Front cover

IBM DS8880 Product Guide

(Release 8.2.1)

Peter Kimmel
Kerstin Blum
Jeffery Cook
Bert Dufrasne

Product Guide
IBM DS8880 Product Guide, Release 8.2.1
Built on over 50 years of Enterprise storage expertise, the IBM DS8000 series is the
flagship of disk storage system within the IBM System Storage portfolio.

The IBM DS8880 family now offers business-critical, all-flash, and hybrid data systems that
span a wide range of price points. They consist of the following model classes:
DS8884 Business Class
This is the smaller model 984, yet already coming with associated Expansion Unit models
84E.
DS8886 Enterprise Class
These are the models 985 and 986, which both can scale to the maximum number of
frames. They come with their associated Expansion Unit models 85E and 86E.
DS8888 Analytics Class
This model is the all-flash model 988, for the highest performance demands. It comes with
its associated Expansion Unit 88E.

The DS8884 and DS8886 are available as either hybrid models, or can be configured as
all-flash. Each model represents the most recent in this series of high-performance,
high-capacity, flexible, and resilient storage systems, which are intended to address the
needs of the most demanding clients.

Figure 1 shows a frontal views of the DS8884 (left image) and DS8886/DS8888 (right image)
base frames. The frame height for the DS8886 and DS8888 can be expanded from 40U to
46U.

Figure 1 IBM DS8884 and DS8886/DS8888 front views, base frame

Copyright IBM Corp. 2016. All rights reserved. ibm.com/redbooks 1

 This IBM Redbooks Product Guide gives an overview of the features and functions that are
offered by the IBM DS8880 models with Release 8.2.1 (Licensed Machine Code (LMC)
7.8.21.xxx). The IBM DS8880 architecture relies on powerful IBM POWER8
processor-based servers that manage the cache to streamline disk input/output (I/O),
maximizing performance and throughput. These capabilities are further enhanced with the
availability of the second generation of High-Performance Flash Enclosures (HPFE Gen-2).
The IBM DS8888, DS8886, and DS8884 excel at supporting the IBM zEnterprise server
and IBM Power server environments, offering many synergy features.

Did you know?

Here are some particular features of the IBM DS8880 family:
With a frame width reduced from 33 inches to 19 inches, the DS8880 comes with a 42%
narrower footprint than the previous DS8870 model.
The DS8886 (986), and DS8888 offer 3-phase power support. The DS8886 (985), and
DS8884 offer single-phase power support.
The processor complexes of the DS8880 family are based on IBM Power System servers
E850, S824 and S822 POWER8 models. These servers are also independently available
as stand-alone servers running the IBM AIX and Linux operating systems.
The first generation of DS8870 (IBM POWER7) came with 1.2 billion transistors per
core. The second DS8870 generation (IBM POWER7+) came with 2.1 billion transistors
per core. The DS8880 models (IBM POWER8) come with 4.2 billion transistors per core.
The IBM DS8880 models feature a HPFE that provides outstanding flash performance.
HPFE is now available in its second generation. The HPFE Gen-2 is directly attached to
the Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) fabric via PCIe Gen-3, enabling
increased bandwidth and transaction processing capability. This HPFE flash enclosure
pair contains two powerful specifically desgined Flash RAID adapters.
The DS8888F all-flash delivers up to 2.5 million input/output operations per second (IOPS)
random I/O workload environments.
The IBM Storage Driver for OpenStack is a software component that integrates with the
OpenStack cloud environment and enables the use of storage resources that are provided
by supported IBM storage systems. After the driver is installed on the OpenStack Cinder
(OpenStack Block Storage) nodes, storage volumes can be allocated by the Cinder nodes
to the Nova-compute nodes. Virtual machines on the Nova-compute nodes can then use
these storage resources.
IBM Easy Tier, a well-proven feature of the DS8000 series, is available at no charge as
part of the Base license package. It dynamically optimizes performance for multi-tiered
systems. It can also rebalance data within a single tier to help maintain optimal
performance. Easy Tier provides full support of the HPFE and associated flash cards,
while maintaining additional features like Easy Tier Heat Map Transfer and Easy Tier
Application. These additional features are briefly described in Scalability and
performance on page 3.

2 IBM DS8880 Product Guide

Product highlights
The DS8888F model 988 (with 88E expansion frame) is the successor of the DS8888 982
model, which was based on HPFE Gen-1, and of the DS8870 all-flash model. The DS8886
models 985/986 (with 85E/86E expansion frames) are the successors of the DS8886 981
model (based on HPFE Gen-1) and the DS8870 Enterprise Class model. And the DS8884
model 984 (with model 84E expansion frames) is the successor of the DS8884 980 model
(based on HPFE Gen-1) and of the DS8870 Business Class model.

All new models support the second generation of high-performance flash. As the new
high-end model in the DS8000 series, the DS8888F supports 24- and 48-core processors
with 1 and 2 TB system memory respectively, 128 host adapter ports, and 8
High-Performance Flash Enclosure (Gen-2) pairs with up to 384 flash cards.

All DS8880 models can be ordered with a one-year, two-year, three-year, or four-year support
period. Like DS8888F, also DS8884 and DS8886 can be ordered as flash-only models:
DS8884F and DS8886F.

Scalability and performance

The IBM DS8880 models feature POWER8 server technology to help support higher
performance:
The DS8880 family is available with different processor options. These options range from
four sockets and 48 cores in the DS8888 to a single socket 6-core system in the DS8884,
to cover a wide-range of performance needs. The Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT)
mode enables the POWER8 processor to maximize the throughput of the processor core
and offers more threads than competing processor technologies.
The POWER8 SMT technology allows analytic data processing clients to achieve up to
2.5 million IOPS in Database Open environments (70% read/30% write, 4 KB IOs, 50%
read cache hit) with 2 TB cache, 48-cores and a fully-configured HPFE configuration.
Memory configurations are available that range from 64 GB up to 2 terabytes (TB) system
memory. System memory supports the operating system and functional code, disk storage
cache, and disk non-volatile storage (NVS) for write data.
The Adaptive Multi-stream Prefetching (AMP) caching algorithm can dramatically improve
sequential performance, reducing times for backup, processing for business intelligence,
and processing for streaming media. Sequential Adaptive Replacement Cache is a
caching algorithm that allows you to run different workloads, such as sequential and
random workloads, without negatively affecting each other.
Write data is always protected by maintaining a copy of modified data in NVS until the data
is destaged to hardened storage.
The storage server architecture of the IBM DS8880 with its powerful POWER8 processors
makes it possible to manage large caches with small cache segments of 4 KB, and hence
large segment tables, without the need to partition the cache. The POWER8 processors
have enough processing power to implement sophisticated caching algorithms. These
algorithms and the small cache segment size optimize cache hits, resulting in excellent I/O
response times.
Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) Generation 3 improves sequential
read/write throughput and IOPS. The I/O enclosures are directly connected to the DS8880
storage servers with point-to-point PCI Express Gen-3 cables.
The HPFE Gen-2 is populated with 2.5-inch encryption-capable flash cards on a
dedicated architecture, which outperform solid-state drives (SSDs). Each HPFE can

3
 contain up to 48 flash cards, with capacities of currently between 400 GB and 3.2 TB
each.
Using the HPFE, the internal design of the IBM DS8880 family features a true flash
architecture. By bypassing the classical device adapters (DAs), the PCIe-based
architecture of the HPFE enables it to meet extreme IOPS and response time
requirements, in a very dense packaging.
The IBM DS8880 models have an improved 19-inch high-density frame design. As shown
in Figure 2, the IBM DS8886 (model 985) can support 1536 drives, plus 192 flash cards, in
a small, high-density footprint (base frame and four expansion frames). This configuration
helps to preserve valuable raised floor space in data center environments. The new
DS8888F all-flash can hold a maximum of 384 flash cards.
Figure 2 shows a fully configured DS8886 model 985 (46U).

