• The Four Hundred
  • Subscribe
  • Media Kit
  • Contributors
  • About Us
  • Contact
Menu
  • The Four Hundred
  • Subscribe
  • Media Kit
  • Contributors
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • SAN Sightings At IBM i Shops On The Rise

    May 6, 2013 Dan Burger

    The idea of using a storage area network to increase storage capacity utilization has not exactly set the IBM i world on fire, but stringing together multiple servers and consolidating the storage space of each is finding its way into more IBM midrange shops than you might realize.

    I recently spoke with a couple of storage experts who believe SAN awareness is on the rise. The first is Ed Ahl, director of IBM business for Tributary Systems, a developer of storage virtualization software for IBM i and mainframe environments. The second is Tom Grigoleit, systems engineer at Meridian Group, a provider of IT infrastructure solutions.

    Both storage pros say that SAN environments involving IBM i are few and far between, but sightings are more frequent than just a year or two ago.

    Part of that is due to companies becoming familiar with the benefits of SANs that connect Linux, Unix, and Windows servers. There are far more SANs of that variety, and one example of a benefit that grabs the attention of budget watchers is the capability to share tape libraries. As companies realize from their SAN experiences the degree of utilization that SAN brings, people start looking to bring the IBM i into that mainstream corporate environment.

    Another reason that more SANs are showing up on the IBM i side of the fence of is because the Power7 machines are more friendly toward open systems than Power6 boxes, which was better than Power5 iron. Disk array and storage management software upgrades specifically for SAN have demonstrated IBM’s interest in SAN-related products. Smarter computing is integrated computing in IBM speak. Product development backs it up.

    Both my SAN sources have seen companies building IBM i-specific SANs, which seems a little odd given that most SANs are created to be multi-platform. Granted, this is a way to gain SAN experience on the i side of the IT department, but unless this is a stepping stone in the process of getting all platforms involved, it really doesn’t make sense to have a single platform be the goal of a SAN deployment–at least not in terms of the overall business value. However, if it prevents the Windows and Unix folks from devising the plan to bring the i into the SAN, it may be a very good strategy. (Yes, we can all get along, but let’s not let the lunatics run the asylum. I hope you all see the humor in that little joke.)

    SAN or no SAN, the IBM i community still prefers tape backup to disk. That’s not a surprise since tape has been part of IT longer than Frank Soltis has been shaving, and disk, compared to tape, is expensive. The LTO drives are fast and most shops can do a complete backup on a single cartridge. But to get back to SANs, another benefit to consider (budget watcher alert) is that backup to tape personnel that was required for each platform can now be better utilized across multiple platforms.

    More than 90 percent of the IBM i shops are not thinking about SANs yet, but you might want to look around and see what the Windows, Unix, Linux guys have cooking. It sucks to be the last to know.

    RELATED STORIES

    IBM Throttles Storage I/O With New SAN And LTO6 Tape Drive

    IBM Puts Its Money Where Its Mouth Is On Storwize Data Compression

    IBM Unveils New LTO6 Gear And A Storwize SAN



                         Post this story to del.icio.us
                   Post this story to Digg
        Post this story to Slashdot

    Share this:

    • Reddit
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Email

    Tags:

    Sponsored by
    WorksRight Software

    Do you need area code information?
    Do you need ZIP Code information?
    Do you need ZIP+4 information?
    Do you need city name information?
    Do you need county information?
    Do you need a nearest dealer locator system?

    We can HELP! We have affordable AS/400 software and data to do all of the above. Whether you need a simple city name retrieval system or a sophisticated CASS postal coding system, we have it for you!

    The ZIP/CITY system is based on 5-digit ZIP Codes. You can retrieve city names, state names, county names, area codes, time zones, latitude, longitude, and more just by knowing the ZIP Code. We supply information on all the latest area code changes. A nearest dealer locator function is also included. ZIP/CITY includes software, data, monthly updates, and unlimited support. The cost is $495 per year.

    PER/ZIP4 is a sophisticated CASS certified postal coding system for assigning ZIP Codes, ZIP+4, carrier route, and delivery point codes. PER/ZIP4 also provides county names and FIPS codes. PER/ZIP4 can be used interactively, in batch, and with callable programs. PER/ZIP4 includes software, data, monthly updates, and unlimited support. The cost is $3,900 for the first year, and $1,950 for renewal.

    Just call us and we’ll arrange for 30 days FREE use of either ZIP/CITY or PER/ZIP4.

    WorksRight Software, Inc.
    Phone: 601-856-8337
    Fax: 601-856-9432
    Email: software@worksright.com
    Website: www.worksright.com

    Share this:

    • Reddit
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Email

    Admin Alert: Six Things To Do Before Switching Production Processing To Your CBU That Old AS/400 Gets Some Love at Inforum 2013

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Volume 23, Number 17 -- May 6, 2013
THIS ISSUE SPONSORED BY:

Bytware
BCD
Abacus Solutions
Computer Keyes
United Computer Group, Inc.

Table of Contents

  • IBM Launches Extended Support For i5/OS V5R4
  • Infor Exudes Total Confidence At Annual User Confab
  • Systems And Strategy Execs Switch Roles At Big Blue
  • Mad Dog 21/21: Think Or Quit
  • SAN Sightings At IBM i Shops On The Rise
  • COMMON Europe Opens Up 2013 Top Concerns Survey
  • The IBM i 500
  • Avnet Systems Biz Is A Little Soft In Fiscal Q3
  • IBM Announces More Share Buybacks, Higher Dividends
  • IBM i Skill Building At The OCEAN

Content archive

  • The Four Hundred
  • Four Hundred Stuff
  • Four Hundred Guru

Recent Posts

  • The Power11 Transistor Count Discrepancies Explained – Sort Of
  • Is Your IBM i HA/DR Actually Tested – Or Just Installed?
  • Big Blue Delivers IBM i Customer Requests In ACS Update
  • New DbToo SDK Hooks RPG And Db2 For i To External Services
  • IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 27, Number 33
  • Tool Aims To Streamline Git Integration For Old School IBM i Devs
  • IBM To Add Full System Replication And FlashCopy To PowerHA
  • Guru: Decoding Base64 ASCII
  • The Price Tweaking Continues For Power Systems
  • IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 27, Numbers 31 And 32

Subscribe

To get news from IT Jungle sent to your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.

Pages

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Contributors
  • Four Hundred Monitor
  • IBM i PTF Guide
  • Media Kit
  • Subscribe

Search

Copyright © 2025 IT Jungle