Redpaper
Jon Tate
Eladio Faigal
Sunny Varma
IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
Introduction
IBM® Storwize® Rapid Application Storage solutions are designed to improve storage
efficiency and application availability, integrate closely with key existing applications, and
deploy with minimal disruption to applications and to staff. Two solutions are available: IBM
Storwize Rapid Application Storage Manager (RASM) and IBM Storwize Rapid Application
Backup (RAB). Both offerings provide storage solutions that are easy to deploy, provision and
manage with near instant backup and recovery for key applications. This IBM Redpaper™
publication is aimed at those professionals seeking an overview of the benefits IBM Storwize
Rapid Application Storage solutions brings to the IBM portfolio.
IBM Smarter Planet
In this dynamic world, more data is created and captured today than ever before. However,
data by itself is not useful: in fact, it can be overwhelming unless you can extract and derive
value from it.
Extracting and deriving value from information is what the IBM Smarter Planet™ Initiative is
doing. By using the correct tools, you begin to see patterns and correlations emerge, and by
using sophisticated mathematical models, you can take this information and begin to predict
and react to changes in your systems.
Smarter systems are being implemented and are creating value in every major industry,
across every region, in both the developed and developing worlds. This idea is not a
metaphor, vision, or proposal; it is a rapidly emerging reality.
Smarter means that intelligence is being infused into systems and processes: cars,
appliances, roadways, power grids, clothes, even natural systems such as agriculture and
waterways. Trillions of interconnected digital devices produce a vast ocean of data. All this
information, from the flow of markets to the pulse of societies, can be turned into knowledge
because you now have the computational power and advanced analytics to make sense of it.
With this knowledge, you can reduce costs, cut waste, and improve the efficiency,
productivity, and quality of everything from companies to cities.
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2012. All rights reserved.
ibm.com/redbooks
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The most important aspect of smarter systems is the insights that data can reveal. We believe
that intelligence, not intuition, drives innovation. We use a three-step approach of
instrumenting systems, interconnecting them, and making them intelligent:
򐂰 Creating an instrumented world: Sensors are embedded everywhere: in cars, appliances,
cameras, roads, pipelines, medicine, and livestock.
򐂰 Making them interconnected: Think of trillions of connected and intelligent things, and the
oceans of data they produce.
򐂰 Using the intelligence that is reaped: Our instrumented and interconnected world is linked
to powerful new back-end systems that can process enormous amounts of data, and to
advanced analytic processors capable of turning that data into real insights in real time.
Smarter Planet solutions
The transformation to smarter solutions requires smarter systems that can:
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Scale quickly and efficiently.
Optimize workload performance.
Flow resources flexibly.
Avoid downtime.
Save energy.
Automate management tasks.
Smarter software is needed to:
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Turn information into insight.
Increase agility.
Connect and collaborate.
Enable business and service innovation.
Manage risk, security, and compliance.
Drive enterprise operations effectiveness and efficiency.
IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
Figure 1 shows Storage Growth and Utilization Patterns.
Figure 1 Storage Growth and Utilization Patterns
Smarter storage solutions are needed to:
򐂰 Scale quickly and efficiently to manage and analyze large amounts of information.
򐂰 Efficiently manage workload performance to react to differing requirements across
multiple workloads.
򐂰 Flexibly flow resources for changing requirements and demands (flowing resources where
they are needed instantly for high utilization and ROI).
򐂰 Avoid downtime by being highly reliable, available, and resilient.
򐂰 Save energy by intelligently balancing performance needs with efficiency requirements.
򐂰 Automate management tasks to save on labor and staffing in resource
constrained environments.
IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage is about the smart movement and management of
information. IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage grows capacity without complexity.
IBM Smart Cloud
In this dynamic world, a new concept is emerging for organizations of every size from every
part of the planet. This new concept is called cloud computing (cloud) and is a profound
evolution of IT with revolutionary implications for business and society, creating new
possibilities and enabling more efficient, flexible, and collaborative computing models.
IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
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IBM helps clients excel in cloud computing by providing secure and reliable Software as a
Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service
(IaaS) solutions.