DA1 Disk Enclosure DA 4 Disk Enclosure 2U Empty 2U Empty

6U DA 1 Disk Enclosure DA 4 Disk Enclosure DA 3 Disk Enclosure DA 1 Disk Enclosure

DA 3 Disk Enclosure DA 6 Disk Enclosure DA 1 Disk Enclosure
DA 3 Disk Enclosure
DA 3 Disk Enclosure 14U Empty
DA 6 Disk Enclosure DA 0 Disk Enclosure DA 3 Disk Enclosure
DA 0 Disk Enclosure
DA 5 Disk Enclosure DA 0 Disk Enclosure DA 3 Disk Enclosure
DA 0 Disk Enclosure
DA 5 Disk Enclosure DA 2 Disk Enclosure DA 0 Disk Enclosure
HPFE Gen-2 2 DA 7 Disk Enclosure DA 2 Disk Enclosure DA 0 Disk Enclosure
DA 7 Disk Enclosure DA 5 Disk Enclosure DA 2 Disk Enclosure DA 6 Disk Enclosure
HPFE Gen-2 1 DA 4 Disk Enclosure DA 5 Disk Enclosure DA 2 Disk Enclosure DA 6 Disk Enclosure
DA 4 Disk Enclosure DA 7 Disk Enclosure DA 5 Disk Enclosure DA 2 Disk Enclosure

HPFE Gen-2 4 DA 7 Disk Enclosure DA 5 Disk Enclosure DA 2 Disk Enclosure

I/O I/O
Enclosure Enclosure DA 1 Disk Enclosure DA 7 Disk Enclosure DA 5 Disk Enclosure

40U HPFE Gen-2 3 DA 1 Disk Enclosure DA 7 Disk Enclosure DA 5 Disk Enclosure

I/O I/O
DA 3 Disk Enclosure DA 4 Disk Enclosure DA 7 Disk Enclosure
Enclosure Enclosure
DA 3 Disk Enclosure DA 4 Disk Enclosure DA 7 Disk Enclosure
I/O I/O
DA 0 Disk Enclosure DA 6 Disk Enclosure DA 4 Disk Enclosure
System p8 server Enclosure Enclosure
DA 0 Disk Enclosure DA 6 Disk Enclosure DA 4 Disk Enclosure

I/O I/O DA 2 Disk Enclosure DA 1 Disk Enclosure DA 6 Disk Enclosure

System p8 server
Enclosure Enclosure
DA 2 Disk Enclosure DA 1 Disk Enclosure DA 6 Disk Enclosure

DC-UPS 1 DC-UPS 2 DC-UPS 1 DC-UPS 2 DC-UPS 1 DC-UPS 2 DC-UPS 1 DC-UPS 2 DC-UPS 1 DC-UPS 2

HMC1 HMC2

Base Frame First Expansion Frame Second Expansion Frame Third Expansion Frame Fourth Expansion Frame

Figure 2 Front view of fully configured DS8886 model 985 (single-phase power)

Figure 3 on page 5 shows a fully configured DS8886 model 986, with three-phase power
(46U). Because these models have slightly larger DC-UPS power components, the
maximum number of drives with this model is 1440.
Figure 4 on page 5 shows a fully configured DS8884 model 984 (40U). This Business
Class model comes with up to three frames.

4 IBM DS8880 Product Guide

 DA 3 Disk Enclosure DA 1 Disk Enclosure 2U Empty 2U Empty 2U Empty

6U DA 3 Disk Enclosure DA 1 Disk Enclosure DA 5 Disk Enclosure DA 5 Disk Enclosure DA 5 Disk Enclosure

DA 0 Disk Enclosure DA 5 Disk Enclosure DA 5 Disk Enclosure DA 5 Disk Enclosure DA 5 Disk Enclosure

DA 0 Disk Enclosure DA 5 Disk Enclosure DA 7 Disk Enclosure DA 7 Disk Enclosure DA 7 Disk Enclosure

HPFE Gen-2 2 DA 7 Disk Enclosure DA 7 Disk Enclosure DA 7 Disk Enclosure DA 7 Disk Enclosure

DA 7 Disk Enclosure DA 4 Disk Enclosure DA 4 Disk Enclosure DA 4 Disk Enclosure

HPFE Gen-2 1 DA 4 Disk Enclosure DA 4 Disk Enclosure DA 4 Disk Enclosure DA 4 Disk Enclosure

DA 4 Disk Enclosure DA 6 Disk Enclosure DA 6 Disk Enclosure DA 6 Disk Enclosure

HPFE Gen-2 4 DA 6 Disk Enclosure DA 6 Disk Enclosure DA 6 Disk Enclosure

I/O I/O
Enclosure Enclosure DA 1 Disk Enclosure DA 1 Disk Enclosure DA 1 Disk Enclosure

HPFE Gen-2 3 DA 1 Disk Enclosure DA 1 Disk Enclosure DA 1 Disk Enclosure

I/O I/O DA 3 Disk Enclosure DA 3 Disk Enclosure DA 3 Disk Enclosure
Enclosure Enclosure
40U DA 3 Disk Enclosure DA 3 Disk Enclosure DA 3 Disk Enclosure
I/O I/O
DA 0 Disk Enclosure DA 0 Disk Enclosure DA 0 Disk Enclosure
System p8 server Enclosure Enclosure
DA 0 Disk Enclosure DA 0 Disk Enclosure DA 0 Disk Enclosure

I/O I/O DA 2 Disk Enclosure DA 2 Disk Enclosure DA 2 Disk Enclosure

System p8 server
Enclosure Enclosure
DA 2 Disk Enclosure DA 2 Disk Enclosure DA 2 Disk Enclosure

DC-UPS 1 DC-UPS 2 DC-UPS 1 DC-UPS 2 DC-UPS 1 DC-UPS 2 DC-UPS 1 DC-UPS 2 DC-UPS 1 DC-UPS 2

HMC1 HMC2

Base Frame First Expansion Frame Second Expansion Frame Third Expansion Frame Fourth Expansion Frame

Figure 3 Front view of fully configured DS8886 model 986 (three-phase power)

3U Empty 3U Empty
4U Empty

DA 2 Disk Enclosure DA 6 Disk Enclosure

DA 7 Disk Enclosure
DA 2 Disk Enclosure DA 6 Disk Enclosure
DA 7 Disk Enclosure
DA 2 Disk Enclosure DA 3 Disk Enclosure
DA 7 Disk Enclosure
DA 2 Disk Enclosure DA 3 Disk Enclosure
DA 7 Disk Enclosure
DA 2 Disk Enclosure DA 3 Disk Enclosure
DA 7 Disk Enclosure
DA 2 Disk Enclosure DA 3 Disk Enclosure
DA 7 Disk Enclosure
DA 2 Disk Enclosure DA 3 Disk Enclosure
DA 7 Disk Enclosure
DA 2 Disk Enclosure DA 3 Disk Enclosure
40 U DA 7 Disk Enclosure
HPFE Gen-2 1 DA 3 Disk Enclosure
DA 6 Disk Enclosure
DA 3 Disk Enclosure
DA 6 Disk Enclosure
I/O I/O HPFE Gen-2 2
DA 6 Disk Enclosure
Enclosure Enclosure
DA 6 Disk Enclosure

System p8 server I/O I/O DA 6 Disk Enclosure

Enclosure Enclosure
System p8 server DA 6 Disk Enclosure

DC-UPS 1 DC-UPS 2 DC-UPS 1 DC-UPS 2 DC-UPS 1 DC-UPS 2

HM C1 HM C2

Base Frame First Expansion Frame Second Expansion Frame

Figure 4 Front view of fully configured DS8884 model 984 (single-phase power)

5
 Figure 5 shows a fully configured DS8888F model 988 (46U) as an all-flash configuration.

H P F E G e n -2 4

6U
8 U E m p ty
H P F E G e n -2 3

H P F E G e n -2 2 H P F E G e n -2 8

H P F E G e n -2 1 H P F E G e n -2 7

H P F E G e n -2 6
I/O I/O
E n c lo s u r e E n c lo s u r e

H P F E G e n -2 5
I/O I/O
E n c lo s u r e E n c lo s u r e
40U
I/O I/O
S y s te m p 8 s e rv e r E n c lo s u r e E n c lo s u r e

I/O I/O
S y s te m p 8 s e rv e r E n c lo s u r e E n c lo s u r e

D C -U P S 1 D C -U P S 2 D C -U P S 1 D C -U P S 2

HM C1 HM C2

B ase F ram e E x p a n s io n F r a m e

Figure 5 Front view of fully configured DS8888F model 988 (three-phase power)

