDP-5356.

Energy efficiency
The DS8900F models feature the following energy-efficient characteristics:
򐂰 Intelligent rack power distribution units (iPDUs) supply power to the storage system.
Backup power modules (BPMs) provide power to the non-volatile dual in-line memory
module (NVDIMM) when electrical power is down. Each iPDU includes its own dedicated
input AC power cord.

10 IBM DS8900F Product Guide

 򐂰 One iPDU pair (that is, two power cords) is installed by default. A second iPDU pair is
required in the base frame when a second I/O enclosure pair or a second HPFE pair is
added, which results in four power connections for this frame. The DS8950F expansion
frame always includes two power cords.
򐂰 The NVDIMM eliminates the need for DC-UPS (used in earlier DS8000 generations) and
special stocking of batteries. If power is lost, the system shuts down completely in 20 ms,
but the power is maintained to all of the NVDIMMs to write all data in nonvolatile (NVS)
storage to the NAND flash on the NVDIMMs.
򐂰 By no longer using the DC-UPS, the DS8900F can significantly lower weight, height, floor
space, and power consumption when compared to previous DS8000 generations.
򐂰 Three-phase and single-phase power attachments are available for all models.
򐂰 The DS8900F models are designed to comply with the ENERGY STAR specifications.
򐂰 High-density flash storage enclosures offer a considerable reduction in footprint and
energy consumption.
򐂰 All DS8900F models are compatible with hot-aisle and cold-aisle data center layouts,
which are designed to optimize airflow, reduce cooling costs, and increase energy
efficiency.
򐂰 The DS8900F models are compliant with the current directives of the Restriction of
Hazardous Substances (RoHS) standards.

Security and encryption

Combined with the world-class business resiliency and encryption features, the DS8000
family provides a unique combination of high availability (HA), performance, and security.

To counteract the growing threat of security breaches, the DS8900F includes self-encrypting
drives as a standard feature. It also includes security capabilities, such as broad-based
access-control and tamper-proof audit logging, and other security features that are needed to
comply with regulatory authorities. Consider the following points:
򐂰 Self-encrypted drives are a standard feature. IBM Security Key Lifecycle Manager (SKLM)
is mostly used as the encryption key management software. Support for OASIS Key
Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP) is available with for the DS8000 with SKLM
(version 3.0 required). The Gemalto SafeNet KeySecure is also supported as the external
key server. For more information, see IBM DS8000 Encryption for data at rest,
Transparent Cloud Tiering, and Endpoint Security , REDP-4500.
򐂰 Full disk encryption (FDE) can protect business-sensitive data by providing drive-based
hardware encryption that is combined with sophisticated key management software. FDE
is available for all drive types, including all flash drive types. Because encryption is done
by the drive, it is not apparent to host systems and can be used in any environment,
including z/OS.
򐂰 Data that is written to the NVDIMMs is encrypted.
򐂰 The 32 GFC host adapters provide line-rate encryption capability. The DS8900F host
adapters include support for IBM Fibre Channel Endpoint Security as part of the
cybersecurity solutions that are offered by IBM. To take advantage of this capability, the
platforms that are attached to the DS8900F must also have support for IBM Fibre Channel
Endpoint Security. For more information, see IBM Fibre Channel Endpoint Security for IBM
DS8900F and IBM Z, REDP-8455.
򐂰 The Safeguarded Copy function takes cybersecurity to a new level.

11
 򐂰 Data that is transmitted to the Cloud can be encrypted, except when offloading to a
TS7700 cloud when the Transparent Cloud Tiering feature is used. For more information,
see IBM DS8000 Encryption for data at rest, Transparent Cloud Tiering, and Endpoint
Security , REDP-4500.
򐂰 Security improvements in the DS8000 family enable customers to become compliant with
the Special Publication (SP) number 800-131a, which is an NIST directive that provides
guidance for protecting sensitive data by using cryptographic algorithms that have key
strengths of 112 bits. For more information, see IBM DS8870 and NIST SP 800-131a
Compliance, REDP-5069.
򐂰 LDAP authentication support can simplify user management by allowing the DS8000 to
rely on a centralized LDAP directory rather than a local user repository. LDAP support can
be enabled through Copy Services Manager, which is packaged with the HMC code.
򐂰 An audit log for access or modifications that are made to the logical configuration can now
be stored on separate syslog servers by using the rsyslog protocol.
򐂰 For data-at-rest encryption, the following specific features of encryption key management
help address Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requirements:
– The encryption deadlock recovery key option enables you to restore access to an IBM
DS8000 when the encryption key for the storage is unavailable because of an
encryption deadlock scenario.
– Dual-platform key server support is important if key servers on z/OS share keys with
key servers on open systems. The DS8000 family requires one isolated key server in
encryption configurations. Dual-platform key server support allows two server
platforms to host the key manager, with either platform operating in clear key or secure
key mode.
– The recovery key Enabling/Disabling and Rekey data key options for the FDE feature
can help clients satisfy PCI security standards.