Cloud computing requires an increased focus on community-driven innovation, capitalizing
on the power of people both inside and outside the organization to define and create new
offerings and services. It demands IT without boundaries, which is systems and processes
that break down traditional silos and simplify access to information to deliver better business
outcomes. Cloud computing offers organizations increases in agility and efficiency-mandatory
innovation to ensure speedy and cost-effective delivery of products and services.
Cloud computing is a new model of using and delivering IT and business services. It gives
users what they need, as they need it, whether it is advanced analytics and business
applications to IT infrastructure and platform services, including virtual servers and storage.
Cloud can provide economies of scale and greater business agility, while accelerating the
pace of innovation.
Implementing a cloud-computing model means encouraging innovation by simplifying and
standardizing the underlying infrastructure. It entails the creation of efficient yet flexible IT
foundations that can support the development of new services and the consistent delivery of
quality user experiences. It demands a focus on ensuring interoperability, resiliency, and
security in an integrated fashion.
IBM provides the expertise to migrate, design, build, and deploy clouds and the new business
models they enable. Using thousands of cloud implementations and a growing system, IBM
helps clients use the power of cloud computing to transform their businesses.
To realize the benefits of cloud computing while overcoming the inherent challenges,
organizations must take a holistic approach, and this approach is where the IBM Storwize
Rapid Application Storage solution enters the arena.
IBM Storwize V7000 Rapid Application Storage drivers
Enterprises are struggling with the explosion of information that needs to be stored and
managed. Extracting insight from that data for real business advantage is even more difficult.
Storage capacity requirements are growing on average 40% per year while IT budgets are
typically flat. This growth of storage required is inescapable. Businesses must store and
access data to stay competitive and to meet internal and regulatory requirements.
To tame the explosion of information, customers need more efficient storage solutions that
make storage support staff more productive. They must take advantage of the latest
technologies available without adding complexity to the IT infrastructure.
The business goals are to bring revenue-producing applications online as quickly as possible
and keep them running, improve service to customers, increase the ability to react to changes
in the marketplace, and minimize the risk of data loss.
To meet these goals, a more efficient storage infrastructure that frees the staff from low value
storage management tasks and enables them to focus on using data to make their business
more competitive is a must.
IBM continuously invests in the development of technologies that make storage infrastructure
more efficient and storage administrators more productive.
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IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
Combining hardware, software, and implementation services
The IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage solution combines hardware, software, and
implementation services to provide a complete solution to help support improved storage
efficiency. The solution combines the industry leading IBM Tivoli® Storage Productivity
Center for Disk Mid-Range Edition, IBM Tivoli Storage FlashCopy® Manager, the award
winning IBM Storwize V7000 with three-year hardware and optional software maintenance,
and the services to provide a pretested, integrated storage solution to speed deployment and
return on investment (ROI). This solution offers easy-to-use, efficient, and cost-effective
management capabilities for both new and existing storage resources in your IT
infrastructure. The packaged solution includes the following components:
򐂰 IBM Tivoli Storage Productivity Center for Disk Select: Achieve advanced management,
enhanced storage administrator productivity, improved problem determination, and
browser launch capability for centralized storage devices management.
򐂰 IBM Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager: Protect data and improve availability, integrate
with IBM Storage System products (IBM System Storage® DS8000®, IBM SAN Volume
Controller, and IBM XIV®), and use storage snapshot capabilities.
򐂰 IBM Storwize V7000: Achieve improved disk utilization by 30%, increase application
throughput by up to three times, and increase response time by up to 60%.
򐂰 Implementation Services: Enables a more predictable implementation that can accelerate
ROI in IBM disk technology by reducing the implementation time by up to 50%.
IBM created two different RAS solutions to help customers with their specific storage needs.
These two offerings are called the IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage Manager (RASM)
and the IBM Storwize Rapid Application Backup (RAB).
Understanding and qualifying the RAS opportunity is made easier by using the decision tree
shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 Decision tree
IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
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Being able to articulate the difference in the offering is naturally important. Table 1 shows
differences between the RAS offerings.
