Last Update: 22.Dec. 2012
N series Reference Architecture for Virtualized Environments
This IBM® Redpaper™ publication was written to provide deployment guidelines, workload estimates, and preferred practices for clients who want a proven IBM technology stack for VMware environments.
The result is a Reference Architecture for Virtualized Environments (RAVE) utilizing VMware vSphere, IBM System x® Server/BladeCenter®, IBM System Networking, and IBM System Storage® N series as a storage foundation.
The reference architecture can be also be used as a foundation to create dynamic cloud solutions and make full use of underlying storage features and functions. In this paper we provide a blueprint that illustrates how clients can create a virtualized infrastructure and storage cloud to help address current and future data storage business requirements. We explore the solutions that IBM offers to create a storage cloud solution addressing client needs.
We also show how the Reference Architecture for Virtualized Environments and the extensive experience of IBM in cloud computing, services, proven technologies, and products support a Smart Storage Cloud solution designed for your storage optimization efforts.
Clients face many common storage challenges, and some clients have variations that make them unique. With RAVE, a proven and scalable solution has been created that consists of a rack of servers, storage, and networking components. Thus, we have carefully sized three scenarios, Entry, Mainstream, and Advanced, each based on preferred practices for real world workloads.
The IBM System Storage N series used as the storage foundation offers unified storage solutions that provide industry-leading technologies in the areas of storage efficiencies, instantaneous virtual machine and datastore cloning for virtual servers and virtual desktops, and virtual data center backup and business continuance solutions.
This paper is intended for anyone who wants to learn how to successfully deploy a virtualized environment, and to understand how IBM addresses data storage and compute challenges with IBM System Storage N series solutions in conjunction with IBM servers and networking solutions. It is suitable for IT Architects, Business Partners, IBM clients, storage solution integrators, and IBM specialist sales representatives.
