Excellent performance and connectivity

The hardware for the SVC storage virtualization system consists of the SVC Small Form Factor (SFF) Expansion Enclosure Model 24F and the IBM® SAN Volume Controller (SVC) Storage Engine Model DH8. With the following features, these next-generation models provide improved performance and connectivity, compression acceleration, and more internal flash storage space:

• 32 GB of memory and one eight-core processor are standard.
• For Real-time CompressionTM applications, an additional eight-core CPU with 32 GB of memory is also available.
• Options for connectivity include 8 Gb Fibre Channel (FC), 10 Gb iSCSI / Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), and 1 Gb iSCSI.
• Up to 48 internal flash drives with a 38.4 TB raw flash capacity per node pair are supported.
• The capacity to be incorporated into already-existing clustered systems using models of the earlier SVC storage engine.

Real-time Compression workloads

Based on IBM System x server technology, the SVC Storage Engine Model DH8 has one Xeon E5 v2 Series eight-core processor and 32 GB of memory. It supports up to three I/O adapter cards for 8 Gb FC and 10 Gb iSCSI/FCoE connectivity and comes with standard 1 Gb Ethernet ports for 1 Gb iSCSI connectivity. Additionally, it replaces the uninterruptable power supply feature necessary on models of the previous generation storage engines with two integrated AC power supplies and battery units.

The Model DH8 storage engine has a second Xeon E5 v2 Series eight-core CPU with 32 GB of memory and up to two compression accelerator cards for hardware-assisted compression, among other capabilities, for Real-time Compression workloads.

Greater performance, bandwidth, and scalability

Expansion Enclosure for SVC SFF Up to twenty-four 2.5-inch 12 Gb SAS flash (solid state) drives can be supported by the Model 24F. A Model DH8 node pair or I/O group can accommodate up to two expansion enclosures, providing up to 48 flash drives and 38.4 TB of internal raw storage.

Clustering SVC Storage Engines can help to increase speed, bandwidth, and scalability. There can be up to four node pairs or I/O groups in an SVC clustered system. Existing SVC clustered systems with storage engine models from the previous generation can be upgraded with model DH8 storage engines.