Table 1 RAS offerings differences
IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage solutions at a glance
Component
Storwize Rapid Application
Storage Manager (RASM)
Storwize Rapid Application
Backup (RAB)
Tivoli Storage FlashCopy
Manager
Y
Y
Tivoli Storage Productivity
Center Disk Select
Y
-
IBM Storwize V7000
Includes external virtualization
Y
Solution Implementation
Services
Y
Optional
Solution Installation Services
Optional
Y
Three-year warranty on
hardware
Y
Y
Three-year maintenance on
software
Optional
Optional
Table 2 shows the challenges that clients face, and the benefits of choosing the correct RAS
solution.
Table 2 IBM RAS offerings benefits
Challenge
Benefits
Storwize Rapid
Application Storage
Manager (RASM)
Storwize Rapid
Application Backup
(RAB)
Increase storage
utilization
Virtualization
eliminates islands of
storage to improve
utilization.
Y
Optional
Thin provisioning
allocates storage to
applications only as
needed.
Y
Y
IBM Easy Tier®
improves application
performance, putting
the correct data on
solid-state storage.
Y
Y
Analytics and
automated data
movement optimize
performance.
Y
N
Increase application
performance
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IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
Challenge
Benefits
Storwize Rapid
Application Storage
Manager (RASM)
Storwize Rapid
Application Backup
(RAB)
Increase application
availability
Application-aware
backups virtually
eliminate downtime for
backups, and improve
data protection by up
to 95%.
Y
Y
Online data migration
moves data with
almost no downtime.
Y
Y
Efficient management
of a storage area
network (SAN).
Y
N
Manage IBM and
non-IBM storage from
a single control point.
Y
N
Storage efficiency
Client pain points
Here are a few of the typical client pain points and the RAS solution and value proposition to
address them:
򐂰 Pain point: Data growth has overtaken IT infrastructures, leading to less visibility and
control for CEOs. More than ever, CEOs need visibility and control to plan better and align
IT with business strategy.
RAS solution: Capacity allocation by using thin provisioning can reduce future storage
upgrade costs by up to 30% as compared to traditional systems.
򐂰 Pain point: Spending on unnecessary administrative cost lowers ROI for
hardware investments.
RAS solution: More control with less space, cooling, and power cost through an easy to
manage and intuitive GUI can improve administrator productivity up to two times.
Worry-free implementation services speed solution deployment while minimizing impact
on applications and administrators
򐂰 Pain point: Management complexity, such as multivendor systems that require diverse
people skills, are driving the need for a unified approach to simplify storage management,
as are deployment difficulties caused by a lack of skills.
RAS solution: Services are delivered by highly skilled IBM storage specialists who can
help facilitate the implementation, allowing your IT staff to focus on higher priority
business initiatives.
򐂰 Pain point: There is a need for a solution that is integrated with IBM storage systems and
that can use investments in other data management solutions. Capital and operational
budgets are tight, and there is an increased cost caused by isolated server and storage
management tools. Many data applications are critical and a business cannot afford
downtime, including traditional backup windows.
RAS solution: Helps you reduce the growth of storage costs, increase administrator
productivity, improve service levels, and reduce the risk of losing data.
IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
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Did you know
Both the RASM and RAB offerings are unique within a competitive marketplace. The easy
administrative interface provides easy navigation aids that speed up administrator task
selection and completion, leading to vastly improved productivity over time. IBM Storwize
V7000 enterprise class virtualization helps to rapidly deploy new storage, migrate data,
speeds up backup operations, and helps with automatic optimization, including SSD using
Easy Tier. Combined with the benefits of Tivoli FlashCopy Manager, this virtualization can
lead to replacing rotational tape backups with disk-based backups, and performing
automated backup and restore operations from disk, which leads to time savings with both
the backup and restore functions. Including Tivoli Storage Productivity Center in the offerings
provides a single point of administration, so you can monitor, analyze, and generate reports
from a single console, and receive timely alerts to enable an event action based on policies.
