Optica: zVT Virtual Tape Node Solutions for IBM Z Mainframe VTL

Optica Technologies Inc. announced the zVT next generation family of IBM Corp.‘ Z mainframe VTL products.

The company’s next generation Virtual Tape Node (VTN) exploits the latest server technology and delivers performance, resiliency and scalability to serve a broad set of IBM Z customers. Each zVT VTN is modular and packaged efficiently with two FICON channels in a standard 2U rack format.

Michael Dailey, COO and VP WW sales, said: “We’re excited to announce our next generation of zVT products. The announcement demonstrates Optica’s unwavering commitment to IBM Z and the mainframe virtual tape market. Our next generation zVT offerings deliver the most modular, scalable and flexible blend of performance, capacity and advanced features available in the market.“

zVT 5000-iNAS

The zVT 5000-iNAS solution is available in a redundant, HA base configuration that combines two VTNs and two Intelligent Storage Nodes (ISNs). Advanced hardware compression, deduplication, encryption and replication are included as standard features.

AES 256-bit inline Data At Rest Encryption (DARE) protects data against unauthorized access to lost or stolen disks by encrypting data prior to being written to disk.

Intelligent replication software delivers WAN optimized data replication for DR and BC. Transmitting only unique compressed data and newer reference metadata to the remote zVT 5000-iNAS disk array via asynchronous replication reduces network bandwidth requirements. Combined with in-flight encryption, the data transfer between zVT 5000-iNAS systems is protected from unauthorized access.

Their design principle for zVT 5000-iNAS is the ability for modular, granular and flexible expansion of capacity and performance. The entry-level zVT 5000-iNAS HA offering incorporates 512 (256 per VTN) Virtual Tape Drive (VTD) resources, delivering ~1GB/s performance ^(*), 144TB RAW and ~288TB of effective capacity using a conservative 4:1 data reduction metric. zVT 5000-iNAS disk capacity is configured and priced using a conservative 4:1 data reduction metric, however mainframe customer data sets often deliver higher levels of data reduction up to and beyond 8:1.

IBM Z customers can scale zVT 5000-iNAS performance by increasing the number VTNs and ISNs from two to eight for granular performance improvements to a maximum performance rating of ~4 GB/s ^(*).

For additional capacity requirements, a capacity only, cost-optimized Capacity Storage Node (CSN) allows for modular additions of 72TB RAW to a maximum capacity in excess of 11PB RAW. IBM’s recent z14 ZR1 announcement and the available 16U of contiguous rack space provide an location for the zVT 5000-iNAS HA system (9U).

zVT 3000i

For IBM mainframe users with more limited requirements, the integrated zVT 3000i model leverages the same enterprise zVT VTN, incorporating 16 Virtual Tape Drive (VTD) resources and 8TB of RAID-6 disk capacity, while delivering 20TB of effective capacity via the onboard hardware compression card (assuming 2.5:1 compression). The fundamental cost attributes of the zVT 3000i make a compelling argument for those customers on a strict budget, who still require an enterprise IBM mainframe storage solution.

zVT 5000-FLEX

For IBM mainframe users wishing to leverage their investments in IP (NFS) or FC (SAN) disk arrays, the zVT 5000-FLEX offering can be configured with two 10GbE (one GbE option) or two 8Gb FC ports. Virtual Tape Drive (VTD) flexibility is provided with VTD options of 16, 64 or 256.

The zVT next generation family’s modular VTN design allows for expansion of performance, capacity and field upgradability for any member of the zVT family. As IBM Z mainframe customers, including z14 ZR1 users, experience change and growth in their workload, the firm’s zVT’s flexible architecture offers the mix of features, price and performance.

^(*) Performance dependant on customer environment.

Resource:
To learn more about the zVT family of products, you could visit the company’s team at the IBM Systems Technical University, April 30 – May 4 2018, Orlando, FL, the IBM Systems Technical University, 14-18 May 2018, London, UK or the CRiP Annual Convention, 12-13 June 2018, Paris, France events. Also, the firm is sponsoring a live webinar hosted by IBM Systems Magazine Webinar on June 5. Register using the following link: Mainframe Virtual Tape: Reinvented for a NEW IT Era