Advanced functions
The DS8000 family includes the following advanced functions:
򐂰 The DS8900F provides DS Storage Manager (the graphical user interface [GUI]) and DS
command-line interface (CLI) management interfaces to configure the system or query
status information. The DS8900F DS GUI was redesigned with Release 9.0 and now has
the same look and feel as the GUIs of other IBM storage products, which makes it easier
for a storage administrator to work with different IBM storage products. The DSCLI and DS
Service WUI hare now embedded into the GUI to optionally allow quick CLI-based
operations and remote access to the DS WUI.
򐂰 The user has the choice between two extent sizes for each Fixed Block extent pool:
– Large 1 GiB extents as used in previous implementations, which remain a default.
– Small 16 MiB extent sizes, which are often the recommended size now, unless working
with total capacities in the Petabyte range.
򐂰 For Count Key Data (CKD) devices, two extent sizes are available: large extents that are
based on 3390 Mod1 volumes with 1113 cylinders or small extents with 21 cylinders per
extent.
As with Fixed Block, the smaller extent size is advantageous when working with thinly
provisioned volumes.
򐂰 Quick Initialization provides fast volume initialization for Open Systems logical unit
numbers (LUNs) and CKD volumes. It allows the creation of devices, which makes them
available when the command completes.

12 IBM DS8900F Product Guide

򐂰 The following advanced Copy Services features are available in DS8000:
– IBM FlashCopy is a feature that allows the creation of volume copies (and data set
copies for z/OS) nearly instantaneously. Different options are available to create full
copies, incremental copies, copy-on-write copies, and Cascaded FlashCopies. For
more information about Cascaded FlashCopy, see DS8000 Cascading FlashCopy
Design and Scenarios, REDP-5463. FlashCopy can be used to perform backup
operations parallel to production or to create test systems.
– The Safeguarded Copy function delivers the ability to create and retain hundreds of
point-in-time copies to protect against logical data corruption or malicious destruction
by ransomware. Those copies can be used to verify customer data, analyze the nature
of the corruption, and restore critical customer data. Safeguarded Copy management
is done with Copy Services Manager. For more information, see IBM DS8880
Safeguarded Copy, REDP-5506.
– The DS8900F models and code provide the same remote-mirroring options as
previous models of the DS8000 family. Synchronous remote mirroring (Metro Mirror) is
supported up to 300 km (186.4 miles). Asynchronous copy (Global Mirror) is supported
for unlimited distances. Three-site options are available by combining Metro Mirror and
Global Mirror. When Multi-Target Peer-to-Peer Remote Copy (PPRC) is used, even
4-site options are possible.
– Metro Mirror, Global Copy, Global Mirror, Metro/Global Mirror, z/OS Global Mirror, and
z/OS Metro/Global Mirror business continuity solutions are designed to provide the
advanced functions and flexibility that is needed to tailor a business continuity
environment for almost any recovery point or recovery time objective.
– Copy Services can be managed and automated by using IBM Copy Services Manager
(CSM) that is preinstalled on the DS8900F HMC or the use of external CSM servers.
For z/OS environments, IBM Geographically Dispersed Parallel Sysplex® (IBM
GDPS®) provides an automated DR solution.
– With IBM AIX® operating systems, the DS8000 family supports Open IBM HyperSwap
replication. Open HyperSwap is a special Metro Mirror replication method that is
designed to automatically fail over I/O from the primary logical devices to the
secondary logical devices during a primary storage system failure. The swap can be
accomplished with minimal disruption to the applications that are use the logical
devices.
– In cooperation with the z/OS Data Mover, another option is available for z/OS: Global
Mirror for z/OS. Another important feature for z/OS Global Mirror (2-site) and z/OS
Metro/Global Mirror (3-site) is Extended Distance FICON. This feature can help reduce
the need for channel extender configurations by increasing the number of read
commands in flight.
– Remote-Pair FlashCopy enables you to establish a FlashCopy relationship where the
target is a remote mirror Metro Mirror primary volume, which keeps the pair in the
full-duplex state.
– The Easy Tier Heat Map Transfer function is also integrated with IBM Copy Services
Manager or with newer GDPS versions. All of the functions are available through the
IBM Copy Services Manager.
– The Resource Groups feature is a policy-based resource scope limiting function that
enables the secure use of Copy Services functions by multiple users on a DS8000
series storage system. Resource Groups are used to define an aggregation of
resources and policies for configuration and management of those resources. The
scope of the aggregated resources can be tailored to meet each hosted customers’
Copy Services requirements for any operating system that is supported by the
DS8000 series.

13
 򐂰 The DS8000 models supports VMware vStorage application programming interfaces
(APIs) for Array Integration (VAAI). VAAI enables certain storage tasks to be offloaded
from the server hardware to the storage array. Support is included for the Atomic Test and
Set (ATS) primitive, the Cloning Blocks primitive (not supported for ESE volumes or
volumes larger than 2 TB), the Zeroing Blocks primitive and the UNMAP (Space Release)
primmitive is only supported with ESE volumes using 16 MiB small extents..
򐂰 The DS8900F models support VASA 2.0, and the RESTful API.
򐂰 The DS8900F models also support the IBM Storage Management Console for VMware
vCenter. The IBM Storage Management Console for VMware vCenter is a software plug-in
that integrates into the VMware vCenter server platform. It enables VMware administrators
to independently and centrally manage their storage resources on IBM storage systems.
In addition to being a virtualization-related solution, the IBM Storage Management
Console is a powerful management solution for VMware administrators who want to
control storage resources primarily from the VMware vSphere Client GUI.
򐂰 DS8000 Storage Replication Adapter (SRA) is a software add-on that integrates with
VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager (SRM) solution and enables SRM to perform
failovers together with IBM DS8000 storage systems. The DS8000 SRA extends SRM
capabilities and allows it to employ DS8000 replication and mirroring as part of the SRM
comprehensive Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP) solution.

