Storage Engineer
On February 9, 2021, IBM announced a new, rejuvenated FlashSystem array, the FlashSystem 5200, boasting superior application performance and an increase in ROI. The new FlashSystem 5200 (FS5200), intended to replace the IBM FlashSystem 5100, is upping the ante on entry-level enterprise storage with its hardware updates and a new, smaller footprint.
Under the Hood of the IBM FlashSystem FS5200
Let us unpack the FlashSystem FS5200 and see what we can uncover. This dual active/active control enclosure is only 1U and supports 12 small form factor (SFF) drives. The operating system it runs is V8.4.0.1+ of Spectrum Virtualize Software and it is powered by Intel Skylake CPUs running at 2.3GHz which have 8 cores per controller. The new array offers expanded cache options, which range from the base 64GB to 512GB per control enclosure. This NVMe end-to-end architecture unleashes abilities only dreamt of three or four years ago. Additionally, the FS5200 provides NVMe over Fabric/Fibre Channel (NVMeoF) as well. The configuration connectivity options are flexible at configuration time too, for example 8 x 32GB FC support NVMeoF or 8 x 10G/25GbE (iSER) for RDMA or RCoE. You are limited to the number of adapters due to the array small form factor.
IBM is offering three types of media options on the FS5200: FCM, SCM, and industry NVMe flash drives.
- FCM or Flash Core Modules are built upon SLC and QLC flash mix that comes with a native hardware compression reduction engine, allowing the FCM a guaranteed 2:1 compression rate. Most customers get 2-3:1 all from inline compression without performance impact. The available FCM drive sizes are 4.8 TB, 9.6 TB, 19.2 TB, and 38.4 TB NVMe flash drives.
- SCM or Storage Class Memory, also known as persistent memory, was designed to kill DRAM storage offerings. One can get ultra-low latency response times in the range of 10-20us (microseconds). Keep in mind these drives are smaller in capacity and currently have large price tags. The available drive sizes are 375 GB, 750 GB and 800 GB. This array is powerful enough to support 12 SCM drives whereas most midrange arrays only support four SCM drives. Note the SCM drives are addressed from right to left in the array slots.
- NVMe industry-standard drives are available in 800 GB 3DWPD NVMe flash drive, 1.92 TB, 3.84 TB, 7.68 TB, and 15.36 TB NVMe flash drives.
An Entry-Level Storage System with Unmatched Cost Efficiency and Performance
The first option in the FlashSystem family, the FS5200 supports virtual, containerized, and bare-metal environments with enterprise-grade IBM Spectrum Virtualize that can grow as your business grows.
Capacity
The FS5200 supports drive media intermixing options, i.e., NVMe FCM or industry flash drives or SCM. The drive media are protected by DRAID 1, 5, and 6 schemas. Distributed RAID (DRAID) was launched way back in version 7.6.0 and allows benefits over RAID5 or RAID6, for example the raid array can be distributed over a larger set of drives. Additionally, Parity and Spare functions are spread over all the drives to reduce rebuild times and decrease the chances of the dreaded RAID drive failure scenario. How does a four-way scale-out cluster in 4U fit your needs? Providing 345 TB usable in 1U or 1.4 PB in a four-way cluster again in just 4U of rack space.
High Availability
High Availability on the FS5200 is provided from redundant controllers, redundant power supply units, redundant fan units, DRAID, and the world-famous Spectrum Virtualize software, which has been perfected each year since its release in 2001. All items work together to provide six 9s availability. Wait! You say that < 5 min of downtime per year is too high? Fear not, IT professional, there is an option to get you to 100% data availability! That solution is known as IBM HyperSwap, which provides high availability across dual sites and active-active access to a volume(s).
Performance
Are you wondering if this little array really performs? Yes, the FS5200 is a workhorse in a tiny metal wrapper, delivering up to 1.5M IOPS or 21GBps bandwidth. How does 70 microseconds of latency sound? This powerful array outperforms all other entry-level arrays with barn-burning performance!
Simplicity
Simplicity comes in many forms on this array, for example, did you know that all the software is included? The encryption licensing pack is the exception, in that you can license the USB Flash Drives (four pack) feature or IBM Security™ Guardium Key Manager (GKLM). Leveraging the USB option offers consistent encryption across the enterprise. Additionally, you can utilize either A/C or D/C power supplies for deploying in a telco rack or IDF. Array maintenance comes in 1-, 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-year options.
Integrations
You are probably aware by now that the Red Hat Ansible integration for the FlashSystem family is extensive already. However, did you know you can also leverage Ansible IT Automation for the HyperSwap configurations? Or perhaps your enterprise is already working with OpenShift or just starting a sandbox for Kubernetes (K8s). Know that the FS5200 is fully ready for OpenShift and an IBM CSI (Container Storage Integration to preserve your containers) driver is ready too. The FS5200 can handle bare-metal environment OS installs as well as virtualized environments such as VMware with numerous primitives being available to leverage such as VASA, vVol, SRM, and vCenter plug-in. If you are moving from traditional relational databases like Microsoft SQL or Oracle to more NoSQL instances like Cassandra, no sweat. They all are approved to run.
Skills
One functional aspect is that the Spectrum Virtualize Software is the same across the entire family of IBM FlashSystem arrays. If you do not have those skills, no worries. The GUI is super simple to learn and use. Even a manager could do it. No formalized training is required or even available. This is the modern storage realm, simple for everyone.
Use Cases
What workloads or environments might be best suited for the IBM FS5200? There are numerous use cases for this solution for Day 1 and beyond. The first being Edge compute for big data applications – bringing the storage out to the edge. Or IoT repository for your sensor data. On-premise cloud provides strong, powerful storage in a small footprint, making the most of your data center space. The FS5200 can be positioned behind IBM SVC or as a standalone array. Lastly, IBM recently integrated the FS5200 into a net new cloud offering known as IBM Power Private Cloud Rack Solution. This is a prepacked IBM Power, Red Hat software, along with IBM SAN switches, all in an IBM rack and, of course, a super-fast and dense FS5200 storage system offering. This on-prem racked IBM Power offering goes a long way towards simplifying IBM Power Systems.
Array Refresh
From an IBM storage systems perspective, the FlashSystem 5200 deprecates the FlashSystem900 and FlashSystem5100, which means it is more than capable of sunsetting the Storwize V5000 and V3000 series. You can feel confident displacing other storage vendors’ entry-level arrays too.
Summary
The IBM FlashSystem 5200 brings cost efficiency along with enterprise features and capabilities to a 1U entry-level array, making a big impact on the storage systems industry. Whether you are running traditional database workloads or the new stack in/around Kubernetes and on-prem cloud offerings and are required to provide backup services for containers, this array fulfills all these requirements. Do not waste another minute! Reach out to your Mainline Account Executive directly or contact us here for a demo of the IBM FlashSystem 5200 today.
More Information
Mainline and IBM vEvent: IBM FS5200 Overview Webinar – Register here
On Demand webinar: Accelerating your Business with Ansible and IBM FlashSystem
IBM Red Book: Automate and Orchestrate your FlashSystem with Red Hat Ansible
OpenShift CSI Driver