IBM Spectrum Control connects to the switch that you added, and automatically discovers the fabrics and switches that they manage. The discovered fabrics and switches are automatically added for monitoring, if they have the same credentials as the switches you added.
For switches with a Fabric OS version earlier than 8.2.1, use the BNA Storage Management Initiative (SMI) agent to manage the switches and fabrics. The SMI agent is embedded in the BNA. The BNA can manage multiple fabrics within and across data centers.
To see the Brocade models, firmware versions, and agents that are used by IBM Spectrum Control, see the IBM Spectrum Control interoperability matrix.
More non-IBM storage system support
More good news! You can now monitor and set alerts for performance for Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform F Series and G Series systems. You can compare your storage workloads and response times across your entire storage environment.
For example, view the Total I/O Rate and the Overall Response Time of your Hitachi VSP system.
*This feature also is supported in IBM Storage Insights
License name updates and Licensing page enhancements
You voiced your opinion on our licensing structure, and we listened!
The following licenses were renamed this release:
IBM Spectrum Control 5.3 licenses
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IBM Spectrum Control 5.4.0 licenses
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IBM Spectrum Control Standard Edition
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IBM Spectrum Control
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IBM Spectrum Control Standard Select Edition
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IBM Spectrum Control Select Edition
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Note: If you owned a Standard license in a previous release, you now have access to the following features:
- Chargeback, consumer, and rollup reports
- Storage reclamation
- Volume transformation
To make it easier for you to understand your licensing and determine how much storage you can add before exceeding your license, the Licensing page in the GUI was updated.
The following updates were made:
- The automatic assignment of storage category for most storage systems. Fewer manual assignments are now required.
- Improved notifications to make you aware of actions that you must complete.
- The names of column headings were changed, and the hover help was revised to help you complete your compliance check.
- The capacity to be licensed is now shown in tebibytes (TiB) for consistency with the other capacity values on the page.
For more information, see Licensing.
More new features and enhancements
Some other features and enhancements that are available in IBM Spectrum Control 5.4.0 include:
- Viewing the name and VOLSER properties for DS8000 CKD volumes (*This feature also is supported in IBM Storage Insights)
- User roles for monitoring IBM Spectrum Virtualize (*This feature also is supported in IBM Storage Insights)
For even more information on new features and enhancements in IBM Spectrum Control 5.4.0, see the What’s new!
Downloading IBM Spectrum Control
You can download IBM Spectrum Control, V5.4.0 here.
Review the Installation instructions and Download package sections.
You can then install the product by following the installation instructions in the IBM Knowledge Center.
Social media insights
Be social! Do social!
Join the conversation at #IBMStorage, #ibmsystems, and #softwaredefinedstorage.
You can also watch videos, read blogs, and explore social media to learn more about how to use IBM Spectrum Control. See Social media for IBM Spectrum Control.