IBM Storage Ceph 9.9.1 Blogpost
IBM releases IBM Storage Ceph 9.9.1,
June 25, 2026
IBM releases IBM Storage Ceph version 9.9.1, with general availability.
This blogpost contains a summary of the new features, functions and enhancements,
made available with this new release update of IBM Storage Ceph, version 9.9.1.
About IBM Storage Ceph
Software defined storage delivering Block, Object and File storage services, with an enterprise level support and updates. IBM Storage Ceph can deliver File, Block and Object storage services from within one single technology stack, supporting clients to cut CAPEX and OPEX.
A complete IBM software defined storage platform, consumable as a service, or as software subscription, also available with IBM Storage Ready Nodes hardware servers, as complete storage offering.
IBM Storage Ready Nodes for Ceph
IBM optionally offers IBM Storage Ready Nodes for IBM Storage Ceph clients.
Storage Ready Nodes concern server hardware, which has been fully tested and qualified for IBM Storage Ceph implementation and production use cases. Storage Ready Nodes for Ceph enable IBM clients for a complete storage software- and hardware solution experience.
Storage Ready node feature- and capacity choices are available within multiple configuration choices and options, depending on a client’s use cases and use patterns.
On-site implementations are feasible by IBM expert labs consulting services.
Why has this release been named Storage Ceph 9.9.1 and not 9.1, afterwards 9.0?
IBM Storage Ceph versioning adopts to IBM V.R.M.F.
V.R.M.F. is commonly used across IBM product portfolio.
V = Version
R = Release
M = Modification
F = Fix
This IBM model helps Storage Ceph consumers understand the scope of changes, support lifecycle, and upgrade implications for IBM software. With this versioning, Storage Ceph versions provide more stability and predictability.
What is delivered with this IBM Storage Ceph 9.9.1 release update:
Storage Ceph RADOS core updates
· FlashCore Module plugin
For more efficient operations and improved service levels.
Results in better space utilization and lower power consumption.
Storage Ceph NVMe/TCP Block storage updates
· NVMe/TCP supported Initiators update
RHEL 9.x and above (9.2 recommended)
VMware ESXi 7.0U3 and above
Pensando SmartNIC | Hardware NVMe/TCP adapters.
Run high-performance block storage across diverse environments with confidence, scalability, and minimal operational risk.
· NVMe/TCP Bring Your Own Key Namespaces support
Enables the Gateway to serve LUKS-encrypted RBD images to NVMe initiators, leveraging Data-At-Rest Encryption to NVMe/TCP Gateways.
Delivering stronger data security, regulatory compliance, and operational simplicity without sacrificing performance.
· NVMe/TCP CSI Driver—General Availability
NVMe/TCP now offers a Ceph CSI driver for Ceph as a Service, as well as for OpenShift and general Kubernetes usage consumption.
· Upgrade/Update vSphere plugin
Users can now update the plugin from within the interface in vCenter and initialize an upgrade/update from within the vCenter client.
· NVMe/TCP performance monitor
A new utility is available: nvmeof-top
This works in the form of a Linux`top` like tool, specifically for IBM Storage Ceph NVMe/TCP.
· NVMe/TCP Gateway Locale Identification
Stretch cluster support, leveraging awareness of cluster architecture and use cases like stretched clustering.
Ceph Object storage, RADOS Gateway (RGW) updates
· Object ownership on S3 bucket-level
Can be used to disable access control lists (ACLs) and take ownership of bucket objects, simplifying access management for data stored in Ceph RGW S3.
· Account‑Level Public Access Block
A new ability to configure account‑wide Public Access Block settings through IBM Storage Ceph’s AWS‑compatible S3Control: PutPublicAccessBlock API
· Server-Side Encryption (SSE) Performance and Security update
Improved Performance and Security on Storage Ceph Rados Object Gateway, when SSE Encryption is configured.
New optimizations are in place, encrypted buckets deliver performance close to non-encrypted benchmarks, while maintaining strong encryption-at-rest capabilities.
· New enhanced debug logging
For the policy evaluation engine in Security Token Service (STS) and IAM roles, resulting in more clear and detailed feedback. This eliminates the need for time-consuming guesswork.
Storage Ceph CephFS File storage updates
· CephFS Subvolume metrics
More detailed insight for administrators of IO-allocations per CephFS subvolume.
· CephFS Metadata Service (MDS) Status monitoring
Improved MDS status monitoring available within the dashboard UI.
The Storage Ceph dashboard translates complex storage performance data into clear, actionable insights, enabling faster and better decision-making.
· CephFS libcephfs fscrypt update
API alignment with the finalized upstream API.
This provides built-in, standardized file-level encryption that enhances data security without adding operational complexity.
Storage Ceph NFS updates
· HAproxy with multi-active NFS-Gateways
Multiple NFS-Gateways to be active and connected via Virtual IP.