Architecture and key components

This section gives a high-level description of the main elements of the DS8900F architecture.

Important: For more information about the DS8900F architecture, see IBM DS8900F
Architecture and Implementation, SG24-8456.

IBM POWER9 processor technology

A pair of POWER9-based servers, also known as central processor complexes (CPCs), are at
the heart of the IBM DS8900F models. Between POWER8, what was the base for DS8880,
and POWER9, the number of transistors for each chip almost doubled, from 4.2 bn to 8 bn.

These two IBM POWER® servers share the load of receiving and moving data between the
attached hosts and the storage arrays. However, they are also redundant, so that if either
server fails, the system operations fail over to the remaining server and continue to run
without any host interruption.

The POWER9 processors operate at cycle frequencies 3.4 - 3.9 GHz and can scale from the
8-core processors in a DS8910F Processor Complex to 20-core processors in a DS8950F
Processor Complex. Among other innovations, the IBM POWER processor includes SMT
modes, such as SMT4 or SMT8, which allow four or even eight instruction threads to be run
simultaneously in each processor core.

The POWER processor also features Intelligent Threads that can vary based on the workload
demand. The POWER9 multi-core architecture was matched with a wide range of related
technology innovations to deliver leading throughput, efficiency, scalability, and reliability.

14 IBM DS8900F Product Guide

Internal PCIe-based fabric
The DS8900F fabric includes the following specifications:
򐂰 DS8900F POWER9 servers are based on the current PCI Express (PCIe) architecture to
provide up to 16-lane (x16) high-speed connectivity to internal adapters.
򐂰 Up to four dual-port PCIe adapters provide point-to-point connectivity to the IO enclosures.
The I/O enclosures provide connectivity between the IO adapters and the POWER9
processor complexes.
򐂰 The I/O enclosures provide PCIe Gen3 connectivity to all installed Host and Device
Adapters. The I/O enclosure features six PCIe x8 adapter slots and has four more PCIe x8
connectors that allow for attachment to the High-Performance Flash Enclosures and for
the zHyperLink adapters.

I/O enclosures
The I/O enclosure provides connectivity between the adapters and the processor complex.

The I/O enclosure uses PCIe interfaces to connect I/O adapters in the I/O enclosure to both
processor nodes. A PCIe device is an I/O adapter or a processor node.

To improve I/O operations per second (IOPS) and sequential read/write throughput, the I/O
enclosure is connected to each processor node with a point-to-point connection.

The I/O enclosure can contain the adapters that are described next.

zHyperLink
zHyperLink is a short-distance IBM Z systems-attached link that is designed for up to 10x
lower latency than High-Performance FICON. It is a point-to-point optical cabling connection
with a maximum distance of 150 meters (492 feet). It connects the IBM Z system central
processing complexes (CPCs) directly to the zHyperLink ports of the I/O enclosure of a
DS8000 system. In each I/O enclosure, two more ports are available for the new zHyperLink
capability. For small-block reads, response times below 20 µs were achieved for I/Os
qualifying for zHyperLink.

All DS8900F models allow zHyperLink attachment.

Flash RAID adapters

The flash RAID adapters have a PCIe eight-lane connection to the I/O enclosures.

The main processor is a RAID engine that provides RAID and sparing management to the
flash drives in the HPFE Gen2 flash enclosures. Each flash RAID adapter features four SAS
ports, which provide connectivity from the flash RAID adapters to the HPFE Gen2 enclosures.

The flash RAID adapters are installed as a pair, one in each of an I/O enclosure pair. This
configuration is known as a “device adapter pair” (DA pair). Logical configuration should be
balanced across the DA pair for load balancing and the highest throughput. The redundant
DA pair ensures continued availability if a flash RAID adapter or a logical IO enclosure fails.

The DS8000 flash RAID adapter is designed for connectivity and management of the
DS8900F HPFE Gen2.

The FC1604 is a pair of HPFE Gen2 adapters, which is installed directly into a PCIe3 x8
adapter slot in the I/O enclosure. One such HPFE Gen2 adapter pair is required for each
HPFE Gen2 pair.

15
 The FC1605 is then one HPFE Gen2 enclosure pair, for the R9 release of DS8000. Each
HPFE pair can be populated with one, two, or three flash drive sets.

Host adapters
The DS8900F offers 32 GFC and 16 GFC Host Adapters (HAs), with four ports. Each HA port
can be individually configured for FC or FICON connectivity. Configuring multiple host
connections across multiple HAs in multiple I/O enclosures provides the best combination of
throughput and fault tolerance.

High-Performance Flash Enclosure Gen-2

The DS8900F models support the High-Performance Flash Enclosure Gen2. The
High-Performance Flash Enclosure is a 2U storage enclosure that is installed in pairs.

The High-Performance Flash Enclosure Gen2 pair provides two 2U storage enclosures with
associated RAID controllers and cabling. This combination of components forms a
high-performance, fully redundant flash storage array.