The advantages of the RASM and RAB offerings include:
򐂰 An easy-to-use GUI that uses easy navigation aids and realistic graphics speeds and
simplifies administrative management
򐂰 A wide range of enterprise-class functions at no additional cost
򐂰 Full integration with IBM Systems Director Storage Control and IBM Tivoli Storage
Productivity Center
򐂰 The broadest range of advanced data and storage management capabilities, providing
protection and recovery, storage virtualization, and resource management
򐂰 SRM heterogeneous policy-based orchestration virtualization and replication, which only
IBM offers
Benefits
We highlight the IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage solutions benefits:
򐂰 Increased Storage Utilization:
– Improves disk utilization by up to 30% with thin provisioning and virtualization
– Reduces the amount of storage required for snapshots by 75% or more
򐂰 Improved storage administrator productivity:
– Improves administrator productivity by up to two times with an easy-to-use GUI
and virtualization
– Uses performance optimization automation to improve administrator productivity
򐂰 Increased application performance:
– Improves application throughput up to three times and improve response time up to
60% improved by using Easy Tier
– Meets or exceeds application performance levels by using spot analytics
– Has faster resolution of performance issues by using hot spot
resolution recommendations
򐂰 Increased application availability:
– Minimizes application downtime by using online data migration
– Easily integrates applications, such as IBM DB2®, Oracle, SAP, Microsoft Exchange,
and SQL Server
– Reduces the application downtime that is required for backup to seconds
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IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
– Reduces the application downtime for data restores
– Improves data protection by 95% by using hourly snapshots
򐂰 Reduced implementation time by 50% with little or no impact to storage administrator staff:
– Has little or no impact to storage administrator staff
– Improves speed of ROI
Understanding the IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage solution
The IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage solution combines the IBM Storwize V7000 with
software and implementation services to provide a complete solution to help support
improved storage efficiency. The solution combines Tivoli Storage Productivity Center, Tivoli
Storage FlashCopy Manager, IBM Storwize V7000, and implementation services.
The IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage solution has two offerings:
򐂰 Rapid Application Storage Manager (RASM)
򐂰 Rapid Application Backup (RAB)
Figure 3 shows the RASM solution.
Figure 3 Rapid Application Storage Manager
IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
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Figure 4 shows the RAB solution.
Figure 4 Rapid Application Backup
Rapid Application Storage Manager
RASM includes:
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
Three-year maintenance on hardware and software
Solutions and implementation services
Tivoli Productivity Center for Disk Select
Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager
IBM Storwize V7000 with External Virtualization
Rapid Application Backup
RAB includes:
򐂰 Three-year maintenance on hardware and software
򐂰 Solutions installation services
򐂰 Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager
򐂰 IBM Storwize V7000
Whichever solution is chosen, the IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage solution offers:
򐂰 An upgrade of maintenance support to three years for the entire solution that includes
hardware and software. This upgrade increases the software support from one year and
the hardware support to 9x5. This upgrade also guarantees four-hour response time for
hardware support.
򐂰 The solution makes deployment faster and minimizes the impact on applications and
administration staff.
򐂰 The solution provides performance monitoring, measurement, analysis, and reporting.
򐂰 Furthermore, Rapid Application Storage solutions minimize or eliminate application
downtime for near instantaneous backup and restore of critical data.
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IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
Combined with the IBM Storwize V7000, this solution provides improved storage efficiency
with its breakthrough ease of use and advanced efficiency technologies, such as Easy Tier,
and its approach to storage virtualization.
IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage solution components
There are three components to the solution:
򐂰 Hardware
򐂰 Software
򐂰 Services
Hardware
There is one hardware component supplied as part of the solution.
IBM Storwize V7000
The hardware component of the solution is the IBM Storwize V7000. IBM Storwize V7000 is a
powerful storage system that combines hardware and software components to provide a
single point of control to help support improved storage efficiency. By enabling virtualization,
consolidation, and tiering in your storage infrastructure, the IBM Storwize V7000 helps
improve application availability and resource utilization. The system offers easy-to-use,
efficient, and cost-effective management capabilities for both new and existing storage
resources in your IT infrastructure
The IBM Storwize V7000 offers IBM storage virtualization, SSD optimization, and
thin-provisioning technologies to improve storage utilization and to enable the system to be
reconfigured to meet your changing needs quickly and easily. Its advanced functions enable
nondisruptive migration of data from existing storage, simplifying implementation and
minimizing disruption to users. It allows you to externally virtualize and reuse existing disk
systems, supporting a greater potential ROI.
The IBM Storwize V7000 is scalable from a two-inch rack unit (2U) with 24 drives on the first
shelf to 480 drives on 20 enclosures.
IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
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Figure 5 shows the hardware summary.
Figure 5 IBM Storwize V7000 hardware summary
IBM Storwize V7000 benefits
The benefits of the IBM Storwize V7000 are:
򐂰 A sophisticated enterprise-class storage function that is easy to use.
򐂰 An integrated IBM System Storage EasyTier function provides up to 200% performance
improvement with automatic migration to high-performing solid-state drives (SSDs).
򐂰 Thin provisioning allows you to purchase only the disk capacity you need.
򐂰 Easy-to-use data management that is designed with a graphical user interface and
point-and-click system management capabilities.
򐂰 Dynamic migration provides continuous availability of applications while migrating
critical data.
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IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
򐂰 Faster and more efficient data copies for online backup, testing, or data mining with
IBM FlashCopy.
򐂰 Solid-state drives (SSDs) for applications that demand high speed and quick access
to data.
򐂰 Internal and External Storage virtualization that provides hardware virtualization even for
existing storage as well as internal disks on the Storwize V7000.
Software
There are two software components that are part of the solution.
Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager
Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager enables organizations to perform and manage frequent,
near-instant, nondisruptive, and application-aware backups and restores, using advanced
FlashCopy snapshot technologies in IBM storage systems.
Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager can help deliver the highest levels of protection for
mission-critical IBM DB2, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Exchange, and Microsoft SQL Server
applications through integrated application-aware snapshot backup and restore capabilities.
This protection is achieved by using advanced IBM storage hardware snapshot technology to
create a high performance and low impact application data protection solution.
Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager uses storage snapshot capabilities to provide high speed
and low impact application integrated backup and restore functionality for the supported
application and storage environments. An automated policy-based management of multiple
snapshot backup versions, together with a guided installation and configuration process,
provide a quick to deploy data protection solution that enables the most stringent database
recovery time requirements to be met.
Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager supports clustered application environments (MSCS or
VCS on Windows and IBM HACMP™ on IBM AIX®), as well as Microsoft Exchange 2007
and Exchange 2010 continuous replication configurations.
Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager benefits
The Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager provides these outstanding benefits:
򐂰 Performs near-instant application-aware snapshot backups with minimal performance
impact on IBM DB2, Oracle, SAP, and Microsoft SQL Server and Exchange.
򐂰 Improves application availability and service levels through high-performance,
near-instant restore capabilities that reduced downtime from hours to a few minutes.
򐂰 Improves productivity by simplifying management and automating routine
administrative tasks.
򐂰 Uses existing investments in IBM storage systems and core data protection and recovery
systems such as IBM Tivoli Storage Manager.
򐂰 Built-in data deduplication helps eliminate redundant data, which can allow more backup
data to be stored on disk.
IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
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Tivoli Storage Productivity Center for Disk Select
Tivoli Storage Productivity Center for Disk Select provides comprehensive performance
monitoring and alerting from a single console. Monitoring and reporting of performance
metrics, such as input/output (I/O), data rates, and cache usage, can enhance storage
efficiency and optimization. Tivoli Storage Productivity Center for Disk Select helps you
establish threshold levels based on business policies and alerts when these levels are
reached. This single console management capability can improve storage ROI and reduce
administration costs through management simplification.
Tivoli Storage Productivity Manager for Disk is designed to consolidate and centralize
administration of your SAN storage devices. Tivoli Storage Productivity Center for Disk Select
enables the IT administrator to:
򐂰 Perform proactive performance management by providing a single and integrated console
for the performance management of IBM Storwize V7000.
򐂰 Monitor performance metrics across storage subsystems from a single console and
optimize storage through identification of the best logical unit number (LUN).
