This chapter provides background information about the topics that are covered in this paper and the reasons that make the IBM DS8880 storage system and IBM Z servers an ideal combination.

Although most of the synergy items that are described here apply when the DS8880 storage system is combined with a comprehensive z/OS software level, some of the items also apply to other operating systems that use IBM Z, including Linux on IBM Z, z/TPF, z/VM, and z/VSE®.

This chapter includes the following topics:

This section presents some historical background to show that the strong ties between the IBM DS8000 storage system and IBM Z go back to their origins.

IBM owns the architecture of the IBM Z hardware and fundamental software, such as
IBM z/OS, z/VM, Linux on System z®, z/TPF, or z/VSE with their components and subsystems, such as I/O Supervisor, Channel Subsystem, and access methods to data on connected disk storage systems.

Since the advent of mainframe servers in 1964 with the IBM System/360 server family, this server architecture has been continuously enhanced and developed to provide the most reliable application server on the market while still maintaining operational efficiency. IBM Z today can reach any level of scalability that is needed to run the most demanding workloads.

With disk storage systems, IBM also has a rich history and extensive experience. IBM created the first randomly accessed disk storage system in 1956, and pioneered many technological breakthrough achievements. IBM invented, developed, and built more advanced disk storage systems, which culminate today with the most advanced disk storage server: IBM DS8000 storage systems, and its flagship, the DS8880 model.

The piece that brings these products together and helps them interact optimally is a connection technology that IBM also invented and continuously enhances and improves.

The technology’s first appearance was in 1990 when IBM presented a newly created serial I/O protocol between IBM Z and storage systems that was called ESCON. It was implemented to run through optical fiber technology to replace the copper-based bus and tag channel interface technology. It also overcame the performance and distance limitations that were imposed by these parallel channels.

In 1998, this serial I/O interface technology was enhanced to become IBM FICON® technology by using full duplex Fibre Channel and multiplexing capabilities. FICON is the IBM interpretation of Fibre Channel technology that IBM enhanced for IBM Z optimal connection performance, reliability, and security.

In August 2017, IBM announced zHyperLink technology for the z14 server and DS8880 storage system. zHyperLink works with a FICON point-to-point or SAN infrastructure to provide low latency connectivity to FICON storage systems.

Because IBM owns all of these building blocks and their respective architectures, integrating these components to get the best overall efficiency from the complete solution is easier. This synergy is based on the fact that each component understands the potential of other components and can make the best use of it. Integrating the DS8880 storage system, IBM Z, and communication components results in a combination that offers more than just the sum of its individual components.

A schematic view of the key layers, which when combined form the end-to-end and integrated IBM Z and DS8880 configuration model, is shown in Figure 1-1.

The key layers include the following major components:

This layer includes end-to-end smart and advanced error detection and error recovery. A directly connected configuration also is available.

Figure 1-1 on page 3 shows the close and integrated cooperation between the IBM Z server and the DS8000 storage system. It also indicates the main ingredients of each building block within the mainframe configuration model. In particular, the DS8000 storage system includes the following building blocks:

Figure 1-1 on page 3 also shows the foundation upon which the synergy items that are described in this paper are built.

This paper highlights the most important and popular synergy items of IBM Z server and DS8000 storage system.

For more information about the following IBM Copy Services functions that the DS8000 storage system provides, see Chapter 2, “Disaster recovery and high availability” on page 7:

FlashCopy is a popular function and the foundation for solutions, such as the IBM Db2® BACKUP SYSTEM utility. BACKUP SYSTEM is closely interconnected in z/OS with Data Facility Storage Management Subsystem (DFSMS) software constructs, such as Copy Pools and Copy Pool Backup Storage Groups (CPBSGs).

This function is used to replicate asynchronously volumes without ensuring consistent data at the target site.

This function is used to replicate asynchronously volumes while ensuring consistent data at the target site by combining Global Copy and FlashCopy.

This popular function synchronously replicates data from a source volume to a target volume. It is managed through IBM Copy Services Manager (CSM) or the IBM Geographically Dispersed Parallel Sysplex (GDPS).

This 2-site DR solution is formerly known as Extended Remote Copy (XRC). IBM zGM still requires proper firmware support in the primary or source storage system, but relies mainly on its software-based component, which is the System Data Mover (SDM) within z/OS.

These solutions include cascaded Metro/Global Mirror (MGM) and Multiple Target Peer-to-Peer Remote Copy (MT-PPRC), which provide two copies that are based on a single source volume. These copies can be synchronously replicated copies or asynchronously replicated copies, or a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous replications. Another 3-site multi-target volume replication relationship consists of a MM relationship and an IBM zGM replication relationship from the same primary or source volume.

These solutions are also known as symmetrical solutions, and provide a high availability (HA) environment within a metropolitan region with an active DR configuration to another region. This configuration takes advantage of cascaded and MT-PPRC functions. In this case, both regions have a symmetrical configuration. Therefore, it has HA and DR protection, regardless of where the system is running.

This support is integrated into system-managed storage within z/OS and can be used by any other utility or application.

A user of this software-based support is the BACKUP SYSTEM Db2 utility. Its availability started with z/OS 1.8 and was significantly enhanced in subsequent versions, for example, to include FlashCopy Consistency Groups support.

For more information about the software-based interface to FlashCopy, see Chapter 3, “Data protection and backup” on page 31.

For more information about managing and configuring synergy items, see Chapter 4, “Management and configuration” on page 43.

For more information about DS8880 storage system and z/OS performance synergy items, see Chapter 5, “IBM Z and DS8880 performance” on page 65.