The High-Performance Flash Enclosure Gen2 pair contains the following hardware
components:
򐂰 Two 2U 24-slot SAS flash drive enclosures. Each of the two enclosures contains the
following components:
– Two power supplies with integrated cooling fans
– Two SAS Expander Modules with two SAS ports each
– One midplane or backplane for plugging components that provides maintenance of
flash drives, Expander Modules, and power supplies
򐂰 Two High-Performance Flash Enclosure Gen2 flash RAID adapters that are configured for
redundant access to the 2U flash enclosures. Each RAID adapter supports concurrent
maintenance and includes the following components:
– High-Performance ASIC RAID engine
– Four SAS ports and cables that are connected to the four SAS Expander Modules,
which provides fully redundant access from each RAID adapter to both 2U enclosures
– Integrated cooling

Figure 5 shows the HPFE Gen2.

Figure 5 HPFE Gen2 front (top) and rear (bottom)

16 IBM DS8900F Product Guide

 HPFE Gen2 Flash drives
The following drives are available for the HPFE Gen2:
򐂰 2.5-inch Flash Tier 0 high-performance flash drives with FDE:
– 800 GB
– 1.6 TB
– 3.2 TB
򐂰 2.5-inch Flash Tier 1 high-capacity flash drives with FDE: 3.84 TB
򐂰 2.5-inch Flash Tier 2 high-capacity flash drives with FDE:
– 1.92 TB (DS8910F only)
– 7.68 TB
– 15.36 TB

Note: Intermixing high-performance (Flash Tier 0) and high-capacity (Flash Tier 1, 2)

drives in the same HPFE Gen2 pair is not supported.

On special request, an intermix of different high-performance flash capacities within one

HPFE pair an intermix of different high-capacity flash capacities can be allowed. Contact your
account representative for more information.

For more information about the HPFE Gen2, associated flash RAID adapters, and flash
drives, see IBM DS8000 High-Performance Flash Enclosure Gen2, REDP-5422.

Power subsystem
All DS8900F models are available for single-phase or three-phase power attachment, which
supports input voltages of 200 - 250 Vac. To account for the different worldwide geographical
areas, the attachment options that are listed in Table 1 are available.

Table 1 Power options

Feature code Power cord Volts Ampère Description
feature

1038 Single-phase 208 V 30 A NEMA L6-30P 2P+G

1039 Single-phase 250 V 32 A IEC 60309 P+N+G

1040 Three-phase 250 V 60 A IEC 60309 3P+G (four-pin Delta)

1041 Three-phase 250 V 32 A IEC 60309 3P+N+G (five-pin Wye)

1042 Single-phase 250 V 32 A For use in Australia and New Zealand

(not IEC 60309)

1043 Single-phase 250 V 30 A For use in Korea

1044 Single-phase 250 V 32 A IEC 60309 P+N+G (halogen free)

The former DC-UPS configuration that was used in earlier DS8000 models was replaced by a
simplified rack power distribution. The new Intelligent power distribution units (iPDUs) replace
the DC-UPSs. With the new NVDIMMs for write cache retention, they eliminate the need for
bulky battery sets and significantly reduce the rack footprint. Each iPDU has one AC power
connector and uses its own AC inline power cord.

17
 The iPDU supports SNMP/Telnet/Web Interface and is firmware upgradeable. The HMCs are
responsible for the whole system power state and monitoring by communicating to the
network interfaces of the iPDUs. By default, each DS8900F frame includes a pair of iPDUs. If
the second HPFE Gen2 storage enclosure pair or the second I/O enclosure pair is added to
the base frame of the racked models, a second iPDU pair is required for this frame.

For more information about the DS8900F power subsystem, see DS8900F Architecture and
Implementation, SG24-8456.

Hardware Management Console

The mini-PC HMC is a Red Hat Linux-based server that enables users to interact with the
DS8900F by using the HMC GUI (for service purposes) or DS Storage Manager/DS CLI (for
storage administration or configuration).

A secondary management console is standard as a redundant management console to cater

for environments with high-availability requirements.

With the introduction of the Mini HMC, the secondary HMC is installed in the DS8000 base
frame, which eliminates the requirement for external rack space. Copy Services Manager is
included with the HMC software. For more information, see IBM DS8880 Integrated Copy
Services Manager and LDAP Client on the HMC, REDP-5356.

Important: The DS8900F HMC supports IPv6, the next generation of the Internet
Protocol. The HMC continues to support the IPv4 standard and mixed IPv4 and IPv6
environments.

Ethernet switches
The DS8900F base frame includes two internal private Ethernet switches. Two switches are
supplied to allow the creation of a fully redundant private management network. Each
processor complex includes connections to each switch to allow each server to access both
private networks. These networks cannot be accessed externally, and no external
connections are allowed.

External client network connection to a DS8900F system is through a dedicated connection

to each HMC. The switches receive power from the power junction assemblies (PJAs), and do
not require separate power outlets.

Important: The internal Ethernet switches are for the DS8000 private network only.
No client network connection should ever be made directly to these internal switches.

DS8900F models
The DS8900F delivers extensive scalability. As an all-flash model, the system supports only
high-performance and high-capacity flash drives installed in HPFE Gen2 drive enclosures.

DS8900F 533x machine type models

The DS8900F machine type models are described in this section.

18 IBM DS8900F Product Guide

DS8950F (machine type 533x models 996 and E96)
The DS8950F (machine type 533x models 996 with expansion frame E96) is a
high-performance, high-efficiency, high-capacity storage system that is exclusively
provisioned with High-Performance Flash Enclosures Gen2.

