Item: IBM Storage FlashSystem
Rating: 7
Author: Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with IBM FlashSystem

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

The FS7200 is a natural progression of the Storwize V7000 by replacing the traditional spinning disk storage with NVMe flash storage. This leads to much better performance. The storage virtualization is also useful as a mid tier option compared to the full SVC solution.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Much faster than prior Storwize V7000.
Good option for midtier storage virtualization controller with local NVMe storage capacity.
For existing SVC customers, it's an easy fit and no learning curve.

Cons

Storage virtualization is getting harder to justify as competitors are implementing similar features in their arrays.
Snapshot management could be better, the reliance on FSM needs to be replaced somehow.

Return on Investment

Improved performance of backup systems using as target
Improved performance of storage pools with legacy arrays by adding Flash layer for EasyTier and dedicated Flash Pool

Alternatives Considered

We use IBM SVC, FlashSystems, and XIV family are the primary tiers of storage with V7K tier for backup targets and small scale one-offs.

Likelihood to Recommend

Appropriate for mid-tier storage virtualization on a smaller scale than would require SVC
Appropriate for backup storage option
Appropriate for adding a flash storage layer on top of a stack of virtualized legacy arrays, if using EasyTier
Less appropriate for large scale virtualization or front-ending a stack of newer arrays that may be more feature rich without being virtualized behind the V7K stack.

IBM Storage FlashSystem Feature Ratings

Comments

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An improvement to the Storwize V7000 line

Modules Used