The IBM DS8888F scales to 1.23 PB (Petabytes) of raw Flash Card capacity in a two-rack
footprint.
The IBM DS8886 scales to more than 5.22 PB of raw drive capacity, and supports multiple
storage tiers. The IBM DS8880 family supports a broad range of drives by using different
technologies. Nine types of drives can be managed in up to three different tiers (flash
cards and flash drives as tier 0, fibre-attached SAS drives with 15,000 and 10,000
revolutions per minute (RPM) as tier 1, and nearline SAS drives as tier 2).
The DS8888F, DS8886 and DS8886F models provide up to 32 Fibre Channel host
adapters, supplying a total of up to 128 ports (16 Gbps) in a single-machine footprint.
The smaller IBM DS8884 model option supports up to 768 small form-factor (SFF) drives
or flash drives, plus up to 96 high-performance flash cards. The Business Class
configuration, and the smaller processor complex servers in the DS8884 and DS8884F,
offer performance and scalability while reducing the initial cost of acquisition.
IBM Easy Tier, a no-charge feature, offers capabilities such as manual volume capacity
rebalance, auto performance rebalancing in both homogeneous and hybrid pools, hot-spot
management, rank depopulation, manual volume migration, and thin provisioning support.
Easy Tier determines the appropriate tier of storage based on data access requirements,
and then automatically and nondisruptively moves data, at the volume or extent level, to
the appropriate tier in the storage system.
Easy Tier also includes the following capabilities:
Easy Tier Application enables clients to assign distinct application volumes to a
particular tier in the Easy Tier pool, disregarding Easy Tier's advanced data migration
function. This capability provides a flexible option for clients who want to ensure that

6 IBM DS8880 Product Guide

 certain applications remain on a particular tier to meet performance and cost
requirements.
Easy Tier Heat Map Transfer is able to provide whatever the data placement algorithm
is on the Metro Mirror/Global Copy/Global Mirror (MM/GC/GM) primary site. It can also
reapply it on the MM/GC/GM secondary site through the Easy Tier Heat Map Transfer
utility when failover occurs. With this capability, the IBM DS8880 models can maintain
application-level performance at an application on the secondary site when they take
over supporting a workload after a failover from the primary to secondary site.
Easy Tier includes detailed reporting such as workload skew curve, workload
categorization, and a data movement daily report, as well as intra-tiering and
micro-tiering support for storage tier with more than one drive technology. This
combination can be mixed high-performance flash cards and flash drives, or mixed
Enterprise 15,000 and 10,000 RPM drives.
Storage Tier Advisor Tool (STAT) is a tool that is used with the Easy Tier feature to help
clients understand their current storage system workloads. The tool also provides
guidance about how much of their existing data is better suited for the various drive types
(spinning drives or flash).
I/O Priority Manager is a feature that provides application-level quality of service (QoS) for
workloads that share a storage pool. This feature provides a way to manage QoS for I/O
operations that are associated with critical workloads, and gives them priority over other
I/O operations that are associated with non-critical workloads. For IBM z/OS, the I/O
Priority Manager allows increased interaction with the host side.
8 Gbps FC/IBM FICON host adapters in the IBM DS8880 offer enhanced connectivity,
with 4-port and 8-port host adapters in the I/O enclosures that are directly connected to
the processor complexes. The 16 Gbps adapters are available as 4-port only. The host
adapters support FICON attachment to IBM z Systems servers. You can configure each
port to operate as a Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) port, or Fibre Channel connection
(FICON) port.
High-Performance FICON for z Systems (zHPF) is z/OS's new I/O architecture, and
already comes with several generations of enhancements. Step-by-step, z/OSs access
methods have been converted to use the new I/O commands. zHPF is included in the
DS8880 z feature code package. The IBM DS8880 family is at the most up-to-date
support level for zHPF. Enhancements to zHPF include Extended Distance capability,
zHPF List Pre-fetch support for IBM DB2 and utility operations, and zHPF support for
sequential access methods. All of DB2 I/O is now zHPF-capable and now supports the
DB2 castout accelerator function that allows the DS8000 to treat a castout as a single
chain of I/Os.
The IBM DS8880 models provide large volume support for LUN sizes up to 16 TiB. This
configuration simplifies storage management tasks. In a z/OS environment, extended
address volumes (EAVs) with sizes up to 1 TB are supported.
Traditional performance features for System z environments include parallel access
volumes (PAVs), HyperPAV, SuperPAV, Multiple Allegiance, I/O priority queuing, I/O
Priority Manager, and zHPF. Available since Release 8.1, SuperPAV extends the previous
HyperPAV capability by enabling alias devices to be used across multiple logical
subsystems (LSSs).
SAN Fabric I/O Priority Management, starting with newer IBM z Systems servers, extends
QoS functions into the SAN fabric. As for the I/O Priority Manager with z/OS, there is
cooperation between the z Systems Workload Manager (WLM) and that SAN QoS
function. The WLM can send the priority information of each I/O to the SAN fabric and to
the DS8000, completing the management of the entire end-to-end flow of an I/O.

7
 FICON Dynamic Routing (FIDR) is another performance-relevant function that is available
with newer FICON cards such as the z13/z13s provide. When considering many paths in a
SAN, for instance with a larger number of inter-switch links (ISLs), the traditional static
routing often led to unbalanced ISLs with not all available bandwidth being used. FIDR
leads to an optimally balanced SAN, which means more efficient use of SAN ISL
bandwidth.
Additionally, the system offers end-to-end I/O priorities, cooperative caching, long busy
wait host tolerance, and automatic port queues.

Availability and serviceability

The DS8880 family is designed and implemented with component redundancy to avoid
potential single points of failure. The DS8880 models offer high availability and multiplatform
support, including z Systems:
Up to 128 host adapter ports can be individually configured to operate as FC ports or
FICON ports. The host bus adapter (HBA) cards can auto-negotiate down by two speed
factors:
The 16 Gbps HBAs can operate down to 4 Gbps
The 8 Gbps HBAs can operate down to 2 Gbps
Data transfers are full-duplex, over either longwave or shortwave fiber links.
A nondisruptive upgrade path within each DS8880 model allows configuration upgrades
for processors, memory, and storage capacity enhancement to be performed concurrently.
Each IBM DS8880 model supports a scalable upgrade path from the smallest to the
largest processor configuration.
Upgrades between DS8884, DS8886, and DS8888F models are not possible.
Field model conversions from later DS8870 models to IBM DS8886 are also available to
offer greater choices in price and performance and provide investment protection such as
for recently acquired disk drives.
The IBM DS8880 family features Smart Rebuild, a function that is designed to help reduce
the possibility of secondary failures and data loss in RAID arrays. The IBM DS8000 series
supports RAID 6 and RAID 10, as well as (for drives smaller 1 TB) RAID 5.
RAID 6 is a suggested default for most scenarios.
Dynamic Volume Expansion simplifies management by enabling easier, online volume
expansion (for Open Systems and z Systems) to support application data growth. It also
supports data center migration and consolidation to larger volumes to ease addressing
constraints.
For data protection and availability, the IBM DS8000 series supports advanced disaster
recovery (DR) and business continuity solutions, such as Copy Services functions,
available for thin-provisioned volumes as well. Additionally, the Copy Services Manager
(formerly known as IBM Tivoli Productivity Center for Replication) is now included with
the DS8000 Hardware Management Console (HMC) software.
Resiliency highlights include the following capabilities:
IBM FlashCopy handling of volume reservations provides the detection of SCSI
reserves for devices in a Metro Mirror or Global Mirror environments. It resets the
reserve when creating a FlashCopy after it has been identified as not being a valid
reserve for a running server.
z/OS Soft Fence prevents any system from accessing data from the former remote
mirror primary site when an unplanned IBM HyperSwap occurs.

8 IBM DS8880 Product Guide

 Active Volume Protection is a feature that prevents the deletion of volumes that are still in
use.
Support for T10 Data Integrity Field is standard. The Data Integrity Field standard of SCSI
T10 enables end-to-end data protection, from the application or host HBA down to the
storage drives.
Support for IBM i variable LUNs adds flexibility for volume sizes, and can increase
capacity usage for IBM i environments. Before this advance, clients were limited to fixed
LUN sizes of 35 GB, 70 GB, 141 GB, and 282 GBs.
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) authentication support allows single
sign-on (SSO) functionality. LDAP can simplify user management by allowing the IBM
DS8000 to rely on a centralized LDAP directory rather than a local user repository. For
more information, see IBM DS8880 Integrated Copy Services Manager and LDAP Client
on the HMC, REDP-5356.
The IBM DS8880 models are certified as meeting the requirements of the IPv6 Ready
Logo program. This certification indicates its implementation of IPv6 mandatory core
protocols and the ability to interoperate with other IPv6 implementations. They can be
configured in native IPv6 environments.
The logo program provides conformance and interoperability test specifications that are
based on open standards to support IPv6 deployment globally. Furthermore, the US
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) tested IPv6 with the IBM DS8000
series, thus granting it support for the USGv6 profile and testing program.

