IBM's Elastic flash storage uses IBM FlashSystem arrays and Elastic Storage software to accelerate data access for big data and cloud applications. It provides extreme performance for intensive applications, increases efficiency to reduce costs, and supports automated management of large volumes of data through different storage tiers. The solution removes data bottlenecks and improves query response times through the combination of flash storage and scalable file systems.

1. IBM Systems and Technology
Data Sheet
Elastic flash
Boost performance for big-data and cloud applications
with IBM FlashSystem and Elastic Storage
Highlights
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Accelerate data access for the most
intensive applications with all-flash
storage arrays and world-class storage
management software
●● ● ●
Increase system-wide efficiency, lower
power consumption, and reduce comput-
ing costs while gaining the scalability to
support future needs
●● ● ●
Support more concurrent users, improve
query response times and shorten batch
processing tasks with all-flash
performance
●● ● ●
Manage the full data lifecycle and gain
substantial cost savings through policy-
driven automation and tiered storage
management
●● ● ●
Gain end-to-end data availability, reliability
and integrity for geographically distributed
workflows
Around the world, organizations are struggling to manage the explosive
growth of data—often while working within a shrinking IT budget.
Today’s high performance computing, big-data and cloud applications
are driving new demands for storage access. At the same time, business
leaders need fast storage performance for real-time analytics, so they can
turn data insights into a competitive advantage. However, it does not
make economic sense to meet all of these needs with traditional storage
solutions, which can be costly to administer, challenging to scale and
still result in data access bottlenecks.
By pairing IBM® FlashSystem™ storage systems with code-named
Elastic Storage1 software, organizations can derive rapid value from their
ever-growing volumes of data. These two complementary solutions
deliver extreme performance for the most compute-intensive applications,
helping remove both storage and data access bottlenecks. Plus, as storage
capacity grows, existing staff can easily administer it. Fully automated data
lifecycle management—including the tiering of data through less expen-
sive storage pools such as tape—means that organizations can reduce the
costs of managing petabytes of data and billions of files while improving
security and IT efficiency on a global scale.

2. 2
Harness the power of big data
Together, Elastic Storage and FlashSystem can help ensure
that critical applications operate with high availability and
peak performance. Elastic Storage is a proven, scalable,
high-performance data and file management solution used
extensively across multiple industries worldwide. FlashSystem
storage arrays are data center-optimized to deliver extreme per-
formance, reliability, and low latency in the most demanding
environments.
Based on IBM General Parallel File System (GPFS™) technol-
ogy, Elastic Storage removes data-related bottlenecks by
providing fast access to local copies of data, while synchronizing
data stores located around the world. It can share virtualized
storage pools with practically limitless file system scaling.
Built-in intelligent resource utilization enables optimized
placement of data on persistent storage options—flash, spin-
ning disk or tape—based on desired attributes. Elastic Storage
also provides integrated information lifecycle management tools
to help reduce the ongoing costs of storage.
Meanwhile, FlashSystem removes storage bottlenecks with
IBM MicroLatency™ for fast access—achieving as low as
135-microsecond response times. This low-latency design
improves server efficiency, lowering software licensing costs
and maximizing the use of existing resources. In addition, by
virtually eliminating wait times and enabling more transactions
to occur, FlashSystem can help applications scale to support
more concurrent users, helping to improve productivity and
increase revenue.
Extend the synergy of FlashSystem and
Elastic Storage
Integrated deployments of Elastic Storage and FlashSystem
are enabling organizations to cost-effectively move away from
traditional disk storage solutions. Three key use cases have
emerged:
●● ●
Using FlashSystem as a primary storage device under
Elastic Storage
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Using FlashSystem to accelerate Elastic Storage metadata
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Using FlashSystem as a storage tier dynamically managed by
Elastic Storage
FlashSystem as a storage device
Extremely fast, low-latency, high-bandwidth FlashSystem
storage arrays are now certified for Elastic Storage. FlashSystem
provides the speed of internal flash, but with the flexibility and
infrastructure of traditional shared storage solutions. Together,
FlashSystem and Elastic Storage can support millions of
transactions without bottlenecks.
FlashSystem for metadata acceleration
Using FlashSystem to accelerate metadata—that is, as a separate
storage tier for metadata—organizations can dramatically
improve the performance of primary data workloads across
Elastic Storage environments. Thanks to FlashSystem storage,
metadata small-block input/output (I/O) operations no longer
interfere with the large streaming access operations of the
primary workloads. In fact, compute tasks such as batch
processing and nightly backups have been significantly
shortened by moving metadata stores to FlashSystem storage.

3. 3
FlashSystem as a storage tier
When using Elastic Storage to create tiers of storage based on
performance or other characteristics, FlashSystem can be used
as a high-performance, flash-accelerated tier that helps improve
the performance of the overall infrastructure. This can help
ensure optimal placement of data and eliminate wasted capacity
previously needed for performance. When data is placed in or
moved between storage pools, all of the data management is
done automatically by Elastic Storage.
IBM FlashSystem and Elastic Storage at a glance
IBM FlashSystem 840 – Base configuration
Models 9840-AE1
9843-AE1
Flash type eMLC
Flash module configuration 2 x 1 TB, 4 x 1 TB, 6 x 1 TB, 8 x 1 TB, 10 x 1 TB, 12 x 1 TB, 8 x 2 TB, 10 x 2 TB, 12 x 2 TB, 8 x 4 TB, 10 x 4 TB, 12 x 4 TB
Elastic Storage
Version 4.1
Machine Type 5641-GPF
Take the next step. Click here.
See the full list of specifications.
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Why IBM?
Innovative technology, open standards, excellent performance,
and a broad portfolio of proven storage software and hardware
solutions offerings—all backed by recognized industry leader-
ship—are just a few of the reasons to consider storage solutions
from IBM. In addition, IBM delivers some of the best storage
products, technologies, services, and solutions in the industry
without the complexity of dealing with different hardware and
software vendors.
For more information
To learn more about IBM FlashSystem and Elastic Storage
solutions, contact your IBM representative or IBM Business
Partner, or visit: ibm.com/systems/storage/flash/ecosystem
For more details on IBM FlashSystem 840 please visit:
ibm.com/systems/storage/flash/840/index.html
Additionally, IBM Global Financing can help you acquire the
IT solutions that your business needs in the most cost-effective
and strategic way possible. We’ll partner with credit-qualified
clients to customize an IT financing solution to suit your busi-
ness goals, enable effective cash management, and improve your
total cost of ownership. IBM Global Financing is your smartest
choice to fund critical IT investments and propel your business
forward. For more information, visit: ibm.com/financing
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© Copyright IBM Corporation 2014
IBM Corporation
Systems and Technology Group
Route 100
Somers, NY 10589
Produced in the United States of America
October 2014
IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, FlashSystem, GPFS, and MicroLatency
are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in
many jurisdictions worldwide. Other product and service names might be
trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademarks
is available on the web at “Copyright and trademark information” at
ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml
This document is current as of the initial date of publication and may be
changed by IBM at any time. Not all offerings are available in every
country in which IBM operates.
The performance data discussed herein is presented as derived under
specific operating conditions. Actual results may vary.
THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED
“AS IS” WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES
OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE AND ANY WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF
NON-INFRINGEMENT. IBM products are warranted according to the
terms and conditions of the agreements under which they are provided.
Actual available storage capacity may be reported for both uncompressed
and compressed data and will vary and may be less than stated.
1 Elastic Storage is based on IBM General Parallel File System (GPFS)
technology.
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