IBM Copy Services Manager 6.3.5

IBM Copy Services Manager 6.3.5 delivers replication management with simplified and automated replication tasks

IBM Copy Services Manager delivers support for advanced copy services capabilities on DS8000 systems, SAN Volume Controller (SVC), Spectrum Virtualize systems, FlashSystem A9000 series, and XIV systems. These capabilities include automating administration and configuration of these services, operational control of copy services tasks (starting, suspending, and resuming), and monitoring and managing the copy services sessions.

Copy Services Manager supports Metro Mirror, FlashCopy, Safeguarded Copy for cyber resiliency, and Global Mirror on the DS8000 and SVC hardware platforms. Advanced DR functions are also supported with failover/failback (planned and unplanned) from a primary site to a DR site. It can monitor the performance of the copy services that provide a measurement of the amount of replication and the amount of time that is required to complete the replication operations. It also supports multitarget with practice capability for both Metro Mirror and Global Mirror.

By using Copy Services Manager on DS8000 or Spectrum Virtualize storage devices, tasks that took up to 5 steps can be accomplished in just one. It also provides features across the entire replication environment, such as the ability to schedule tasks against Copy Service Manager sessions and the ability to set up a practice session. The practice session in Copy Services Manager enables to test your DR environment without interfering with daily operations so that you can run a practice session before you perform the actual action.

Overview
Copy Services Manager is a replication management solution that delivers central control of your replication environment while helping to simplify and automate complex replication tasks. With it, you can coordinate copy services on a variety of IBM Storage Systems, including, but not limited to, DS8000, SVC, Spectrum Virtualize controllers, Storwize V7000, FlashSystem A9000 and A9000R, and XIV. You can help prevent errors and increase system continuity using source and target volume matching, site awareness, DR testing, and standby management.

Copy Services Manager 6.3.3 offers following improvements:

• Support for associating email addresses with users defined to Copy Services Manager, enabling automatic discovery of email addresses for LDAP users, and allowing clients to configure an email address or a user for easier setup of email notification.
• Immediate email alerts for users when they need to approve or reject a request when dual control notifications are enabled.
• Quickly setup email alert notifications based off users instead of email addresses.
  Support for running Copy Services Manager on the latest Microsoft server version, Microsoft Windows 2022 Server.
• Global Mirror session with cascaded global copy to a single cybersecurity site without requiring a complex setup or a full copy after a site switch.
• Status information improvements for simplified management of the Safeguarded Copy cybersecurity solution on DS8000 include tracking back to the last backup copy and total used capacity per backup
• Support for Spectrum Virtualize Snapshot solution (Volume Group Snapshots), an added feature on Spectrum Virtualize systems.

Copy Services Manager 6.3.4 offers the following improvements:

• REST API to update Spectrum Virtualize connection credentials enables clients to programmatically update the connection information for Spectrum Virtualize systems in environments will rolling password requirements.
• Copy Services Manager navigator will display an error badge when there are any paths in a failed state to help clients quickly resolve pathing issues that may lead to degraded performance in replication.
• FlashSystem Safeguarded Snapshot support provides official support for Safeguarded Snapshots on Spectrum Virtualize-based systems. This allows clients to schedule and create snapshots that are safeguarded for cyber resiliency solutions.
• Copy Services Manager will log all successful logins to the server for audit purposes by default.

Copy Services Manager 6.3.5 offers following improvements:

• Ability to suppress IWNR45005I messages in Copy Services Manager console.
• Additional option to restrict email alerts to specific sessions.
• Improvements to hardware resynchronization times, all Metro Mirror pairs will be automatically started in Global Copy mode and then converted to Metro Mirror mode once the role pair reaches 99% synchronized.
• Support for easier migrations of primary storage systems using z/OS HyperSwap. Note: This requires z/OS IOS APAR OA62931.
• Support for moving Copy Services Manager to Java 11.
• All Secure Shell Protocol (SSH) communications moved from an internal SSH architecture to Apache MINA to provide faster support for the latest security updates.

Note: Starting with the Copy Services Manager 6.3.5 release, Linux PPC Big Endian platforms will no longer be supported. If using a Linux PPC Big Endian platform, Copy Services Manager must be moved to a Linux PPC Little Endian platform or another supported platform.

Key requirements: Support for DS8000 restore to Safeguard Copy backup to production requires DS8000 9.2 (89.20.xx.x), or above.

Planned availability date: December 16, 2022