This IBM Redbooks publication describes the concepts, architecture, and implementation of the IBM DS8900F family. The book provides reference information to assist readers who need to plan for, install, and configure the DS8900F systems. This edition applies to DS8900F systems with IBM DS8000® Licensed Machine Code (LMC) 7.9.10 (bundle version 89.10.xx.x), referred to as Release 9.1. The DS8900F family offers two classes: IBM DS8910F: Flexibility Class all-flash: The Flexibility Class is designed to reduce complexity while addressing various workloads at the lowest DS8900F family entry cost. IBM DS8950F: Agility Class all-flash: The Agility Class is designed to consolidate all your mission-critical workloads for IBM Z®, IBM LinuxONE, IBM Power Systems, and distributed environments under a single all-flash storage solution. The DS8900F architecture relies on powerful IBM POWER9™ processor-based servers that manage the cache to streamline disk input/output (I/O), which maximizes performance and throughput. These capabilities are further enhanced by High-Performance Flash Enclosures (HPFE) Gen2. Like its predecessors, the DS8900F supports advanced disaster recovery (DR) solutions, business continuity solutions, and thin provisioning. The IBM DS8910F Rack-Mounted model 993 is described in a separate publication: IBM DS8910F Model 993 Rack-Mounted Storage System Release 9.1, REDP-5566.

Data migration has become a mandatory and regular activity for most data centers. Companies need to migrate data not only when technology needs to be replaced, but also for consolidation, load balancing, and disaster recovery. This IBM Redbooks® publication addresses the aspects of data migration efforts while focusing on the IBM System Storage® as the target system. Data migration is a critical and complex operation, and this book provides the phases and steps to ensure a smooth migration. Topics range from planning and preparation to execution and validation. The book also reviews products and describes available IBM data migration services offerings. It explains, from a generic standpoint, the appliance-based, storage-based, and host-based techniques that can be used to accomplish the migration. Each method is explained including the use of the various products and techniques with different migration scenarios and various operating system platforms. This document targets storage administrators, storage network administrators, system designers, architects, and IT professionals who design, administer or plan data migrations in large data Centers. The aim is to ensure that you are aware of the current thinking, methods, tools, and products that IBM can make available to you. These items are provided to ensure a data migration process that is as efficient and problem-free as possible. The material presented in this book was developed with versions of the referenced products as of June 2011.