For organizations challenged with resource constrained data centers and large demanding workloads, the IBM FlashSystem 5300 is a powerful and scalable all-flash primary storage platform that offers flexibility to clients of all sizes when choosing the performance and capacity characteristics for their latency-sensitive workloads and highly volatile data sets. Now, clients can also take advantage of additional IBM FlashSystem 5300 benefits via the new IBM Storage Assurance program, also announced today, to support a strategy for their storage architectures to get more out of their data center investments.
“AI and ransomware protection are top priorities for clients of all sizes,” said Dave Pearson, Research Vice President for Infrastructure Systems at IDC. “With recently improved performance and IBM FlashCore Module ransomware detection, FlashSystem 5300 aims to address these critical business needs for clients modernizing their hybrid cloud storage.”
Unlike traditional vendors who invest in monolithic storage systems, the IBM FlashSystem 5300 is designed to protect and consolidate workloads into a small footprint – only 1U of a standard rack – for a larger performance and capacity envelope. This new model delivers significant improvements in performance, capacity, and data resilience, including:
- Improved productivity: For similarly configured systems running a typical enterprise workload, like a database, the IBM FlashSystem 5300 is designed to deliver up to 45% more throughput on a 70/30/50 typical production workload[1], like a database, and at least a 50% bandwidth improvement on sequential workloads versus the previous generation FlashSystem 5200.[2]
- Increased storage density: Clients can get up to 1.81PBe of data (effective capacity) in a fully populated 1U form factor system, using 2:1 deduplication and 3:1 compression ratio.[3] Also, the IBM FlashSystem 5300 can deliver up to 1.81PBe of data (effective capacity) in a fully populated 1U form factor system, using 2:1 deduplication and 3:1 compression ratio.[4]
- Enhanced data resilience: New technology enabled by FlashCore Module 4 is designed to continuously monitor statistics gathered from I/O using machine learning models to detect anomalies like ransomware in less than a minute.[5]
- Maximized efficiency: Clients can leverage AI-powered predictive analytics with IBM Storage Insights, IBM Spectrum Virtualize which includes AI-based data placement, and automation.
- Enhanced VMware Integrations: Protect virtual machines from threats with immutable snapshot support, policy-based replication, and VMware virtual volume 2.0 support.
With its compact footprint and improved storage density, the IBM FlashSystem 5300 provides a building block that organizations can leverage to start small and then scale up – both performance and capacity – as their business needs evolve.
Both the IBM Storage Assurance program and the IBM FlashSystem 5300 are now generally available.
Learn more about IBM Storage Assurance here and the IBM FlashSystem 5300 here.
[1] Disclaimer: Performance metrics based on internal IBM testing of a FlashSystem 5300 with 12 FlashCore Modules, 512GB cache, 16x32Gb FC ports. And a FlashSystem 5200 with 12 FlashCore Modules, 512GB cache, 8x32Gb FC ports. FS5200 delivered 270,944 IOPS at 1.00ms latency on 16KB block size random 70/30/50 workload while the FS5300 delivered 394,955 IOPS on the same workload (45% improvement). Results may vary.
[2] Disclaimer: Performance metrics based on internal IBM testing of a FlashSystem 5300 with 12 FlashCore Modules, 512GB cache, 16x32Gb FC ports. And a FlashSystem 5200 with 12 FlashCore Modules, 512GB cache, 8x32Gb FC ports. FS5200 delivered 17.8GB/s on 256KB block size, sequential read hit workload while the FS5300 delivered 28.6GB/s on the same workload. Results may vary.
[3] Disclaimer: 1U control enclosure: 12 drives of 38.4TB each = 460.8 TB configured in a 9+Q+P+S DRAID-6 array, after RAID overhead and metadata provisioning, deliver 302.12TB of usable capacity, with a 3:1 compression and 2:1 deduplication ratio equal 1.81PB of effective capacity.
[4] Disclaimer: Two 5U expansions: 92 drives 30.72TB + one 2U expansion: 24 drives 1.92TB configured in a 10+P+Q+S DRAID-6 array, after RAID overhead and metadata provisioning, deliver 3,952.68TB of usable capacity + 1U control enclosure: 12 drives of 38.4TB each configured in a 9+Q+P+S DRAID-6 array, after RAID overhead and metadata provisioning, deliver 302.12TB of usable capacity. A total of 4,254.8 TB of usable capacity with a 3:1 compression and 2:1 deduplication ratio equal 25,528.80TB of effective capacity in 13U of a standard rack.
[5] Disclaimer: Internal experimentation by IBM Research has demonstrated detection of ransomware within 1 minute of the ransomware starting its encryption process. This experiment was done on a FlashSystem 5200 with 6 FCMs with the 4.1 firmware load. The 5200 had 8.6.3 GA level software loaded. The host connected to the 5200 was running Linux with XFS Filesystem. In this particular case, the IBM ransomware simulator called WannaLaugh was used. Underlying system must be compatible with FCM4.1 and version 8.6.3 GA level software loaded in order to receive results obtained.