DS8950F storage systems are scalable with up to dual 20-core processors, 8

High-Performance Flash Enclosures Gen2 pairs, and up to 384 Flash Tier 0, Flash Tier 1, or
Flash Tier 2 drives. They are optimized and configured for cost and performance. The frame
is 19 inches wide with a 40U capacity. They support the following storage enclosure pairs:
򐂰 Up to 4 High-Performance Flash Enclosure Gen2 pairs in the base frame (model 996)
򐂰 Up to 4 High-Performance Flash Enclosure Gen2 pairs each in the expansion frame
(model E96).

Table 2 and Table 3 list the hardware components and maximum capacities that are
supported for the DS8950F, depending on the number of processor cores and memory
available.

Table 2 Components for the DS8950F (machine type 533x models 996 and E96)
Processors System I/O enclosure FC/FICON HPFE Gen2 Expansion
per memory pairs Host pairs frames
Processor (GB) adapters
Complex (4-Port)

10-core 512 1-2 2 - 16 1-4 0

20-core 1,024 1-4 2 - 32 1-8 0-1

2,048

Table 3 Components for the DS8950F (machine type 533x models 996 and E96)
Processors System memory zHyperLink Maximum Maximum raw
(GB) adapters flash drives storage
capacity 1

10-core 512 0-4 192 2,949 TB

20-core 1,024 0 - 8 (Base frame) 384 5,898 TB

2,048 0 - 12 (incl. E96 frame)

1. Using 15.36 TB Flash Tier 2 drives

DS8910F (machine type 533x model 994)

The DS8910F is a high-density, high-performance, high-capacity racked storage system that
includes only High-Performance Flash Enclosures Gen2.

The DS8910F storage system Processor Complexes feature 8-core processors and are
scalable and support up to 192 Flash Tier 0, Flash Tier 1, or Flash Tier 2 drives. The frame is
19 inches wide and 40U high.

The DS8910F supports up to four High-Performance Flash Enclosure Gen2 pair in a base
frame (model 994).

Table 4 on page 20 and Table 5 on page 20 list the hardware components and maximum
capacities that are supported for the DS8910F model 994.

19
 Table 4 Components for the DS8910F (machine type 533x model 994)
Processors System I/O enclosure FC/FICON HPFE Gen2 Expansion
per memory pairs Host pairs frames
Processor (GB) adapters
Complex (4-Port)

8-core 192 1-2 2 - 16 1-4 0

512

Table 5 Components for the DS8910F (machine type 533x model 994)
Processors System memory zHyperLink Maximum flash Maximum raw
(GB) adapters drives storage
capacity 1

8-core 192 0-4 192 2,949 TB

512

1. Using 15.36 TB Flash Tier 2 drives

DS8910F (machine type 533x model 993)

The DS8910F is an entry-level, rackless high-performance storage system that includes only
High-Performance Flash Enclosures Gen2. It is based on the same architecture as the rest of
the DS8900F family.

The DS8910F storage system Processor Complexes feature 8-core processors and supports
one or two High-Performance Flash Enclosure Gen2 pairs with up to 96 Flash Tier 0, Flash
Tier 1, or Flash Tier 2 drives. When mounting within the 16U sparing of an IBM Z/LinuxONE
3907 Business Class host, the number of flash drives is limited to 48 maximum.

Table 6 and Table 7 list the hardware components and maximum capacity that is supported
for the DS8910F model 993.

Table 6 Components for the DS8910F (machine type 533x model 993)
Rack mount Processors System I/O enclosure FC/FICON HPFE Gen2
option per memory pairs Host pairs
Processor (GB) adapters
Complex (4-Port)

Within 8-core 192 1 2-8 1

Z/LinuxONE BC 512

Client-provided 8-core 192 1 2-8 1-2

standard rack 512

Table 7 Components for the DS8910F (machine type 533x model 993)
Rack mount System memory zHyperLink Maximum flash Maximum raw
option (GB) adapters drives storage
capacity 1

Within 192 0-4 48 737 TB

Z/LinuxONE BC 512

Client-provided 192 0-4 96 1,475 TB

standard rack 512

1. Using 15.36 TB Flash Tier 2 drives

20 IBM DS8900F Product Guide

DS8900F weight specifications and dimensions
Table 8 lists the weight specifications and dimensions for the DS8910F and DS8950F and its
expansion frame, including casters and covers.

Table 8 DS8900F dimensions and weights

Model Dimensions Maximum weight

DS8900F Model 993 Height: 246 kg (543 lb)

򐂰 15U or 667 mm (26.3 in)
򐂰 16U or 711 mm (28.0 in)
򐂰 20U or 889 mm (35.0 in)

Width: 465 mm (18.3 in)

Depth: 700 mm - 780 mm (27.6 in - 30.7 in)

DS8900F Model 994 Height: 1927 mm (75.9 in) 704 kg (1552 lb)

Width:
򐂰 With standard rack doors: 616 mm (24.3 in)
򐂰 With SpaceSaver doors: 600 mm (23.6 in)

Depth:
򐂰 With standard rack doors: 1271 mm (50.0 in)
򐂰 With SpaceSaver doors: 1169 mm (46.0 in)

DS8900F Model 996 Height: 1927 mm (75.9 in) 735 kg (1621 lb)

Width:
򐂰 With standard rack doors: 616 mm (24.3 in)
򐂰 With SpaceSaver doors: 600 mm (23.6 in)

Depth:
򐂰 With standard rack doors: 1271 mm (50.0 in)
򐂰 With SpaceSaver doors: 1169 mm (46.0 in)

DS8900F Model E96 Height: 1927 mm (75.9 in) 545 kg (1202 lb)

Width:
򐂰 With standard rack doors: 616 mm (24.3 in)
򐂰 With SpaceSaver doors: 600 mm (23.6 in)

Depth:
򐂰 With standard rack doors: 1271 mm (50.0 in)
򐂰 With SpaceSaver doors: 1169 mm (46.0 in)

DS8000 systems are designed to operate in a temperature range of 16 - 32 °C (61 - 99 °F).

