IBM has launched new high-speed, entry-level flash storage systems, as well as hybrid cloud and container-centric updates.
According to IBM, the need for high capacity, cost-effective storage is on the rise, with IDC projecting global data creation to hit 143 zettabytes by 2024. That need is also amplified by accelerated digital transformations spurred by the pandemic.
"As the world moves more rapidly to hybrid cloud, modernized data storage is at the foundation," said Denis Kennelly, general manager, IBM Storage. "Systems that provide global data availability, data resilience, automation, and enterprise-class data services are more critical than ever."
Key attributes of the FlashSystem 5200 include:
- Hybrid Cloud & Containers: The IBM FlashSystem 5200, like the entire IBM flash storage portfolio, supports Red Hat OpenShift, Container Storage Interface (CSI) for Kubernetes, Ansible automation, and Kubernetes, as well as VMWare and bare metal environments.
- Enterprise Capabilities: The system also comes with IBM Storage Insights, which can give users visibility across complex storage environments to help them make informed decisions, and IBM Spectrum Virtualize, which enables users to consolidate and manage storage as if it were one pool, designed to improve performance and lowering operating expenses. Also included are such data resiliency functions as IBM HyperSwap which supports automatic failover in case of a site incident.
- Capacity: FlashSystem 5200 starts with 38TB of data capacity and can grow to deliver 1.7PB in a compact 1U form factor for space-constrained environments, or the equivalent of close to 1 trillion pages of printed text.
- Speed: Although FlashSystem 5200 is half the size of traditional storage systems, it offers 66% greater maximum I/Os than its predecessor and 40% more data throughput at 21GB/s, and is designed to help clients save on both capital and operating expenses.
IBM also announced two additional models to the FlashSystem series that are designed to deliver improved performance: the FlashSystem 5015 and 5035, both of which are 2U systems, designed for organizations with less demanding performance and growth requirements but with the same IBM Spectrum Virtualize and IBM Storage Insights functions.
When made generally available in March, the company will add support for IBM Cloud Satellite to the FlashSystem portfolio, IBM SAN Volume Controller, IBM Elastic Storage System and IBM Spectrum Scale.
IBM Cloud Satellite is being designed to enable companies to build, deploy and manage cloud services anywhere—in any public cloud, on-premise, and at the edge with speed and simplicity.
IBM Cloud Satellite, currently in beta, will be delivered as-a-service and managed through the IBM public cloud.
IBM also announced plans to update IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud, software that enables clients to replicate or migrate data from heterogeneous storage systems between on-premise environments and IBM Cloud or Amazon Web Services. IBM plans to extend the same capabilities to Microsoft Azure starting with a beta program in the third quarter of 2021.
For more information, go to www.ibm.com/it-infrastructure/storage/flash.