Energy efficiency
The IBM DS8880 family has the following energy-efficient characteristics:
The IBM DS8880 models include a power architecture based on a direct current
uninterruptible power supply (DC-UPS). DC-UPS converts incoming alternating current
(AC) line voltage to rectified AC, and contains an integrated battery subsystem. DC-UPS
allows the IBM DS8880 to achieve the highest energy efficiency in the DS8000 series.
Three-phase power is available for the DS8886 and DS8888. Single-phase power, with
smaller DC-UPS components, is available for DS8884 and DS8886.
The IBM DS8880 models are designed to comply with the ENERGY STAR specifications.
High-density storage enclosures offer a considerable reduction in footprint and energy
consumption.
All IBM DS8880 models are compatible with hot-aisle and cold-aisle data center layouts,
which are designed to optimize airflow, reduce cooling costs, and increase energy
efficiency.
The IBM DS8880 models are compliant with the latest directives of the Restriction of
Hazardous Substances (RoHS) standards.

Security and encryption

Combined with the world-class business resiliency and encryption features, the IBM DS8880
family provides a unique combination of high availability (HA), performance, and security.

To counteract the growing threat of security breaches, the IBM DS8880 has self-encrypting
drives as a standard feature. It also has security capabilities such as broad-based
access-control and tamper-proof audit logging, and other security features needed to comply
with regulatory authorities:

9
 Self-encrypted drives are a standard feature. IBM Security Key Lifecycle Manager (SKLM)
is mostly used as the encryption key management software. Since DS8000 Release 8.1,
support for the OASIS Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP) is available and
tested with the Gemalto SafeNet KeySecure as the external key server. For more
information, see IBM DS8880 Data-at-rest Encryption, REDP-4500.
Full Disk Encryption (FDE) can protect business-sensitive data by providing drive-based
hardware encryption that is combined with sophisticated key management software. FDE
is available for all drive types, including flash cards and flash drives (SSDs). Because
encryption is done by the drive, it is transparent to host systems, and can be used in any
environment, including z/OS.
Security Improvements in the IBM DS8880 family enable customers to become compliant
with the Special Publication (SP) number 800-131a, which is an NIST directive that
provides guidance for protecting sensitive data by using cryptographic algorithms that
have key strengths of 112 bits. For more information, see IBM DS8870 and NIST SP
800-131a Compliance, REDP-5069.
LDAP authentication support, which allows SSO, can simplify user management by
allowing the DS8000 to rely on a centralized LDAP directory rather than a local user
repository. LDAP can be enabled through Copy Services Manager, which is packaged with
the HMC code.
An audit log for access or modifications made to the logical configuration can now be
stored on separate syslog servers by using the rsyslog protocol.
The following specific features of encryption key management help address Payment Card
Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requirements:
The encryption deadlock recovery key option enables you to restore access to an IBM
DS8880 when the encryption key for the storage is unavailable because of an
encryption deadlock scenario.
Dual-platform key server support is important if key servers on z/OS share keys with
key servers on open systems. The DS8880 family requires one isolated key server in
encryption configurations. Dual-platform key server support allows two server
platforms to host the key manager, with either platform operating in clear key or secure
key mode.
The recovery key Enabling/Disabling and Rekey data key options for the FDE feature
can help clients satisfy PCI security standards.

Advanced functions
The IBM DS8880 family has the following advanced functions:
The IBM DS8880 provides DS Storage Manager (the graphical user interface, or GUI) and
DS command-line interface (CLI) management interfaces to configure the system or query
status information. The IBM DS8880 DS GUI has the same look and feel as the GUIs of
other IBM storage products, making it easier for a storage administrator to work with
different IBM storage products. Since R8.2 code levels, a small DSCLI is additionally
embedded into the GUI to optionally allow quick CLI-based operations.
The user has the choice between two extent sizes for each extent pool:
Large 1 GiB extents as used in previous implementations, which remain a default
Small 16 MiB extent sizes.
DS8880 R8.1 and higher codes also support thin-provisioning for Count Key Data (CKD)
devices. Again, two extent sizes are available: large extents based on 3390 Mod1 volumes
with 1113 cylinders or small extents with 21 cylinders per extent. Thin provisioning for

10 IBM DS8880 Product Guide

 CKD and for distributed systems is currently supported for FlashCopy target volumes with
a maximum 1 TB capacity. It is not supported on the DS8888 or any configuration larger
than 750 TB.
Quick Initialization provides fast volume initialization for Open Systems logical unit
numbers (LUNs) and CKD volumes. It allows the creation of devices, making them
available as soon as the command completes.
The following list shows advanced Copy Services features in IBM DS8000:
IBM FlashCopy is a feature that allows the creation of volume copies (and data set
copies for z/OS) nearly instantaneously. Different options are available to create full
copies, incremental copies, or copy-on-write copies. FlashCopy can be used to perform
backup operations parallel to production or to create test systems.
The DS8880 models and code provide the same remote-mirroring options as previous
models of the DS8000 family. Synchronous remote mirroring (Metro Mirror) is
supported up to 300 km. Asynchronous copy (Global Mirror) is supported for unlimited
distances. Three-site options are available by combining Metro Mirror and Global
Mirror. When using Multi-Target Peer-to-Peer Remote Copy (PPRC), which has been
available since DS8870, with all involved storage systems required to be on a minimum
R7.4 code level, even 4-site options are possible.
Metro Mirror, Global Copy, Global Mirror, Metro/Global Mirror, z/OS Global Mirror, and
z/OS Metro/Global Mirror business continuity solutions are designed to provide the
advanced functions and flexibility needed to tailor a business continuity environment for
almost any recovery point or recovery time objective.
Copy Services can be managed and automated by using IBM Copy Services Manager
(CSM) preinstalled on the DS8880 HMC in R8.1 or later, using external CSM servers,
or using legacy IBM Tivoli Storage Productivity Center for Replication servers. For
z/OS environments, IBM Geographically Dispersed Parallel Sysplex (GDPS)
provides an automated DR solution.
With AIX operating systems, the DS8880 family supports Open IBM HyperSwap
replication. Open HyperSwap is a special Metro Mirror replication method that is
designed to automatically failover I/O from the primary logical devices to the secondary
logical devices during a primary storage system failure. The swap can be
accomplished with minimal disruption to the applications that are using the logical
devices.
In co-operation with z/OSs Data Mover, another option is available for z/OS: Global
Mirror for z/OS. Another important feature for z/OS Global Mirror (2-site) and z/OS
Metro/Global Mirror (3-site) is Extended Distance FICON. This feature can help reduce
the need for channel extender configurations by increasing the number of read
commands in flight.
Remote-Pair FlashCopy enables you to establish a FlashCopy relationship where the
target is a remote mirror Metro Mirror primary volume, keeping the pair in the
full-duplex state.
The Easy Tier Heat Map Transfer function is also integrated with IBM Copy Services
Manager or with newer GDPS versions, and all of the functions are available through
the IBM Copy Services Manager.
The Resource Groups feature is a policy-based resource scope limiting function that
enables the secure use of Copy Services functions by multiple users on a DS8000
series storage system. Resource Groups are used to define an aggregation of
resources and policies for configuration and management of those resources. The
scope of the aggregated resources can be tailored to meet each hosted customers
Copy Services requirements for any operating system that is supported by the IBM
DS8000 series.

11
 The IBM DS8880 provides support for VMware vStorage application programming
interfaces (APIs) for Array Integration (VAAI). VAAI enables certain storage tasks to be
offloaded from the server hardware to the storage array. Support is included for the Atomic
Test and Set (ATS) primitive, the Cloning Blocks primitive, and the Zeroing Blocks
primitive.
The DS8880 family supports VASA 2.0, and the RESTful API.
The IBM DS8880 models also support the IBM Storage Management Console for VMware
vCenter. The IBM Storage Management Console for VMware vCenter is a software plug-in
that integrates into the VMware vCenter server platform. It enables VMware administrators
to independently and centrally manage their storage resources on IBM storage systems.
In addition to being a virtualization-related solution, the IBM Storage Management
Console is a powerful management solution for VMware administrators who would like to
control storage resources primarily from the VMware vSphere Client GUI.

Architecture and key components

This section gives a high-level description of the main elements of the DS8880 architecture.

IBM POWER8 processor technology

A pair of POWER8 based servers, also known as central processor complexes, are at the
heart of the IBM DS8880 models.

These two POWER8 servers share the load of receiving and moving data between the
attached hosts and the storage arrays. However, they are also redundant, so that if either
server fails, the system operations fail over to the remaining server and continue to run
without any host interruption.

The POWER8 processors operate at cycle frequencies between 3.52 and 3.89 GHz
(Gigahertz) and can scale from 6-core processors (DS8884) to 48-core processors
(DS8888F). Among other innovations, the IBM POWER processor includes SMT modes like
SMT4 or SMT8, which allow four or even eight instruction threads to be run simultaneously in
each processor core.