Table 9 lists power consumption and environmental information for DS8900F models.

Table 9 Power consumption and environmental information (fully equipped frames)

Measurement Unit of measure Base frame Expansion frame

Peak electric Kilowatt (kW) Model 993: 2.2 N/A

power Model 994: 4.6 N/A
Model 996: 5.9 Model E96: 3.9

21
 Measurement Unit of measure Base frame Expansion frame

Thermal load British thermal units Model 993: 7464 N/A

(BTU) per hour Model 994: 15682 N/A
Model 996: 20199 Model E96: 13320

Capacity of Cubic meters per

exhaust minute (cubic feet 44.2 (1500) 51.8 (1800)
per minute, CFM)

Ground leakage milliamperes (mA) < 21 < 21

current

Startup current amperes (A or amp) ≤ 100 ≤ 100

Startup current microseconds (µs < 200 < 200

duration or µsec)

For more information about DS8900F power and measurements, see the IBM DS8900F
Introduction and Planning Guide, SC27-9560.

Other configuration features

The following main features, upgrades, and options can be requested with new DS8900F
orders or installed later:
򐂰 Transparent Cloud Tiering
For IBM Z clients who want to use Transparent Cloud Tiering (TCT), a 10 Gbps Ethernet
network adapter pair is available for all DS8900F models to increase the throughput for
TCT. Feature code (FC) 3602 is used for the DS8910F, and FC 3603 for the DS8950F.
For more information about Transparent Cloud Tiering (TCT), see IBM DS8000
Transparent Cloud Tiering, SG24-8381.
򐂰 The Front and rear door lock kit (FC 1014) enables locking your machine.
򐂰 The Rack side cover pair feature (FC 1107) provides two 40U high-end rack side covers.
These covers are decorative and are not mandatory.
򐂰 An optional overhead cabling Top-exit bracket feature (FC 1401) includes a top-exit
bracket for fiber cables.
򐂰 The Shipping weight reduction option (FC 0200) allows you to receive delivery of a
DS8000 model in multiple shipments. If your site includes delivery weight constraints, IBM
offers a shipping weight reduction option that ensures the maximum shipping weight of the
initial model shipment does not exceed 909 kg (2000 lb). The model weight is reduced by
removing selected components that are then shipped separately. The IBM service
representative installs the components that were shipped separately during the storage
unit installation.
򐂰 The Earthquake Resistance Kit (FC 1907) is an optional seismic kit for stabilizing the
storage unit rack so that the rack complies with AC156 earthquake resistance standards.
򐂰 The DS8950F expansion frame can stand up to 20 m (65.6 feet) apart from the base
frame. When this option is used, select FC 1341 with the expansion frame for the required
cabling.
򐂰 The BSMI certificate for Taiwan option (FC 0400) provides the required Bureau of
Standards, Metrology, and Inspection (BSMI) ISO 9001 certification documents for
storage system shipments to Taiwan.

22 IBM DS8900F Product Guide

Warranty information and upgrades
DS8900F offers the Enterprise Choice warranty of 1, 2, 3, or 4 years on the hardware and the
advanced function software with the following options:
򐂰 4 years on 5334 all-flash models
򐂰 3 years on 5333 all-flash models
򐂰 2 years on 5332 all-flash models
򐂰 1 year on 5331 all-flash models

Model conversion
Although DS8950F and DS8910F share many common parts, conversion between these
models or upgrades from earlier DS8000 generations are not offered.

Scalable upgrades
The DS8000 series supports concurrent upgrades within the same model and machine type.

The following types of upgrades are available:

򐂰 Processor and system memory
򐂰 I/O enclosures, host adapters, and device adapters
򐂰 High-Performance Flash Enclosures and flash drive sets
򐂰 Expansion frame

For example, with the DS8950F model, you can start with a single-frame dual 10-core
configuration with flash enclosures for 48 drives, 512 GB of system memory, and grow to a
full-scale, 384-drive, 2-frame configuration, dual 20-core with 2 TB of system memory.

All frame, capacity, cache, and processor upgrades are concurrent, regardless of
configuration type.

Licensed functions
The licensed functions are now bundled into the groups that are listed in Table 10.

Table 10 DS8000 licensed functions

Licensed function for DS8000 with License scope IBM 904y-FF8 indicator
Enterprise Choice warranty feature code numbers

Base Function (BF) ALL 8151 - 8160

Copy Services (CS) ALL, FB, or CKD 8250 - 8260

z-synergy Services (zsS) CKD 8350 - 8360

The grouping of licensed functions facilitates ordering, which differs from earlier DS8000
models for which licensed functions were more granular and were ordered specifically.