򐂰 Monitor metrics, such as I/O rates, cache utilization, and support optimization of storage
through the identification of the best LUNs
򐂰 Monitor and analyze performance statistics for storage systems to measure services
levels by storing received performance statistics into database tables for later usage and
analyze and generate reports on monitored devices for display in the central
administrative console
򐂰 Receive timely alerts to enable event action based on customer policies by setting
performance thresholds for the devices based on performance metrics and the generation
of alerts when those thresholds are exceeded
Tivoli Storage Productivity Center for Disk Select benefits
The key benefits of Tivoli Storage Productivity Center for Disk Select are as follows:
򐂰 Designed to offer proactive performance analysis with comprehensive monitoring and
fault identification to help improve SAN availability
򐂰 Improves storage ROI by keeping SANs operational, reliable, and dependable
򐂰 Reduces storage administration costs by simplifying the management of complex SANs
Services
Rapid Deployment Services (RDS), as part of the Rapid Application Storage solutions,
provides quick and efficient deployment of the IBM Storwize V7000. RDS are expert services
that are pre-integrated and tested by IBM. Service experts plan, install, configure, and train
customers, and typically allow customers to begin usage in days rather than weeks. The
customer applies maintenance upgrades in the future that are pre-tested by IBM.
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IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
RASM is available with two types of implementation services:
򐂰 Basic Implementation Services
This implementation service is included for RASM solutions with one IBM Storwize V7000
Control Enclosure (single enclosure) (Figure 6).
Figure 6 Basic Implementation Services
IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
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򐂰 Standard Implementation Services
This implementation service is included for RASM solutions with multiple enclosures in the
IBM Storwize V7000 (Figure 7).
Figure 7 Standard Implementation Services
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IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
RAB comes with two services included:
򐂰 IBM Storwize V7000 Hardware Installation (Rack and Stack) (Figure 8).
Figure 8 Standard Installation Services (Rack and Stack)
򐂰 Tivoli FlashCopy Manager Installation and Basic Configuration (Figure 9).
Figure 9 Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager Installation and Basic Configuration
Rapid Deployment Services benefits
These services are provided by highly skilled and experienced storage specialists using
strong project management disciplines. These services include these benefits:
򐂰 Streamlines implementation of the IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage solution to
help accelerate ROI quickly.
򐂰 Offers highly skilled IBM Storage specialists to deliver implementation services on time
and within budget.
򐂰 Helps provide a more predictable implementation with reduced business disruption
and risk.
IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
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Business benefits of the Rapid Application Storage Manager
solution
For complex environments with multiple storage systems, RASM gives the following benefits:
򐂰 Improves storage utilization improvement up to 30% through external
storage virtualization.
򐂰 Increases storage administrator productivity up to 2x.
򐂰 Extends the life and enhances the value of existing storage.
򐂰 Shortens backup windows to minimize application downtime.
򐂰 Rapidly recovers lost data in minutes, not hours.
򐂰 Increases application performance with up to 60% better response time.
򐂰 Reduces solution implementation time by up to 50%.
Figure 10 gives an example of the potential business savings by using RASM.
Figure 10 Example of potential business savings when using Rapid Application Storage Manager
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IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
Business benefits of the Rapid Application Backup solution
For less complex environments, RAB gives the following business benefits:
򐂰 Shortens backup windows to minimize application downtime.
򐂰 Rapidly recovers lost data in minutes, not hours.
򐂰 Increases application performance with up to 60% better response time.
򐂰 Reduces solution implementation time by up to 50%.
Figure 11 shows an example of the potential cost savings by using RAB.
Figure 11 Potential cost savings by using Rapid Application Backup
Business benefit calculation tool
The IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage Business Advantage Calculator from Alinean,
better known as the Alinean Tool, is an IBM financial business case justification tool,
developed to help clients that want to develop financial business cases that justify
modernizing their IT environments.
The tool can be found at the following address:
https://roianalyst.alinean.com/ibm_stg/AutoLogin.do?d=613402043740125366
IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
19
The tools design is based on the Alinean, Inc., patented ROI Enterprise engine. IBM worked
with Alinean, Inc., to design key elements and to provide Alinean, Inc., information about
current IBM systems, such as configurations, pricing averages, power usage, and
performance capabilities. Alinean, Inc. conducts annual research with partners, such as IDC,
to produce normalized or industry average values that are the base defaults in the initial
release of this tool.
By using the Alinean Tool, you can generate industry-specific business analysis reports that
are comprehensive. The tool includes default values and calculation methodologies,
environment assumptions, and detailed assumptions about hardware, software, and other
key costs. The default values used in the tool are fully changeable, empowering you with the
flexibility to produce a much more individualized result based on your actual data.
