* Server technology makes its way into IBM’s storage products
IBM last week announced storage arrays that use technology from its mainframe, mid-range and blade server systems.
The TotalStorage DS6000 and DS8000 feature Power processors. The DS6000, which uses a dual-processor 64-bit PowerPC 750GX running at 1 GHz, supports IBM z/OS, OS/400 and AIX host computers, as well as Linux, Unix, Microsoft Windows, HP-UX and Sun Solaris environments. It is a 3U high box that can scale to 67.2 terabytes of storage.
The larger DS8000 uses either dual- or quad-processor Power5 chips and scales to 96 petabytes of data.
Both storage arrays feature virtual storage systems that let customers consolidate workloads running on smaller systems.
Both systems incorporate IBM’s Light Path Diagnostics, which give the user visual alerts when server components are having problems. They also feature technology called calibrated vectored cooling, used in the IBM BladeCenter and xSeries servers, which optimizes the path of airflow through the system.
The DS6000 and DS8000 also make use of IBM’s Virtualization Engine technology, used in IBM’s i5 and p5 servers. The Virtualization Engine combines mainframe partitioning with features such as workload management and system provisioning.
As many as 10 partitions can be created per processor – that is, the storage system can be divided into separate logical partitions which could run different operating systems or applications.
In the next year, IBM will introduce a DS8000 with as many as eight processors.
The new IBM storage systems start at $97,000 and are expected to ship in December.
