Gen3 XIV Storage -  8Gb front end, infiniband back end, more cache (24GB per module), Nehalem chipset (4 core) and potential for SSD caching yes, yes yes!

So what's the price of the gen3? £737,978.69 for a (55TB) up to £1,697,338 fully loaded gen3 (161TB)

This compares with £636,415.65 for the Gen2 base model (55TB) and of the same capacity and £1,464,560 for the fully loaded gen2.(161TB)

In September 2009 IBM announced the availability of SAP Business Warehouse Accelerator on the BladeCenter S. Now, just over 18 months later, IBM no longer approve this solution for new systems. However, all systems already in the field are still supported.

The BladeCenter S solution bought BWA functionality to users at a much lower price point than the BladeCenter H solution. Although it suffered from limited redundancy and scalability the BladeCenter S did prove a popular choice with Centiq customers. To plug the gap left by this mini BladeCenter IBM submitted the System X x3850 X5 server to SAP for qualification. The system has been tested and approved for use with BWA. So, if you are looking for a small BWA solution at a low price point, then maybe you should be considering the IBM System X x3850 X5.

Centiq have been awarded the IBM System x specialty.

As one of only 3 in the UK with this Speciality mark, we have joined an elite group of IBM Premier Business Partners who have invested in developing skills to achieve a high level of performance in System x technology and solutions. It's great testament to the Centiq team in the work done through all activities with IBM System x. These marks allow Centiq to display this mark throughout our marketing material.

With IBM Recently anouncing that they are no longer offering their IBM POWER6 product range, I looked at what this meant and possible upgrade options available for upgrades and how best to maximise any machines that still have spare CPU/RAM slots that could be upgraded.
The withdrawal dates for IBM POWER6 after which you can't buy new machines (nor POWER5 to POWER6 upgrades) are as follows:...

Yesterday I attended an IBM technical overview of their latest mid-range storage product the Storwize V7000 and I must admit I'm rather taken with it!

Imagine your favourite parts of the IBM Storage portfolio packaged into one:

The new rPerf document from IBM released on the 17th of Aug contains some big rperf numbers for the IBM System P POWER7 795, and due to the dramatic leap in processor core count (64 on a 595, to 256 on a 795) they have paid some thought to the way they display the rPerf figures.

Recently I have seen some strange behaviour with the later levels of firmware (around version 7.10 upwards) whereby a failed drive that has reconstructed to the hot spare does not automatically copyback when a new drive is inserted. The disk appears in storage manager as Optimal and Unassigned and logs indicate it has been picked up without error.

In later versions of IBM Storage Manager (versions 10.10 and up). There is a new function included "Replace Drives" that allows the user to select whether to replace a failed drive with any unassigned drive in the subsystem or the hot spare drive. It should be possible use this function to initiate the copyback. In some cases, I have seen that when the option "Replace Drives" is selected, the message is displayed "no drives available for replacement", despite the fact that unassigned drives are clearly available. In my investigations I have checked that the new drive was inserted correctly (leaving 30 seconds between the pull of the old and insertion of the new). I have seen that the new disk is of exactly the same type and brand and running the same level of firmware and that there do not appear to be any obvious problems within the event log,

The resolution so far has been simply to wait (even up to 2 days), and eventually, the "Replace Drives" option will recognise the available drive(s). So far, the only indication of what has occurred between these times has been that the regular media scan (scrub) has kicked off. Note that if a Storage Subsystem password is set, this is required to authorise the copyback.


The "Replace Drives" function does not appear to be clearly documented in the new Storage Manager client Redbooks so I will blog regards what I know of this function later.

Speak to one of our technical experts now to see how Centiq can help your business by requesting a "call back" using the button to the right, or calling us on 0115 951 9666

The DS3000 subsystems become less of a range with the announcement of the DS3500, as it's a bit of a jack of all trades which outdoes all its smaller siblings. Available June 15th there are two versions, the DS3512 and DS3524 supporting either 3.5" and 2.5" disks, with 12 or 24 disks accordingly. There are also EXP3512 and EXP3524 expansion enclosures to match. Both units are 2U high, and this basically brings the DS range into line with the HP MSA2000 range in terms of spindle capacity and density, to the point that the only real difference is the GUI used to manage it.

Of most note with the DS3500 are the changeable host interfaces similar to the DS5020/DS3950, which means that the DS3500 can have a mix of four 6Gbps SAS and an optional four more SAS connections, eight 8Gbps FC or eight 1Gbit iSCSI ports. If you have the FC ports, unlike the smaller DS3000 units the DS3500 *will* support remote mirroring between the DS3500 and any other DS3500/DS4000 or DS5000 subsystem.

As much as I'd like to say that IBM is faultless and standing proud above the competition, I can't say that in good conscience. Sometimes I feel nothing but frustration towards IBM and their desire to make things so unnecessarily complex and difficult. This is especially true when it comes to customer support, though in fairness to IBM this seems to be a common trend with most hardware or software vendors these days.

As a result I sometimes see support as a "wall". Not because a wall is a fundamental element to any building providing both reinforcement and safety for the overall structure, but simply because that's what it feels like my head is banging against when I'm talking with them.

IBM have issued the following bulletin for POWER6 systems with 12X I/O PCIe drawers attached. If you need some help checking/updating your system please get in touch.

System Firmware Recommendation for Power 6 Systems with F/C 5802 or 5877 drawer (in a 19" rack), or F/C 5803 or 5873 drawer (in a 24"rack), attached