IBM eServer i5 Load Source Disk

IBM recently announced that the eServer i5 now supports the placement of the load source disk in an external storage array

Prior to this, the i5 would support external disk, however the requirements were that at least one disk remained under the i5 covers to act as the load source (see IBM Redbooks – iSeries and IBM TotalStorage: A Guide to Implementing External Disk on eServer i5).

The main benefit of the new arrangement is that the i5 can now more easily exploit IBM external disk availability functions such as flash copy. You no longer have to mirror your internal load source to a SAN attached load source. Instead, you can now place the load source directly inside a SAN attached storage subsystem, and then enable mirroring for providing protection.

The support of the external load source disk is achieved by using a fibre disk controller card running off the IOP – 2847. The 2847 has been designed specifically to cater for SAN attached disk.

Supported IBM disk arrays are the ESS 800, DS6000 and DS8000.

IBM have also recently announced support for a new, external load source requiring a 17 GB disk drive. For the next release of the operating system, you’ll need a 17 GB or larger disk drive for your i5/OS load source, whether you’re using an internal or external source. The current internal requirement is for an 8 GB disk drive.