Alinean Tool
The Alinean Tool provides a high-level view of the potential benefits of the newest IBM
integrated storage offering compared to traditional mid-range storage solutions. The IBM
Storwize Rapid Application Storage offering combines innovative technology of the IBM
Storwize V7000 system with comprehensive management tools to help you address today's
challenges of rampant data growth. This analysis is based on industry research by IBM and
Alinean Inc.
Here is useful information about the Alinean Tool:
򐂰 Description
The Alinean Tool is a useful pre-sales business justification tool and helps to:
– Develop quantifiable TCO and financial results in 10 minutes or less based on two
inputs and industry average data points.
– Offers in-depth TCO hard and soft benefits that any CIO or IT manager can appreciate,
from projected software cost avoidance savings to availability opportunity cost savings,
and to power and facility cost savings.
– Offers a depth of financial data that appeals to any CFO, from ROI to payback period,
and the internal rate of return.
– The key deliverable is an executive ready report with eight summary sections followed
by five key appendixes that allow customers to see the assumptions used in the tool.
򐂰 Key features
A professional business case analysis tool that delivers key reasons why a client needs to
consider IBM STG products:
– The initial output is based on the quick entry of selected client servers, resulting in an
industry average view.
– A second engagement allows for more precise entry of clients actual costs / projects,
resulting in an individualized business case.
– The tool uses Alinean's 23,000+ customer studies to provide initial “normalized” data
starting points.
– The maximum flexibility of user inputs allows for a detailed result.
– There is a comparative TCO of the current environment versus its future state,
including the transformation effort (migration, porting, consolidation, and so on).
– Allows for more robust IBM solution selection, including hardware, software, and
services considerations.
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IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
򐂰 Pricing
There is no charge to use the tool for IBM, IBM Business Partners, and IBM customers.
򐂰 Business drivers and trigger events
The quantifiable and graphically represented report generated by the tool helps customers
to identify and justify:
– An urgent need to take cost out of their IT environment.
– Reducing the number of data centers, physical servers, system images, operating
systems, facilities cost, labor cost, hardware cost, software cost, and simplifying the
computing environment.
– Building a viable and credible business justification case to move forward.
򐂰 Qualifying questions
If the answer to any of these commonly asked questions is yes, then the Alinean tool is of
great value in helping you make an informed and educated decision:
– Are you planning to consolidate or split data centers?
– Do you have many single-workload servers?
– Are you facing a major technology refresh?
– Do you know how much of your server resources are used and do you need to
increase that usage?
– Are you under pressure to reduce your IT budget?
– Are you paying too much for hardware maintenance?
– Do you need to reduce your software/middleware license costs?
– Do you find it difficult to balance meeting peak service level requirements with
reducing costs?
– Can your servers handle seasonal or unexpected peaks in demand from business
units and customers?
– Are you paying SLA penalties due to excessive downtime or inadequate performance?
򐂰 IBM products supported
IBM System Storage, Power System, IBM System x®, IBM BladeCenter®, and Linux for
System z® are supported
Customer case studies and references
Contact your IBM representative for references.
For an independent case study analysis, see the Enterprise Strategy Group Lab Validation
Report at:
http://www.enterprisestrategygroup.com/2011/02/ibm-storwize-v7000-real-world-mixed
-workload-performance-in-vmware-environments/
IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
21
Frequently asked questions
Here are the answers to some of the common queries regarding the IBM Storwize RAS
Solution:
򐂰 Can I upgrade an existing IBM Storwize V7000 system to a RAS offering?
No. If the IBM Storwize V7000 was purchased with no RAS bundle solution, you need to
purchase the additional software and licenses that are required to upgrade and provide
the equivalent RAB or RASM solution features.
򐂰 Will the same hard-bundling of software and services apply to the upgrades as the base
machine and from when is it valid?
There is no hard-bundling for upgrades if they were not purchased as a part of a solution
(either RAB or RASM). Additional support for upgrades and installation costs based on the
software selected and predefined Service Level Agreements (SLA) need to be paid.
򐂰 Can I upgrade the RAS offering from RAB to RASM?
No. If the IBM Storwize V7000 was purchased with the RAB solution, the client needs to
purchase the additional software and licenses that are required to upgrade and provide
the equivalent RASM solution features.