The POWER processor also features Intelligent Threads that can vary based on the workload
demand. The POWER8 multi-core architecture has been matched with a wide range of
related technology innovations to deliver leading throughput, efficiency, scalability, and
reliability.

12 IBM DS8880 Product Guide

Internal PCIe-based fabric
The IBM DS8880 fabric has the following specifications:
IBM DS8880 POWER8 servers are based on PCI Express (PCIe) Gen3 architecture to
provide up to 16-lane (x16) high-speed connectivity to the internal adapter cards.
Up to four dual-port PCIe Gen3 adapters provide point-to-point connectivity to the new
improved I/O enclosures. The I/O enclosures provide connectivity between the I/O
adapters and the POWER8 processor complexes. The internal transfer rate to each I/O
enclosure is four times faster compared to the DS8870, using PCIe Gen2.
The enclosures provide PCIe Gen3 connectivity to all installed Host and Device Adapters.
The new I/O enclosure features six PCIe x8 adapter slots and has two additional PCIe x8
connectors that allow for direct attachment to the High-Performance Flash Enclosures.

Switched Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop and Device Adapters

The IBM DS8880 DAs are configured for high performance and availability:
The standard drive enclosures connect to the processor complexes through four-port
FC DAs. These adapters provide improved IOPS, throughput, and scalability over previous
models of the DS8000 series. They are optimized for Flash Drive (SSD) technology and
designed for long-term scalability.
The IBM DS8880 uses a switched Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) topology to
connect the DAs to the standard drive enclosures. Switched FC-AL uses the FC-AL
protocol, but the physical topology is that of a switched FC SAN fabric, with each drive
connection acting as an independent FC-AL loop. Switched FC-AL topology includes the
following key features:
Standard FC-AL communication protocol from DA to drives
Point-to-point connections established between DA and drives
Isolation capabilities during drive failures, providing easy problem determination
Predictive failure statistics
Simplified expansion, where no cable rerouting is required when another storage
enclosure is added
The IBM DS8880 architecture uses dual redundant switched FC-AL connections to each
of the storage enclosures. This configuration features the following key benefits:
Two independent switched FC-AL networks provide high-performance connections to
drives.
Four access paths are available to each drive.
Each DA port operates independently.
The configuration provides double the bandwidth of traditional FC-AL loop
implementations.

Host adapter
The IBM DS8880 offers 16 Gbps Host Adapters (HAs) with four ports, and 8 Gbps HAs with
either four or eight ports. Each HA port can be individually configured for FC or FICON
connectivity. The 8 Gbps adapters also support FC-AL connections. Configuring multiple host
connections across multiple HAs in multiple I/O enclosures provides the best combination of
throughput and fault tolerance.

13
Flash storage
To improve data transfer rate (IOPS) and response time, the IBM DS8880 family provides
support for Flash Drives (SSDs) and High-Performance Flash Cards, based on NAND
technology:
Flash drives feature improved I/O transaction-based performance over rotational drives in
the same standard drive enclosures. Flash drives are currently available in 400 GB,
800 GB, and 1600 GB encryption-capable drives.
High-performance flash cards offer even higher throughput by using the flash RAID
adapters in the HPFE and direct PCIe connections to the processor complexes. The flash
cards with their capacities of 400 GB/800 GB/1.6 TB/3.2 TB are also encryption-capable.

Note: Flash drives and Flash Cards are high-IOPS class enterprise storage devices that
are targeted at Tier 0, for I/O-intensive application workloads that can use a high level of
fast-access storage.

Storage enclosures
The IBM DS8880 offers High-Performance Flash Enclosures, and two types of Fibre Channel
attached standard drive enclosures, that support Flash Drives (SSDs) or rotational drives.

High-Performance Flash Enclosure

The HPFE Gen-2 is a 2U storage enclosure, with additional hardware at the rear (Microbay).
HPFEs need to be installed in pairs.

Each HPFE Gen-2 pair contains the following hardware components:

16, 32 or 48 2.5-inch SAS Flash Cards
A pair of Microbays, where each Microbay, among other components, contains
a Flash RAID adapter, which is dual-core PowerPC based and hence can do a RAID
parity processing, speed and amount of I/O, that goes far beyond of what a usual
Device Adapter could handle.
a PCIe switch card. The switch cards carry the signal forward from the Flash RAID
adapters over via the PCIe Gen-3 into the processor complexes. The Flash RAID
adapters go with 8 SAS connections per Microbay pair to a pair of the specific flash
enclosures, that hold SAS expanders and the flash cards.

All pathing is redundant. The HPFE Microbays are directly attached to the I/O enclosures by
using the PCIe bus fabric, which increases bandwidth and transaction-processing capability
compared to Fibre Channel attached standard drive enclosures. The IBM DS8880 provides
dual 8-lane PCIe connections to each HPFE, double the bandwidth as was available in the
IBM DS8870. The Gen-2 HPFE makes full use of the PCIe Gen-3 connection protocols.
Up to eight HPF Enclosure pairs (Gen-2) can be installed in an IBM DS8888
Up to four HPF Enclosure pairs (Gen-2) can be installed in an IBM DS8886
Up to two HPF Enclosure pairs (Gen-2) can be installed in an IBM DS8884

14 IBM DS8880 Product Guide

Figure 6 shows the High-Performance Flash Enclosure Gen-2.

Figure 6 Front and rear view of the High-Performance Flash Enclosure

For more information about the HPFE, see DS8880 High-Performance Flash Enclosure
Gen-2, REDP-5422.

Standard Drive Enclosure

The IBM DS8880 offers 2U FC attached standard drive enclosures in two types. Small-Form
factor (SFF) drive enclosures are installed in pairs, and can contain up to 24 2.5-inch SFF
serial-attached SCSI (SAS) drives. Large-Form factor (LFF) drive enclosures are also
installed in pairs, and can contain up to 12 3.5-inch LFF SAS drives.

The SFF drives can be Flash Drives (SSDs) or rotational hard disk drives (HDDs), also known
as disk drive modules (DDMs). Although Flash Drives and rotational drive types can both be
used in the same storage system, they are not intermixed within the same standard drive
enclosure pair.

Note: Intermixing drives of different capacities and speeds is supported within a DA pair
boundary, but not within a storage enclosure pair.

Each standard drive enclosure contains the following hardware components:

Up to 12 3.5-inch LFF SAS drives, or up to 24 2.5-inch SFF SAS drives
Two power supplies with integrated cooling fans
Two Fibre Channel interconnect cards (FCIC) that connect four FC interfaces to a pair of
device adapters or to another standard drive enclosure.

The DS8886 base frame supports up to six standard drive enclosures (for single-phase
power; and for three-phase: up to four), and the DS8884 base frame up to eight. Additionally,
the DS8886 base frame can contain up to two High-Performance Flash Enclosure pairs. In its
maximum configuration, the DS8886 (model 985) base frame can hold 144 2.5-inch SFF
drives and up to 96 flash cards. The DS8884 base frame can hold 192 2.5-inch SFF drives
and up to 48 flash cards.

15
 Figure 7 shows the standard drive enclosures (SFF and LFF configuration).

Figure 7 The standard drive enclosures (SFF and LFF configuration)

Drive options
The IBM DS8880 offers five different drives types to meet the requirements of various
workloads and configurations:
400 GB, 800 GB, 1.6 TB, and 3.2 TB flash cards for the highest performance requirements
400 GB, 800 GB, and 1.6 TB flash drives (SSDs) for higher performance requirements
300 GB and 600 GB 15,000 RPM Enterprise drives for high-performance requirements
600 GB, 1.2 TB, and 1.8 TB 10,000 RPM drives for standard performance requirements
4 TB and 6 TB 7200 RPM Nearline drives for large-capacity requirements.

Additional drive types are in qualification.

Flash cards and flash drives are treated as the same tier, and the Easy Tier intra-tier
auto-rebalance function enables you to use the higher IOPS capability of flash cards.

Flash drives provide up to 100 times the throughput and 10 times lower response time than
15,000 RPM spinning drives. They also use less power than traditional spinning drives.

All types of drives are FDE-capable. The use of encryption is not mandatory.

16 IBM DS8880 Product Guide

Power subsystem
The IBM DS8884 uses single-phase power, and supports input voltages of 200240 V.
Three-phase input power is optional in the IBM DS8886, and standard in the IBM DS8888.
Three-phase power supports input voltages of 200240 V and 380415 V.

