IBM DS3500 Express Storage System Supports New Drives

The IBM System Storage DS3500 Express Storage Systems deliver new performance, capacity, and interoperability with the following features:

• 200 GB and 400 GB 2.5-inch SAS SSDs (feature numbers 5500 and 5505, part numbers/SEOs 81Y9903 and 81Y9907): SSDs deliver higher performance and lower latency than traditional disk drives, and are ideally suited for high-performance environments.
• 900 GB 10,000 rpm 2.5-inch 6Gb SAS disk drive (feature number 5225 part number/SEO 81Y9915): Dual-port, hot-swappable drive offering a higher-capacity option for performance-oriented environments.
• 3 TB 7,200 rpm 3.5-inch 6Gb SAS NL disk drive (feature number 5185, part number/SEO 81Y9886): Dual-port, hot swappable drive offering a higher-capacity option for cost-oriented environments, increases the physical capacity supported in DS3512 and EXP3512 systems by up to 50%
• Mac OS Host Kit (feature number 4730, part number/SEO 94Y8434): Provides support for selected Mac OS operating system running on selected Apple servers.

Key prerequisites

• The 200 GB and 400 GB 2.5-inch SSDs and the 900 GB 10,000 rpm 2.5-inch 6Gb SAS disk drive:
• Are supported on DS3524 Express Storage Systems and EXP3524 Expansion Units
• Require controller firmware level 07.77, or later
• Require DS Storage Manager 10.77, or later

The 3 TB 7,200 rpm 3.5-inch 6Gb SAS NL disk drive:

• Is supported on DS3512 Express Storage Systems and EXP3512 Express Expansion Units
• Requires controller firmware level 07.77, or later
• Requires DS Storage Manager 10.77, or later

The Mac OS Host Kit:

• Is supported on DS3512 and DS3524 Express Storage Systems
• Requires controller firmware level 07.77, or later
• Requires DS Storage Manager 10.77, or later

Planned availability date

• September 9, 2011: All features except the Mac OS Host Kit
• September 16, 2011: Mac OS Host Kit