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FlashSystem 900 Product Guide

15

Encryption Rekey 

Rekeying is the process of creating a new key for the system. To create new keys, encryption must be 

enabled on the system. However, the rekey operation works whether there are encrypted arrays or not.

Before creating a new key, ensure that the canisters are online and at least one USB port contains a USB 
flash drive that contains the current key. During the rekey process, new keys are generated and copied to 
the USB flash drives. These keys are then used instead of the current keys. The rekey operation fails if at 
least one USB flash drive does not contain the current key. To rekey the system, you need at least three 
USB flash drives to store the copied key material.

For more information see the FlashSystem 900 Knowledge Center at:

 

https://ibm.biz/fs_900_kc

  

Note: The FlashSystem 900 Knowledge Center will be live on 20th March.
              

Batteries

Battery reconditioning feature that calibrates the gauge that reports the amount of charge on the batteries. 

On systems that have been installed for 10 months or more, or systems that have experienced several 
power outages, the recommendation to run "battery reconditioning" will appear in the Event Log shortly 
after upgrading. 

Note: During the battery reconditioning cycle, no concurrent code upgrades can be performed. See the 

FlashSystem 900 Knowledge Center for more information at 

https://ibm.biz/fs_900_kc.

   

System management

The management modules in FlashSystem 900 storage system are processor complexes in the canisters. 

The management modules are configured for active-passive redundancy. The management modules run 
a highly customized Linux-based operating system that coordinates and monitors all significant functions 
in the system.

The management modules provide a Java based web interface, Secure Shell (SSH) access, and SNMP 

connectivity through external Ethernet interfaces. The web and SSH interfaces allow administrators to 
monitor system performance and health metrics, configure storage, and collect support data, among other 
features.

IBM FlashSystem 900 includes the usage of the common IBM FlashSystem 900 CLI and the IBM 

FlashSystem 900 GUI, which is based on the IBM XIV® GUI. IBM FlashSystem 900 supports SNMP, 
email forwarding (SMTP), and syslog redirection for complete enterprise management access.

The storage configuration includes defining logical units with capacities, access policies, and other 

parameters. No software needs to be installed on host computers to administer FlashSystem 900 beyond 
a web browser with Java support or a standard SSH client.

Summary of Contents for FlashSystem 900

Page 1: ...and increases efficiency of IT infrastructure by using much z less power and space than traditional hard disk drive HDD and solid state disk SSD solutions Enterprise reliability protects critical ass...

Page 2: ...em 900 is configurable with 2 4 57 TB of usable capacity for scalability and flexibility z FlashSystem 900 provides flexible interface types including Fibre Channel Fibre Channel over z Ethernet FCoE...

Page 3: ...ppable IBM MicroLatency modules by way of tool less front panel access If a MicroLatency z module failure occurs critical customer applications can remain online while the defective module is replaced...

Page 4: ...ller two interface cards and a management controller with an associated 1 Gbps Ethernet port Each canister also has a USB port and two hot swappable fan modules In addition to the canisters IBM FlashS...

Page 5: ...mponents are concurrently maintainable except for the passive midplane enclosure LED board and power interposer board All external connections are from the rear of the system Figure 4 Rear view of Fla...

Page 6: ...8 3 TiB 11 6 TB 10 5 TiB 12 TB 10 9 TiB 17 4 TB 15 8 TiB 22 8 TB 20 72 TiB 23 2 TB 21 1 TiB 29 TB 26 3 TiB 34 2 TB 31 1 TiB 45 6 TB 41 4 TiB and 57 TB 51 8 TiB Maximum capacity For RAID 5 the maximum...

Page 7: ...re and can be accessed by using the FlashSystem 900 GUI Hot Encryption Activation Adding an encryption license to a o previously initialized system Encryption Re key Changing the encryption key on a p...

Page 8: ...tion z Printed quick start guide z Selected power cables z Selected interface cables if any z License CD z Interface cards IBM FlashSystem 900 supports only one interface type per system For example i...

Page 9: ...apter are used The other two ports are disabled If you use 16 Gbps Fibre Channel all four of the Fibre Channel modules are configured for 16 Gbps z This configuration supports a total of eight Fibre C...

Page 10: ...Up to eight ports of 16 Gbps Fibre Channel with AF19 Up to 16 ports of 10 Gbps Fibre Channel over Ethernet with AF1A 8 Gb FC 8 Port Host Optics AF18 Up to 16 ports of 8 Gbps Fibre Channel 16 Gb FC 4 P...

Page 11: ...rrectly as it is not possible to dynamically add additional storage FlashSystem 900 can be populated with up to 12 x 1 2 TB IBM MicroLatency modules in increments of 4 6 8 10 or 12 or up to 12 x 2 9 T...

Page 12: ...it becomes an 8 1 stripe No system level rebuild process is necessary to maintain data protection or usable capacity after a failure caught by Variable Stripe RAID The entire Variable Stripe RAID reco...

Page 13: ...ions with latest FlashSystem 900 capacity points Capacity Selection in TB FlashSystem 900 IBM MicroLatency Modules 2 4 4 X 1 2 TB 4 8 6 X 1 2 TB 7 2 8 X 1 2 TB 9 6 10 X 1 2 TB 12 12 X 1 2 TB 11 6 6 X...

Page 14: ...ryption Enablement Pack feature AF14 is ordered In addition the FlashSystem 900 has the following functions Hot Encryption Activation Adding an encryption license to a previously initialized system z...

Page 15: ...he Event Log shortly after upgrading Note During the battery reconditioning cycle no concurrent code upgrades can be performed See the FlashSystem 900 Knowledge Center for more information at https ib...

Page 16: ...gh the management tool Function icons left side z Status bars bottom z Actions menu upper left or right click the home page z To the right of the upper middle of the GUI is the function key for managi...

Page 17: ...ions from the front of the machine At the bottom of the window are three status indicators These indicators provide information about these characteristics Capacity usage lower left z Throughput in me...

Page 18: ...unit ID 1 Figure 8 IBM FlashSystem 900 Management GUI rear view of the machine Additional FlashSystem 900 management software improvements make system management and performance health monitoring even...

Page 19: ...aphs menu System IO z The System I O graph displays the average number of read write and total I O operations per second IOPS over the sample period Each request type read write and total is represent...

Page 20: ...t color and all four ports on an adapter have the same color Command line interface The CLI provides support for the following tasks Managing users z Configuring event notifications z Configuring Call...

Page 21: ...z 1300 watts PSU 900 watts maximum 625 watts RAID5 typical operation per 2U o Heat dissipation 2133 BTU per hour assuming 625W z Warranty information and upgrades IBM FlashSystem 900 is shipped with...

Page 22: ...ge extension or withdrawal without notice Financing solutions from IBM Global Financing can help you stretch your budget and affordably acquire the new product But beyond the initial acquisition the I...

Page 23: ...e materials for this IBM product and use of those Web sites is at your own risk IBM may use or distribute any of the information you supply in any way it believes appropriate without incurring any obl...

Page 24: ...nce in this information with the appropriate symbol or indicating US registered or common law trademarks owned by IBM at the time this information was published Such trademarks may also be registered...

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