What’s New in IBM Scale System 6.2.3 and Storage Scale 5.2.3

By Mike Kieran, AI and HPC storage, IBM Corp.

Enterprise storage continues to evolve, as evident in the latest updates to IBM Storage Scale and Scale System 6000, the global data platform optimized for AI, analytics, and high-performance computing workloads.

Scale System 6000

For Scale System 6000, the big news is support for PCIe Gen5 drives with QLC (Quad-Level Cell) flash, which stores 4 bits per cell, offering higher density than TLC (Triple-Level Cell) flash, which stores 3 bits per cell.

Results include:

• 50% more capacity than previous-gen drives with new 30.72TB and 61.44TB options;
• Up to 2.2PB/system (with 60TB drives), Self-Encrypted Drive (SED)-enabled and optimized for read-heavy workloads;
• Up to 14GB/s read throughput per Storage Scale 6000 system.

QLC drives are designed to deliver lower cost/TB than TLC drives – they’re engineered for higher density so that fewer drives are required for a given capacity level, reducing costs for hardware, power, and cooling.

The Scale System 6000 uses dual-port QLC flash, to improve reliability and performance over single-port QLC, and integrates a TLC flash tier to optimize durability and write performance. The new storage systems are optimized for use in analytics, backup, and AI inferencing workflows where read performance is critical.

The other main Scale System 6000 enhancement is Remote Code Load (RCL), to simplify lifecycle management by enabling IBM-managed updates to efficiently keep systems current, without the requirement for an on-site systems engineer.

On the software front, Storage Scale 5.2.3 adds support for content-aware storage, with active file management (AFM) watchfolders for accelerating AI pipelines by tracking and processing only changed data, and support for retrieval augmented generation (RAG) workflows even on legacy datasets. 

Storage Scale 5.2.3 also adds a revamped API-driven control plane with:

• Full REST API support for file system management;
• No SSH or root access dependency;
• Improved role-based access control for secured remote admin.

Bottom line: These updates are made to facilitate smarter, faster, and easier-to-manage storage. On the hardware side, QLC flash is engineered to cut costs. In software, RCL aims to reduce downtime and content-aware capabilities are designed to improve responses from AI applications.