The IBM DS8880 power subsystem has the following characteristics:

The IBM DS8880 power subsystem is based on DC-UPS with integrated battery sets. The
single-phase DC-UPS has been made a lot more compact than on earlier DS8000
models, using just 8U of space. The three-phase DC-UPS uses 12U of space.
DC-UPS delivers greater levels of efficiency over the primary power supplies (PPSs) used
in previous generations of the DS8000 series. The power subsystem in the IBM DS8880
complies with the current directives for the RoHS, and is engineered to comply with US
Energy Star guidelines.
Each frame contains two DC-UPS power supplies in a redundant active-active
configuration. Each frame has two input power cords, each feeding a single DC-UPS. If
input AC is not present on one power cord, the associated DC-UPS continues to operate
by using rectified AC from the partner DC-UPS, with no reduction of system power
redundancy. If neither AC input is active, the DC-UPSs switch to battery power.

Each DC-UPS has its own battery-backup functions. Therefore, the battery system also
provides 2N redundancy. The battery of a single DC-UPS is able to preserve NVS in a
complete power outage. The battery module is called a battery service module (BSM).

The BSM helps protect data during a loss of external power. During a complete loss of AC
input power, the batteries are used to maintain power to the processor complexes and I/O
enclosures long enough to allow the contents of NVS memory (modified data that is not yet
destaged from cache to drives) to be written to the internal hard drives in the processor
complexes. After power has been restored, the preserved modified data will be destaged.

Other key elements of the power subsystem include the following components:
The rack power control (RPC) cards manage the power subsystem, providing functions of
control, monitor, and reporting. There are two RPC cards for redundancy.
The power control network (PCN) provides power control and monitoring for the installed
I/O enclosures.

The standard power feature offers a 4-second full-rack battery backup for powerline
disturbance ride through. An extended powerline disturbance feature is available, bringing
this duration to 40 seconds.

Hardware Management Console

The mini PC HMC is a Linux-based server that enables users to interact with the DS8880 by
using the HMC GUI (for service purposes) or DS Storage Manager/DS CLI (for storage
administration or configuration).

A secondary management console is available as an optional feature and as a redundant

management console for environments with high-availability requirements.

With the introduction of the Mini HMC, the secondary HMC is installed in the DS8880 base
frame, eliminating the requirement for external rack space. If Copy Services are being used, a
redundant management console configuration is especially important. In addition, Copy
Services Manager (formerly known as Tivoli Productivity Center for Replication) is now

17
 included with the HMC software. For more information, see DS8880 -Integrated Copy
Services Manager and LDAP Client, REDP-5356.

Important: The DS8880 HMC supports IPv6, the next generation of the Internet Protocol.
The HMC continues to support the IPv4 standard and mixed IPv4 and IPv6 environments.

Ethernet Switches
The IBM DS8880 base frame has two internal private Ethernet switches. Two switches are
supplied to allow the creation of a fully redundant private management network. Each
processor complex includes connections to each switch to allow each server to access both
private networks. These networks cannot be accessed externally, and no external
connections are allowed. External client network connection to an IBM DS8880 system is
through a dedicated connection to each HMC. The switches receive power from the power
junction assemblies (PJAs), and do not require separate power outlets.

Important: The internal Ethernet switches are for the DS8880 private network only.
No client network connection should ever be made directly to these internal switches.

Models
The DS8880 delivers extensive scalability as compared to previous DS8870 systems:
IBM DS8888F Model 988 configuration
With 24- or 48- core processor complexes, and up to 2 TB of system memory, the
DS8888F Model 988 frame supports up to 192 2.5-inch Flash Cards, for a maximum
capacity of up to 614 TB. The model 988 supports up to 64 Fibre Channel/FICON ports.
With the optional DS8888F Model 88E expansion frame, DS8888F Model 988 (48-core)
supports up to 384 2.5-inch Flash Cards, for a maximum capacity of up to 1.23 PB raw
(using 3.2-TB flash cards), and up to 128 Fibre Channel/FICON ports.
IBM DS8886 Model 985 and 986 configurations
With 8-, 16- or 24-core processor complexes, and up to 2 TB of system memory, the
DS8886 Model 985 frame supports up to 144 2.5-inch disk drives and 96 flash cards for a
maximum capacity of up to 739 TB raw, using 3.2-TB flash cards and 72 6-TB Nearline
drives.
The model 986 frame supports up to 96 2.5-inch disk drives and 96 flash cards, for a
maximum capacity of up to 595 TB raw.
Both models support up to 64 Fibre Channel/FICON ports.
Using the optional DS8886 Model 85E and 86E expansion units, the DS8886 system
scales as follows:
With one DS8886 Model 85E Expansion Unit, the DS8886 Model 985 (16- or 24-core)
supports up to 128 Fibre Channel/FICON ports, 384 SFF disk drives, and 192 flash
cards, providing up to 1.77 PB of raw physical capacity when configured with 3.2 TB
flash cards and 192 6 TB LFF nearline SAS disk drives.
With one DS8886 Model 86E Expansion Unit, the DS8886 Model 986 (16- or 24-core)
supports up to 128 Fibre Channel/FICON ports, 288 SFF disk drives, and 192 flash
cards, providing up to 1.48 PB of raw physical capacity when configured with 3.2 TB
flash cards and 144 6 TB LFF nearline SAS disk drives.

18 IBM DS8880 Product Guide

 With two DS8886 Model 85E Expansion Units, the DS8886 Model 985 (16- or 24-core)
supports up to 128 Fibre Channel/FICON ports, 816 SFF disk drives, and 192 flash
cards, providing up to 3.06 PB of raw physical capacity when configured with 3.2 TB
flash cards and 408 6 TB LFF nearline SAS disk drives.
With two DS8886 Model 86E Expansion Units, the DS8886 Model 986 (16- or 24-core)
supports up to 128 Fibre Channel/FICON ports, 672 SFF disk drives, and 192 flash
cards, providing up to 2.63 PB of raw physical capacity when configured with 3.2 TB
flash cards and 336 6 TB LFF nearline SAS disk drives.
With a third DS8886 Model 85E Expansion Unit, the DS8886 Model 985 (16- or
24-core) supports up to 128 Fibre Channel/FICON ports, 1248 SFF disk drives, and
192 flash cards, providing up to 4.36 PB of raw physical capacity when configured with
3.2 TB flash cards and 624 6 TB LFF nearline SAS disk drives.
With a third DS8886 Model 86E Expansion Unit, the DS8886 Model 986 (16- or
24-core) supports up to 128 Fibre Channel/FICON ports, 1056 SFF disk drives, and
192 flash cards, providing up to 3.78 PB of raw physical capacity when configured with
3.2 TB flash cards and 528 6 TB LFF nearline SAS disk drives.
With a forth DS8886 Model 85E Expansion Unit, the DS8886 Model 985 (16- or
24-core) supports up to 128 Fibre Channel/FICON ports, 1536 SFF disk drives, and
192 flash cards, providing up to 5.22 PB of raw physical capacity when configured with
3.2 TB flash cards and 768 6 TB LFF nearline SAS disk drives.
With a forth DS8886 Model 86E Expansion Unit, the DS8886 Model 986 (16- or
24-core) supports up to 128 Fibre Channel/FICON ports, 1440 SFF disk drives, and
192 flash cards, providing up to 4.93 PB of raw physical capacity when configured with
3.2 TB flash cards and 720 6 TB LFF nearline SAS disk drives.
IBM DS8884 Model 984 configuration
With a 6-core processor complex, the DS8884 Model 984 frame supports up to 192
2.5-inch disk drives and up to 48 flash cards for a maximum capacity of up to 730 TB.
It also supports up to 256 GB of processor memory with up to 32 Fibre Channel/FICON
ports.
With one DS8884 Model 84E Expansion Unit, the DS8884 Model 984 (128 or 256 GB
memory) supports up to 64 Fibre Channel/FICON ports, 432 SFF disk drives, and 96
flash cards, providing up to 1,60 PB of physical capacity, when configured with up to
216 LFF 6 TB nearline SAS disk drives.
With two DS8884 Model 84E Expansion Units, the DS8884 Model 984 (128 or 256 GB
memory) supports up to 768 SFF drives, and 96 flash cards, providing up to 2.61 PB of
raw physical capacity with 384 6 TB nearline SAS disk drives and 3.2 TB flash cards.

To meet performance and configuration needs, the new DS8880 family features a complex of
dual POWER8 servers. Each server is equipped with either single processor (6-, and 8-core),
dual processors (16-, and 24-core), or quad processors (24 and 48-core).

Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3 on page 20 provide more information about cache, adapter
counts and amount of frames and HPFE possible for each of the available DS8880
configuration options.

Table 1 shows the hardware components that are supported with DS8884 model 984.
The DS8884 is also available as an all-flash machine DS8884F, containing HPFE only.

19
 Table 1 Components for the DS8884

Proces- System Processor I/O Host Device Standard High-Per- Expan-

sors memory memory enclosure adapters adapter drive formance sion
pairs (8-port or pairs enclosure Flash frames
4-port) pairs Enclosure
Gen-2 pairs

6-core 64 GB 32 GB 1 28 01 04 01 0

6-core 128 GB 64 GB 2 216 04 016 02 02

6-core 256 GB 128 GB 2 216 04 016 02 02

Table 2 shows the hardware components that are supported with DS8886 model 985 and
986. The DS8886 is also available as an all-flash machine DS8886F, containing HPFE only.

Table 2 Components for the DS8886

Proces- System Processor I/O Host Device Standard High-Per- Expan-

sors memory memory enclosure adapters adapter drive formance sion
pairs (8-port or pairs enclosure Flash frames
4-port) pairs Enclosure
Gen-2 pairs

8-core 128 GB 64 GB 2 216 03 (985) 03 (985) 02 0

256 GB 128 GB 02 (986) 02 (986)

16-core 256 GB 128 GB 4 232 08 032 (985) 04 04

512 GB 256 GB 030 (986)

24-core 1024 GB 512 GB 4 232 08 032 (985) 04 04

2048 GB 1024 GB 030 (986)

Table 3 shows the hardware components that are supported with DS8888F model 988. The
DS8888F is a flash-only storage system.

Table 3 Components for the DS8888F

Proces- System Processor I/O Host Device Standard High-Per- Expan-

sors memory memory enclosure adapters adapter drive formance sion
pairs (8-port or pairs enclosure Flash frames
4-port) pairs Enclosure
Gen-2 pairs

24-core 1024 GB 512 GB 2 216 04 0

48-core 2048 GB 1024 GB 4 232 08 01

Figure 8 on page 21 shows the front view of a DS8886, with single-phase power, and one
expansion frame attached:
The base frame shows the two POWER8 server-based processor complexes. Processors
and system memory can be upgraded concurrently.
Two HPF Enclosure pairs are shown in the base frame, and two in the first expansion
frame.
Similarly, for the I/O bay enclosures, four are seen in the base frame, and four in the first
expansion frame. The I/O enclosures contain Device Adapters and Host Adapters.
Primary (and optional secondary) HMCs are at the bottom of the base frame.

20 IBM DS8880 Product Guide

 The power subsystem is based on DC-UPS with integrated battery sets. Each frame
contains two DC-UPS power supplies in a fully redundant configuration.

  




  






 

 






 

 






!









 
  



Figure 8 DS8886 (985) front view, with one expansion frame shown

DS8880 weight specifications and dimensions

Table 4 summarizes the weight specifications and dimensions for the DS8884, DS8886, and
DS8888 base frames, including casters and covers.

Table 4 DS8880 dimensions and weights (only base frames shown)

Model Dimensions Maximum weight

DS8884 Model 984 Height: 193 cm (76 in) 976 kg (2151 lb)
Width: 64 cm (25 in)
Depth: 144 cm (56.5 in)

DS8886 Model 985 Height (without top expansion): 1144 kg (2520 lb)
193 cm (76 in)
Height (with top expansion): 220 cm
(86.5 in)
Width: 64 cm (25 in)
Depth: 144 cm (56.5 in)

21
 Model Dimensions Maximum weight

DS8886 Model 986 Height (without top expansion): 1099 kg (2421 lb)
193 cm (76 in)
Height (with top expansion): 220 cm
(86.5 in)
Width: 64 cm (25 in)
Depth: 144 cm (56.5 in)

DS8888 Model 988 Height (without top expansion): 1080 kg (2380 lb)
193 cm (76 in)
Height (with top expansion): 220 cm
(86.5 in)
Width: 64 cm (25 in)
Depth: 144 cm (56.5 in)

For more information about the expansion frames and specifications, see the IBM DS8880
Introduction and Planning Guide, GC27-8525.

The systems are designed to operate in a temperature range of 1632 C.

Table 5 shows power consumption figures and environmental information for Models 984,
985, 986, 84E, 85E, and 86E for frames that are fully equipped with drives.

Table 5 Power consumption and environmental information (fully equipped frames)

Measurement Unit of measure Base frame Model Expansion frame Model

Peak electric kilovolt-amperes 984: 5.4 (single-phase) 84E: 5.3 (single-phase)

power (kVA) 985: 7.4 (single-phase) 85E: 6.6 (single-phase)
986: 6.7 (three-phase) 86E: 6.4 (three-phase)

Thermal load British thermal units 984: 18425 84E: 18084 (single-phase)
(BTU) per hour (single-phase)
985: 25249 85E: 22519 (single-phase)
(single-phase)
986: 22860 (three-phase) 86E: 21837 (three-phase)

Capacity of Cubic meters per min. 44.2 51.8

exhaust (cubic feet per minute (1500) (1800)
(CFM))

Other configuration features

This section highlights the main features, upgrades, and options that can be requested with
new DS8880 orders or installed later.
A secondary HMC can be ordered as a redundant HMC to provide continuous availability
to the HMC functions. The use of a second HMC can be useful in storage environments
where encryption capability or Copy Services functions have been activated.
The extended power line disturbance (ePLD) option is designed to protect your storage
unit for 40 seconds, rather than only 4 seconds, from a power-line disturbance. If no ePLD
option is ordered, one BSM set per DC-UPS (for both the main and expansion racks) is
needed. If the ePLD option is ordered, two BSM sets per DC-UPS (for both the main and
expansion racks) are needed.

22 IBM DS8880 Product Guide

 The BSMI certificate for Taiwan option provides the required Bureau of Standards,
Metrology and Inspection (BSMI) ISO 9001 certification documents for storage system
shipments to Taiwan.
An optional overhead cabling feature is available. The overhead cabling option includes a
top-exit bracket for fiber cables.
The shipping weight reduction option allows you to receive delivery of a DS8880 model in
multiple shipments. If your site has delivery weight constraints, IBM offers a shipping
weight reduction option that ensures the maximum shipping weight of the initial model
shipment does not exceed 909 kg (2000 lb). The model weight is reduced by removing
selected components that are then shipped separately. The IBM service representative
installs the components that were shipped separately during the storage unit installation.
The Earthquake Resistance Kit is an optional seismic kit for stabilizing the storage unit
rack so that the rack complies with IBM earthquake resistance standards.

Warranty information and upgrades

DS8880 offers the Enterprise Choice warranty of 1, 2, 3, or 4 years on both the hardware and
the advanced function software, with the following options:
4 years on type 2834 models and on 5334 all-flash models
3 years on type 2833 models and on 5333 all-flash models
2 years on type 2832 models and on 5332 all-flash models
1 year on type 2831 models and on 5331 all-flash models

Model conversion
It is possible to convert an existing DS8870 (Model 961, 96E) into a DS8886 (Model 986,
86E). This conversion uses existing storage enclosures, drives, host adapters, and device
adapters. All other hardware is physically replaced. This conversion process can only be
performed by an IBM service representative.

The model conversion consists of four phases:

1. Planning
2. Verification of prerequisites
3. Physical model conversion
4. Post conversion operations

The IBM service representative will not begin mechanical conversion until all prerequisites
are complete.

DS8884 models cannot be converted into DS8886 or DS8888 models.

Scalable upgrades
With the DS8884 model, you can start with a single-frame 6-core configuration with storage
enclosures for 48 DDMs, and grow to a full-scale, 768-drive, 96 Flash Card, three-frame
configuration.

23
 With the DS8886 model 985, you can start with a single-frame 8-core configuration, and grow
to a 1536-drive, 192 Flash Card, five-frame configuration.

All frame and capacity upgrades are concurrent, regardless of configuration type.

Licensed functions
The licensed functions are now bundled into three groups as listed in Table 6.

Table 6 DS8000 licensed functions

Licensed function for DS8000 with License scope IBM 283y-LF8 indicator
Enterprise Choice warranty feature code numbers

Base Function (BF) ALL 8151 - 8160

Copy Services (CS) ALL, FB, or CKD 8250 - 8260

z-synergy Services (zsS) CKD 8350 - 8360

The grouping of licensed functions facilitates ordering, which differs from earlier DS8000
models for which licensed functions were more granular and were ordered specifically.

