J.1 Overview - IBM z13s Technical Manual

J.1 Overview

The growth of data that needs to be captured, transferred, and stored for large periods of time
is unrelenting. In addition, software-implemented compression algorithms can be costly in
terms of processor resources and storage costs.
zEDC Express, an optional feature available on z13, z13s, zEC12, and zBC12 servers,
addresses those requirements by providing hardware-based acceleration for data
compression and decompression. zEDC provides data compression with lower CPU
consumption than compression technology previously available on the IBM z Systems server.
Using the zEDC Express feature with the z/OS V2R1 zEnterprise Data Compression
acceleration capability (or later releases) is designed to deliver an integrated solution to
accomplish these goals:
Reduce CPU consumption
Optimize the performance of compression-related tasks
Enable more efficient use of storage resources.
This solution provides a lower cost of computing and also helps to optimize the cross-platform
exchange of data.
J.2 zEDC Express
zEDC Express is an optional feature (FC 0420). It is designed to provide hardware-based
acceleration for data compression and decompression.
The feature installs exclusively on the Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) I/O
drawer. Between one and eight features can be installed on the system. There is one PCIe
adapter/compression coprocessor per feature, which implements compression as defined by
RFC1951 (DEFLATE).
A zEDC Express feature can be shared by up to 15 logical partitions (LPARs) on the same
CPC.
Adapter support for zEDC is provided by Resource Group code that runs on the system
Integrated Firmware Processor (IFP). The recommended high availability configuration per
server is four features. This configuration provides high availability during concurrent update.
For resilience, there are always two independent RGs on the system, sharing the IFP. Install a
minimum of two zEDC features, one feature per RG, for resilience and throughput.
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IBM z13s Technical Guide