The Advanced Technology Group held an IBM FlashSystem Deep Dive & Advanced Functions Workshop on December 3-4 in Herndon, Virginia. This interactive technical workshop brought customers together for a deep dive into IBM Storage Virtualize and IBM FlashSystem with a focus on upgrading existing IBM arrays or competitive block storage arrays, to the high-performance feature rich IBM FlashSystem line.
Participants engaged in demonstrations and in-depth sessions that showcased the unique features of IBM FlashSystem (5300, 7300, and 9500 products), including cutting-edge ransomware detection, policy-based replication, and IBM Storage Insights for advanced reporting.
Matt Key, Principal Storage Technical Specialist, IBM Advanced Technology Group – FlashSystem, kicked off the workshop with a comprehensive introduction into IBM FlashSystem and IBM Storage Virtualize. Key highlights included IBM FlashSystem strategy and the use cases that IBM FlashSystem addresses:
- Performance / Scalability: Leadership in performance, scalability, and sustainability
- Security / Cyber Resilience: Secure data, prevent unauthorized access, and enable rapid recovery
- Cloud-Like Experience: Simplify, improve, and automate storage management
- Flash Grid: A new approach to clustering (single point of management) and flexible asset utilization providing applications with HA and/or DR resilience
Platform Deep Dive and GUI Walkthrough
Attendees explored IBM FlashSystem’s advanced technical differentiators, including:
- Ransomware Threat Detection: IBM FlashCore Module 4 (FCM4) enables hardware-based detection of ransomware attacks by leveraging volume-aware metadata. Demonstrations showcased near-real-time anomaly detection, identifying threats within minutes of an attack.
- Performance Monitoring: Leverage IBM Storage Insights to monitor system performance, sustainability metrics, and RAID configurations with ease.
- Quantum-Safe Encryption: IBM's innovative encryption solutions ensure secure key passing, positioning FlashSystem as the first quantum-safe storage array.
Volume Groups and Copy Services
Byron Grossnickle, Principal Storage Technical Specialist, IBM Advanced Technology Group – Storage Virtualize, introduced FlashSystem Volume Group Snapshots/Partitions for managing storage efficiently and gave a VGS/Provisioning Policy Demo:
- Volume Group Snapshots: A point in time (FlashCopy NoCopy) of all volumes in the volume group maintaining consistency across all the volumes
- Clones/Thin Clones: Since VGS targets are immutable and non-mountable, in order to mount volumes to a host, clones or thin clones of the volume group snapshot must be made
- Provisioning Policies: a policy that is applied to a pool that dictates how volumes will initially be created in that pool
Wayne Tull, Principal Systems Architect from Broadcom, gave a presentation on how Safeguarded SAN is Critical for a Cyber-Resilient Solution and how new regulations are driving security enhancements and the need for modern data security:
- Transform Storage Networks with Autonomous SAN Capabilities: Analytics and automation capabilities to eliminate complexity and save money
- New FOS 9.2.1 Features Significantly Enhances Security: Better, secure and automated identity management with token-based authentication
- IBM b-type Gen 7 SAN: provides Cyber Resilience Advancement
- IBM and Brocade Deliver End-to-End Encryption 2025: Industry standard Secure Fibre Channel HBA for In-Flight encryption promises to deliver cost-effective, application-independent encryption
Key Takeaways
The IBM FlashSystem Deep Dive & Advanced Functions Workshop proved to be an invaluable experience for customers seeking to upgrade their storage infrastructure. Key takeaways included:
- Performance and Agility: IBM FlashSystem provides unparalleled performance for workloads ranging from AI and Big Data to traditional enterprise applications
- Resilience and Security: Advanced ransomware detection and safeguarded snapshots highlight IBM’s commitment to cybersecurity
- Simplified Management: Features like policy-based replication, Flash Grid, and IBM Storage Insights reduce complexity, empowering administrators to do more with less
Looking Ahead
Whether tackling cyber threats, managing massive datasets, or optimizing cloud connectivity, IBM FlashSystem is positioned to help enterprises thrive in a data-driven world. Thank you to all of the customers who joined us and we look forward to 2025!
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