Item: IBM System Storage DS8900F
Rating: 10
Author: Rusty Beard

Overall Satisfaction with IBM System Storage DS8000

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Our customers use the product for various purposes from mainframe to open systems uses.

Pros and Cons

Pros

The IBM DS8000 family is the leading, most-trusted platform for IBM mainframe
The IBM DS8000 family is the leading, most-trusted platform for IBM i.
The IBM DS8000 family has time-proven hardware and software contributing to unparalleled availability.

Cons

The DS8000 family still lacks deduplication and compression algorithms.
For best results on replication enablement, optional Copy Services Manager is suggested.

Return on Investment

The DS8000 helps my customers meet their overall business objectives by providing a bulletproof platform for the most critical enterprise environments

Alternatives Considered

The DS8000 enjoys a position where few competitors play. The only two serious competitors are Dell/EMC and Hitachi.

On the Dell/EMC side, one must wonder about their continued commitment to FICON and large enterprise storage. It seems as if Dell is really driving the low-end/midrange product and the high-investment products (VMax, Isilon, etc.) are suffering.

Hitachi is a great product as well, but the Mainframe/Ficon support isn't as "native" as they'd have you believe.

Likelihood to Recommend

If you're looking at the IBM DS8000 you have a special use-case. It's either IBM Mainframe, IBM i or another enterprise environment that requires the most resilient storage technology available. The DS8000 family is a great choice for these highly-critical environments.

It offers some of the most mature and well-thought copy services available in the industry. This includes synchronous and async options.

It's also available either pre-racked or rack mountable to suit your use-case.

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DS8000 Family - the most resilient storage for the most critical applications