The three license bundles contain the following functions:

Base Function license (BF):
Operating Environment License (OEL)
Logical Configuration support for Fixed Block (FB) (open systems)
Thin Provisioning
Easy Tier
I/O Priority Manager
Copy Services license (CS):
FlashCopy
Metro Mirror
Global Mirror
Metro/Global Mirror
z/Global Mirror
z/Global Mirror Resync
Multi-Target Peer-to-Peer Remote Copy (PPRC)
z-synergy Services license (zsS):
Fibre Channel connection (FICON) attachment
Parallel Access Volumes (PAV)
HyperPAV (now including SuperPAV)
High-Performance FICON for z Systems (zHPF)
IBM z/OS Distributed Data Backup

The licensed functions are enabled through a 283x (x=1...4) licensed function indicator
feature, plus a 283y-LF8 (y=6...9) licensed function authorization feature number. The 533x
(x=1...4) all-flash models come with a 904y (y=6...9) advanced function authorization:
The DS8000 provides Enterprise Choice warranty options that are associated with a
specific machine type. The x in 283x and 533x designates the machine type according to
its warranty period, where x can be 1, 2, 3, or 4.
For example, a 2834-986 machine type designates a hybrid DS8886 (three-phase power)
storage system with a four-year warranty period.

24 IBM DS8880 Product Guide

 The y in 283y can be 6, 7, 8, or 9, according to the associated 2831/2832/2833/2834 base
unit model. The 2836 function authorizations apply to 2831 base units, 2837 to 2832, and
so on.
For example, 2839-LF8 designates a DS8000 Licensed Function Authorization for a 2834
machine with a four-year warranty period.
The licensed function indicator feature numbers enable the technical activation of the
function, subject to a feature activation code that is made available by IBM and applied by
the client. The 283y-LF8 (y=6...9) (or, 904y ) licensed function authorization feature
numbers establish the extent of authorization for that function on the 283x-98z (x=1...4,
z=0...8) (or, 533x) machine for which it was acquired.
Licensed functions are activated and enforced with a defined license scope. License scope
refers to the type of storage and the type of servers that the function can be used with. For
instance, the zsS licenses are only available with the CKD (z/FICON) scope.
The base functions are mandatory. The base functions must always be configured for both
mainframe and open systems, which is a scope of ALL. Also, to configure CKD volumes,
the activation of Feature Code 8300 is required.
With CS, if these services are only used for either mainframe or open systems, the
restriction to either FB or CKD is possible. However, most clients will want to configure CS
for scope ALL.

For each group of licensed functions, specific feature code numbers indicate the licensed
capacity, as shown in Table 7.

Table 7 License feature codes

Feature Code Feature code granularity for licensed function indicator

BF CS zsS

8151 8251 8351 10 TB (up to 100 TB capacity)

8152 8252 8352 15 TB (from 100.1 TB to 250 TB capacity)

8153 8253 8353 25 TB (from 250.1 TB to 500 TB capacity)

8154 8254 8354 75 TB (from 500.1 to 1,250 TB capacity)

8155 8255 8355 175 TB (from 1,250.1 TB to 3,000 TB capacity)

8156 8256 8356 300 TB (from 3,000.1 TB to 6,000 TB capacity)

8160 8260 8360 500 TB (from 6,000.1 TB to 10,000 TB capacity)

Feature Codes for Copy Services Manager on HMC

You can activate the Copy Services Manager code integrated on the HMC. See Table 8 on
page 26.

For more information, see IBM DS8880 Integrated Copy Services Manager and LDAP Client
on the HMC, REDP-5356.

For Copy Services Manager on HMC entitlement, an order of IBM Copy Services Manager V6
(5725-Z54) is required before you can configure CSM on the HMC. Ensure the number of
years for software support and maintenance that is purchased is tied to the length of the
warranty on the DS8880.

25
 Table 8 CSM on HMC
Feature Code CSM on HMC licensed capacity

8450 Inactive

8451 1 to 100 TB

8452 101 to 250 TB

8453 251 to 500 TB

8454 501 to 1250 TB

8455 1251 to 3000 TB

8456 3001 to 6000 TB

8457 6001 to 10000 TB

For more information, see the IBM DS8880 Architecture and Implementation (Release 8.2),
SG24-8323, and the IBM DS8880 Introduction and Planning Guide, GC27-8525.

Call home and remote support

Call home is the capability of the HMC to contact IBM support services to report a problem,
which is referred to as call home for service. The HMC also communicates machine-reported
product data (MRPD) to IBM by the call home facility. MRPD data has been enhanced to
include more information about logical volume and logical subsystem (LSS) configuration.

On DS8880, the call-home function is no longer offered through a modem, and is only
implemented through an Internet SSL-AOS connection (Assist On-site) or a new support
offering called Remote Support Center (RSC).

For more information about remote support operations with AOS, see the Introduction to IBM
Assist On-site Software for Storage, REDP-4889.

For a brief overview of the embedded RSC, see IBM DS8880 Architecture and
Implementation (Release 8.2), SG24-8323.

Supported environments
The DS8000 offers connectivity support across a broad range of server environments,
including IBM Power Systems, z Systems, servers from HPE and Oracle, non-IBM Intel,
and AMD-based servers.

The DS8000 supports over 90 platforms. For the most current list of supported platforms, see
the DS8000 System Storage Interoperation Center (SSIC) at this website:
http://www.ibm.com/systems/support/storage/config/ssic/

For more information about the proper supported environments, see IBM System Storage
DS8000: Host Attachment and Interoperability, SG24-8887.

There are also papers for special attachments available, such as DS8880 and IBM z Systems
Synergy, REDP-5186, or IBM DS8870 and VMware Synergy, REDP-4915.

26 IBM DS8880 Product Guide

 This rich support of heterogeneous environments and attachments, along with the flexibility to
easily partition the DS8880 storage capacity among the attached environments, can help
support storage consolidation requirements and dynamic environments.

Disk Magic
Disk Magic is a Windows-based performance modeling tool that is used by IBM and IBM
Business Partners to model storage system performance. It supports storage systems from
multiple vendors and offers detailed support for IBM storage systems.

Important: IBM Disk Magic for Windows is a product of IntelliMagic, which is licensed to
IBM and IBM Business Partners to model disk storage system performance. Contact your
IBM Representative or IBM Business Partner to discuss a Disk Magic study.

27
Related information
The publications listed in this section are considered particularly suitable for a more detailed
discussion of the topics covered in this paper.

IBM Redbooks
The following publications provide additional information about the topic in this document:
IBM DS8880 Architecture and Implementation (Release 8.2), SG24-8323
IBM DS8880 Introduction and Planning Guide, GC27-8525
DS8000 Copy Services, SG24-8367
IBM System Storage DS8000 Performance Monitoring and Tuning, SG24-8318
IBM DS8880 Thin Provisioning, REDP-5343
IBM DS8000 Easy Tier, REDP-4667
DS8870 Easy Tier Application, REDP-5014
IBM DS8870 Easy Tier Heat Map Transfer, REDP-5015
DS8000 I/O Priority Manager, REDP-4760
IBM DS8000 Series Command-Line Interface Users Guide, SC27-8526
Introduction to IBM Assist On-site Software for Storage, REDP-4889
IBM DS8880 Data-at-Rest Encryption, REDP-4500
DS8880 and IBM z Systems Synergy, REDP-5186
IBM DS8870 and VMware Synergy, REDP-4915
DS8870 Data Migration Techniques, SG24-8257
IBM DS8870 Multiple Target Peer-to-Peer Remote Copy, REDP-5151
IBM System Storage DS8000 Copy Services Scope Management and Resource Groups,
REDP-4758
IBM DS8880 Integrated Copy Services Manager and LDAP Client on the HMC,
REDP-5356
Using IBM DS8870 in an OpenStack Environment, REDP-5220
IBM System Storage DS8000: Host Attachment and Interoperability, SG24-8887

Online resources
These websites are also relevant as further information sources:
IBM Knowledge Center:
http://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/
IBM Assist On-site:
http://www.ibm.com/support/assistonsite/
IBM System Storage Interoperation Center (SSIC):
https://www.ibm.com/systems/support/storage/ssic/
IBM data storage feature activation (DSFA):
http://www.ibm.com/storage/dsfa

28 IBM DS8880 Product Guide

Authors
This Product Guide was produced by a team of IBM specialists from around the world.

Peter Kimmel
Kerstin Blum
Jeffery Cook
Bert Dufrasne
IBM

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30 IBM DS8880 Product Guide
Notices

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Copyright IBM Corp. 2016. All rights reserved. 31

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32 IBM DS8880 Product Guide

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