IBM DS6000 Series DS6000 series, a member of the TotalStorage DS Family, Business continuity

1.1 The DS6000 series, a member of the TotalStorage DS Family

IBM has a wide range of product offerings that are based on open standards and share a common set of tools, interfaces, and innovative features. The IBM TotalStorage DS Family and its new member, the DS6000 series (see Figure 1-1), gives you the freedom to choose the right combination of solutions for your current needs and the flexibility to help your infrastructure evolve as your needs change. The TotalStorage DS Family is designed to offer high availability, multiplatform support, and simplified management tools, all to help you cost effectively adjust to an on demand world.

Figure 1-1 DS6000 series

1.1.1 Infrastructure simplification

Consolidation begins with compatibility. The IBM TotalStorage DS Family and the DS6000 support a broad array of IBM and non-IBM server platforms, including IBM z/OS, z/VM®, OS/400®, i5/OS™, and AIX 5L™ operating systems, as well as Linux, HP-UX, Sun Solaris, Novell NetWare, UNIX, and Microsoft® Windows environments. Consequently, you have the freedom to choose preferred vendors and run the applications you require to meet your enterprise’s needs while extending your previous IT investments.

Storage asset consolidation can be greatly assisted by virtualization. Virtualization software solutions are designed to logically combine separate physical storage systems into a single, virtual storage pool, thereby offering dramatic opportunities to help reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO), particularly when used in combination with the DS6000 series.

1.1.2 Business continuity

The IBM TotalStorage DS Family and the DS6000 series as a member of this family, supports enterprise-class data backup and disaster recovery capabilities. As part of the IBM TotalStorage Resiliency Family of software, IBM TotalStorage FlashCopy point-in-time copy capabilities back up data in the background, while allowing users nearly instant access to information on both the source and target volumes. Metro and Global Mirror and Global Copy capabilities allow the creation of duplicate copies of application data at remote sites.

1.1.3 Information lifecycle management

By retaining frequently accessed or high-value data in one storage server and archiving less valuable information in a less costly one, systems like the DS6000 series can help improve the management of information according to its business value—from the moment of its creation to the moment of its disposal. The policy-based management capabilities built into the IBM TotalStorage Open Software Family, IBM DB2® Content Manager and IBM Tivoli®

4DS6000 Series: Concepts and Architecture