23
 The license bundles contain the following functions:
򐂰 Base Function license (BF):
– Operating Environment License (OEL)
– Logical Configuration support for Fixed Block (FB) (open systems)
– Thin Provisioning
– Easy Tier
– Encryption Authorization
򐂰 Copy Services license (CS):
– FlashCopy
– Safeguarded Copy
– Metro Mirror
– Global Mirror
– Metro/Global Mirror
– z/Global Mirror
– z/Global Mirror Resync
– Multi-Target Peer-to-Peer Remote Copy (MT-PPRC)
򐂰 z-synergy Services license (zsS):
– Fibre Channel connection (FICON) attachment
– Parallel Access Volumes (PAV)
– HyperPAV (including SuperPAV)
– High-Performance FICON for IBM Z systems (zHPF)
– IBM z/OS Distributed Data Backup
– zHyperLink
– Transparent Cloud Tiering

The licensed functions are enabled through a 533x (x=1...4) licensed function indicator
feature, plus a 904y-FF8 (y=6...9) licensed function authorization feature number. Consider
the following points:
򐂰 The DS8000 provides Enterprise Choice warranty options that are associated with a
specific machine type. The x in 533x designates the machine type according to its
warranty period, where x can be 1, 2, 3, or 4. For example, a 5334-996 machine type
designates a DS8950F storage system with a four-year warranty period.
򐂰 The y in 904y can be 6, 7, 8, or 9, according to the associated 5331/5332/5333/5334 base
unit model. For example, a 9048-FF8 designates a DS8000 Licensed Function
Authorization for a 5333 machine with a three-year warranty period.
򐂰 The licensed function indicator feature numbers enable the technical activation of the
function, which is subject to a feature activation code that is made available by IBM and
applied by the client. The 904y-FF8 (y=6 - 9) licensed function authorization feature
numbers establish the extent of authorization for that function on the 533x-99z (x=1...4,
z=3...6) machine for which it was acquired.
򐂰 Licensed functions are activated and enforced with a defined license scope. License scope
refers to the type of storage and the type of servers with which the function can be used.
For instance, the zsS licenses are only available with the CKD (z/FICON) scope.
The base functions are mandatory. The base functions must always be configured for
mainframe and open systems, which is a scope of ALL. Also, the activation of Feature
Code 8300 is required to configure CKD volumes.
With CS, if these services are used only for mainframe or open systems, the restriction to
FB or CKD is possible. However, most clients likely want to configure CS for scope ALL.

24 IBM DS8900F Product Guide

 For each group of licensed functions, specific feature code numbers indicate the licensed
capacity, as listed in Table 11.

Table 11 License feature codes

Feature Code Feature code granularity for licensed function indicator

BF CS zsS

8151 8251 8351 10 TB (up to 100 TB capacity)

8152 8252 8352 15 TB (from 100.1 TB to 250 TB capacity)

8153 8253 8353 25 TB (from 250.1 TB to 500 TB capacity)

8154 8254 8354 75 TB (from 500.1 to 1,250 TB capacity)

8155 8255 8355 175 TB (1,250.1 - 3,000 TB capacity)

8156 8256 8356 300 TB (3,000.1 - 6,000 TB capacity)

8160 8260 8360 500 TB (6,000.1 - 12,000 TB capacity)

Remote code load

IBM is adopting Remote Code Load (RCL) as the default delivery and installation of
microcode upgrades for the DS8900F models.

With Remote Code Load (RCL), IBM provides an efficient and secure method to update the
DS8000 systems microcode in a concurrent way without interrupting business operations.

Important: IBM is adopting RCL as the default delivery for DS8900F code upgrades.

RCL (FC 0991) is the trusted process of having IBM support personnel securely connect to a
DS8000 system, enable the remote acquisition, perform the distribution and activation of
License Internal Code (LIC) bundles, and Install Corrective Service (ICS) images.

The RCL process is concurrent and it can be run without interruptions in the business
operations. This process consists of the following steps, as shown in Figure 6 on page 26:
1. IBM Remote Support works with IBM Technical Advisors for the planning of the microcode
update. This planning ensures the client’s environment is considered in the planning
phase.
2. When a remote code load is agreed upon and scheduled, an IBM trained resource in the
support center starts a session with the target HMC.
3. During the agreed upon window, IBM direct the HMC to acquire the code images from the
Fix Central repository and prepares for code activation.
4. During the customer maintenance window, IBM starts the activation request, moving the
HMCs and DS8000 to the new target microcode level.

25
 Figure 6 Remote Code Load process

On special request, clients can decide to opt out of RCL on the initial order (FC 0990).

Call Home and remote support

Call Home is the capability of the HMC to contact IBM support services to report a problem,
which is referred to as call home for service. The HMC also communicates machine-reported
product data (MRPD) to IBM by the Call Home facility. MRPD data was enhanced to include
more information about logical volume and logical subsystem (LSS) configuration.

On the DS8900, the Call Home function is no longer offered through a modem. Instead, it is
implemented only through an Internet SSL-Assist On-site connection or Remote Support
Center (RSC).

For more information about remote support operations with IBM Assist On-site, see IBM
Assist On-site for Storage Overview, REDP-4889.

For a brief overview of the embedded RSC, see DS8900F Architecture and Implementation,
SG24-8456.

Supported environments
The DS8000 offers connectivity support across a broad range of server environments,
including IBM Power Systems, IBM Z, servers from HPE and Oracle, non-IBM Intel, and
AMD-based servers.

The DS8900F supports over 40 platforms. For the most current list of supported platforms,
see the DS8000 System Storage Interoperation Center (SSIC) at this website.

26 IBM DS8900F Product Guide

 IBM Redpaper publications also are available for special attachments, such as IBM DS8000
and IBM Z Synergy, REDP-5186, or IBM DS8870 and VMware Synergy, REDP-4915.

This rich support of heterogeneous environments and attachments, along with the flexibility to
easily partition the DS8000 storage capacity among the attached environments, can help
support storage consolidation requirements and dynamic environments.

Performance modeling and sizing

IBM has tools available, such as the IBM Storage Modeller, or IntelliMagic Disk Magic, to
model the expected performance of your storage system in advance, depending on target
configuration and your specific workload profiles.

Important: Contact your IBM Representative or IBM Business Partner to discuss a

performance modeling and sizing study.

Author
This Product Guide was written by:

Peter Kimmel is an IT Specialist and ATS team lead of the Enterprise Storage Solutions
team at the EMEA Storage Competence Center (ESCC) in Kelsterbach, Germany. He joined
IBM Storage in 1999, and since then has worked with all the various IBM Enterprise Storage
Server® and System Storage DS8000 generations, with a focus on architecture and
performance. He was involved in the Early Shipment Programs (ESPs) of these early
installations, and co-authored several DS8000 IBM publications. Peter holds a Diploma (MSc)
degree in Physics from the University of Kaiserslautern.

Related information
The publications that are listed in this section are considered particularly suitable for a more
detailed discussion of the topics that are covered in this paper.

IBM Redbooks publications

The following publications provide more information about topics in this document:
򐂰 DS8900F Architecture and Implementation, SG24-8456
򐂰 IBM DS8910F Model 993 Rack-Mounted Storage System, REDP-5566
򐂰 IBM DS8000 High-Performance Flash Enclosure Gen2, REDP-5422
򐂰 DS8000 Copy Services, SG24-8367
򐂰 IBM System Storage DS8000 Performance Monitoring and Tuning, SG24-8318
򐂰 IBM DS8880 Thin Provisioning (Updated for Release 8.5), REDP-5343
򐂰 IBM DS8000 Easy Tier (for DS8000 R9.0), REDP-4667
򐂰 DS8870 Easy Tier Application, REDP-5014
򐂰 IBM DS8870 Easy Tier Heat Map Transfer, REDP-5015
򐂰 IBM DS8000 Series Command-Line Interface User’s Guide, SC27-8526

27
 򐂰 IBM Assist On-site for Storage Overview, REDP-4889
򐂰 IBM DS8000 Encryption for data at rest, Transparent Cloud Tiering, and Endpoint
Security, REDP-4500
򐂰 IBM Fibre Channel Endpoint Security for IBM DS8900F and IBM Z, SG24-8455
򐂰 IBM DS8870 and VMware Synergy, REDP-4915
򐂰 DS8870 Data Migration Techniques, SG24-8257
򐂰 IBM DS8870 Multiple Target Peer-to-Peer Remote Copy, REDP-5151
򐂰 IBM System Storage DS8000 Copy Services Scope Management and Resource Groups,
REDP-4758
򐂰 IBM DS8880 Integrated Copy Services Manager and LDAP Client on the HMC,
REDP-5356
򐂰 Using IBM DS8000 in an OpenStack Environment, REDP-5220
򐂰 IBM System Storage DS8000: Host Attachment and Interoperability, SG24-8887
򐂰 DS8000 Cascading FlashCopy Design and Scenarios, REDP-5463
򐂰 IBM DS8880 Safeguarded Copy, REDP-5506
򐂰 IBM DS8000 Transparent Cloud Tiering, SG24-8381

Online resources
The following websites are also relevant as further information sources:
򐂰 IBM DS8900F Introduction and Planning Guide:
https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/ibm-ds8900f-introduction-and-planning-guide
򐂰 IBM Knowledge Center:
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSHGBU
򐂰 IBM Assist On-site:
https://www.ibm.com/support/home/pages/assist-on-site/
򐂰 IBM System Storage Interoperation Center (SSIC):
https://www.ibm.com/systems/support/storage/ssic/
򐂰 IBM data storage feature activation (DSFA):
https://www.ibm.com/storage/dsfa/

Stay connected to IBM Redbooks

򐂰 Find us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/IBMRedbooks
򐂰 Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ibmredbooks
򐂰 Look for us on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/2130806/

28 IBM DS8900F Product Guide

򐂰 Explore new Redbooks publications, residencies, and workshops with the IBM Redbooks
weekly newsletter:
https://www.redbooks.ibm.com/Redbooks.nsf/subscribe?OpenForm
򐂰 Stay current on recent Redbooks publications with RSS Feeds:
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/rss.html

29
30 IBM DS8900F Product Guide
Notices

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IBM may not offer the products, services, or features discussed in this document in other countries. Consult
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program, or service may be used. Any functionally equivalent product, program, or service that does not
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INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION PROVIDES THIS PUBLICATION “AS IS”

WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED
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© Copyright IBM Corp. 2020. All rights reserved. 31

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32 IBM DS8900F Product Guide

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