Provided and managed by HAproxy.
· NFSv4 Write Delegations
Delegates certain file IO-functions directly to NFS clients.
A configurable option, for improved performance and scalability.
This option allows NFS clients to handle certain write operations locally, instead of relying fully on the server only. Significantly improves application responsiveness by reducing latency for write operations.
Storage Ceph SMB updates
· SMB service diagnostics
CLI-based capabilities to debug, validate, and monitor SMB cluster configurations and services—Built-in, easy-to-use diagnostics to quickly identify configuration issues, detect service failures, and perform root cause analysis without needing deep expertise or disruptive restarts.
· Per share quotas and capacity reporting
Ability to Set, Change, and Delete quotas per SMB share and report on usage.
Per-share quotas and capacity reporting provide clear control over storage consumption, preventing uncontrolled growth.
· IP based access control for Shares
Ability to have IP based allow lists to SMB shares.
Provides an additional, policy-driven layer of protection beyond user authentication.
· Cluster wide IO-rate limiting
Ability to set, monitor and enforce cluster-wide limits for IO-throughput and IOPS for SMB shares.
Management User Interface Updates
· Ceph Dashboard Overview Simplification
A new Simplified Mode, simplifying the dashboard overview by presenting key information in a more intuitive and accessible way for less experienced users.
This enables existing storage teams to confidently manage Ceph environments without deep new expertise.
· S3 Browser in Dashboard
A S3 Browser, available within the Object section, accessible via the IBM Storage Ceph UI Dashboard. This reduces complexity and accelerates time-to-value by allowing users to immediately work with object storage without needing additional tools or setup.
· RGW Archive zone, configurable from within Dashboard UI
User-friendly dashboard workflow to create or modify an RGW zone as an archive zone. New archive tier setting— aligned user experience with the existing multi-site configuration flow. Offers visibility and management capabilities, such as health status, endpoints, and sync monitoring for archive zones.
· Certificate management
Manage certificates for Ceph services through the dashboard.
Update create/edit certificates and consuming services.
Summarizing
IBM has released IBM Storage Ceph 9.9.1 GA, with new features and functionalities.
Main significant highlights of this release:
RADOS core updates
· RADOS FlashCore Module Plugin
· Storage Ceph Crimson backend (Tech Preview)
RBD Block storage NVMe/TCP updates
· NVMe/TCP supported Initiators update
· NVMe/TCP Bring Your Own Key Namespaces support
· NVMe/TCP CSI Driver General Availability
· Upgrade/Update Storage Ceph vSphere plugin from within vCenter
· New NVMe/TCP performance monitor tool.
· NVMe/TCP Gateway Locale Identification for stretch cluster support
RADOS Gateway (RGW) updates
· Object ownership on S3 bucket-level
· Account‑Level Public Access Block
· SSE Performance and Security update
· Enhanced debug logging
CephFS filesharing updates
· CephFS Subvolume metrics
· CephFS MDS Status monitoring
· CephFS libcephfs fscrypt update
CephFS NFS updates
· HAproxy with multi-active NFS-Gateways
· NFSv4 Write Delegations
· CephFS NFS over RDMA (Tech Preview)
· NFS over TLS (Transport Layer Security) (Tech Preview)
CephFS SMB updates
· SMB service diagnostics
· Per SMB share quotas and capacity reporting
· IP based access control for SMB Shares
· Cluster wide IO-rate limiting for SMB Shares
Management (UI) updates
· Ceph Dashboard Overview Simplification
· S3 Browser in Dashboard UI
· RGW Archive zone configuration in Dashboard UI
· Certificate management in Dashboard UI
IBM Storage Ceph resources – find out more about IBM Storage Ceph
- IBM Storage Ceph website: https://www.ibm.com/products/ceph
- IBM Storage Ceph documentation: http://docs.ceph.blue
- IBM Redpaper publications:
- Concepts and architecture of IBM Storage Ceph:
https://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp5721.html
- Step-by-step implementation of some of the common scenarios with IBM Storage Ceph:
https://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp5715.html
Why IBM?
Data matters.
When planning a data strategy for new or existing applications it’s easy to focus on compute resources and applications without proper planning for the data that will drive the results for the applications.
Our products are all about solving hard problems faster with data. IBM helps customers achieve business value with a clear data strategy.
Our strategy is simple, unlock data to speed innovation, de-risk data to bring business resilience and help customers adopt value based data to bring cost and energy efficiencies.
Value needs to be delivered by connecting organizational data sources with business drivers to create business value that matters to the organization.
Many organizations focus on a single driver with a storage solution, but the best solution is driven by an infrastructure strategy than can accomplish most if not all drivers for maximum benefits.
Our story is not just about another storage product, but is about innovation and a comprehensive storage portfolio that is helping businesses drive more value throughout the organization.