򐂰 Will the same hard-bundling of software and services apply to the RAB upgrades and from
when is it valid?
There is no hard bundling for upgrades if they were not purchased as a part of a solution
(either RAB or RASM). Additional support uplift and installation costs based on the
software selected and predefined Service Level Agreements (SLA) need to be purchased.
򐂰 Is the IBM Storwize V7000 supported in my environment?
The IBM Storwize V7000 system is supported in most customer environments. For a
detailed list, go to:
http://www.ibm.com/systems/support/storage/config/ssic/
򐂰 Is there a discounting option if customers do not require or want implementation services?
RAS is a bundled solution and is targeted to minimize the unnecessary workload of IT
administrators. As part of this solution, no component or services can be opted out and
reduced from the overall solution price. For more detailed and specific customer
scenarios, contact your local IBM Business Partner or IBM representative.
Where to go for further information
To learn more about IBM Storwize V7000 / RAS Offering, contact your IBM marketing
representative or IBM Business Partner, or visit the following websites:
򐂰 IBM Storwize V7000 / RAS offerings:
– http://www.ibm.com/storage/storwizev7000
– http://www.ibm.com/systems/storage/news/center/storwize_ras/index.html
– http://www.ibm.com/systems/storage/resource/info/storwize_RAS/
򐂰 IBM Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager:
http://www.ibm.com/tivoli/storage
򐂰 IBM Tivoli Storage Productivity Center offerings:
http://www.ibm.com/storage/software/center
22
IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
򐂰 For supported systems, including information about servers, operating systems, host bus
adapters, clustering applications, SAN switches, and directors, refer to the System
Storage Interoperability Center at:
http://www.ibm.com/systems/support/storage/config/ssic/
򐂰 ISV solutions:
http://www.ibm.com/systems/storage/solutions/isv
򐂰 Financing solutions from IBM Global Financing can enable effective cash management,
protection from technology obsolescence, improved TCO, and ROI. Also, our Global
Asset Recovery Services help address environmental concerns with new, more
energy-efficient solutions. You can obtain more information at:
–
http://www.ibm.com/financing
–
http://www.ibm.com/financing/us/lifecycle/acquire/hardware/storwize.html
(specific to IBM Storwize V7000)
򐂰 For videos related to IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage solution, IBM Storwize,
7000, RAS, and Tivoli Storage Productivity Center, go to:
http://www.youtube.com/user/IBMStorageVideos
The team who wrote this paper
This paper was produced by a team of specialists from around the world working at the
International Technical Support Organization, San Jose.
Jon Tate is a Project Manager for IBM System Storage SAN Solutions at the International
Technical Support Organization, San Jose. Before joining the ITSO in 1999, he worked in the
IBM Technical Support Center, providing Level 2 support for IBM storage products. Jon has
26 years of experience in storage software and management, services, and support, and is
both an IBM Certified IT Specialist and an IBM SAN Certified Specialist. He is also the UK
Chairman of the Storage Networking Industry Association.
Eladio Faigal is a Consultant IT Specialist with the IBM Channel Sales Enablement in the
western US. He has specialized in storage solutions for the past 29 years and worked
previously with other vendors, such as StorageTek, EMC, SUN, and LSI. He was originally
hired by IBM as part of the IBM Storwize V7000 launch and was directly involved with five
IBM Business Partners that were in the Wave program. He supported leading sales success
on numerous IBM Storwize V7000 systems, including one of the largest in the US, and
several reference customers. Throughout his career, he has received peak
performance awards.
Sunny Varma is a Senior Sales Specialist with IBM Systems and Technology Group in India.
He has undertaken various roles, including a Storage Sales Specialist in his last 4.5 years
with STG. He is currently managing the complete Storage and Power product portfolio for
IBM India in the competitive space. Sunny is also an IBM certified Power Sales Specialist and
contributes towards STG Marketing and Partner enablement as a speaker at various
Customer Events and Business Partner Universities. He holds an Engineering Degree in
Instrumentation and Control and an MBA in Marketing.
IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
23
Thanks to the following people for their contributions to this project:
Harold Pike
IBM Raleigh
Chris Saul
IBM San Jose
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IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage
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This document REDP-4765-00 was created or updated on May 14, 2012.
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IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage