Chapter 1. Introduction; Product Updates - IBM TotalStorage DS4300 Installation, User's, And Maintenance Manual

Chapter 1. Introduction

IBM TotalStorage DS4000 storage solutions support the large and growing data
storage requirements of business-critical applications. These scalable IBM DS4000
solutions offer you data access and protection to meet your existing enterprise
storage requirements and prepare for the future.
Fibre Channel is a device interconnect technology, similar to a high-speed network,
that you can use to connect large amounts of disk storage to a server or cluster of
servers. Fibre Channel technology supports increased performance, scalability,
availability, and distance for attaching storage subsystems to network servers. The
storage subsystem provides for the attachment of Fibre Channel disk drives to give
superior performance and redundancy.
Fibre Channel technology supports applications that require large amounts of disk
storage that is shared by two or more servers. With Fibre Channel, you can see a
higher throughput rate over longer distances than is possible with Small Computer
System Interface (SCSI) or with serial storage architecture (SSA) technology.
This document describes how to install and configure the following types of IBM
TotalStorage DS4300 storage subsystems:
v "IBM DS4300 Model 6LU/6LX" on page 2
v "DS4300 Model 60U/60X" on page 3
v "IBM DS4300 Model 60U/60X with Turbo option" on page 4
After you review the introductory information that is provided in this chapter, go to
Chapter 2, "Installing and configuring the storage subsystem," on page 21 to begin
the installation process.
Note: The figures used in this document are for illustrative purposes only. In some

Product updates

Download the latest versions of the DS4000 Storage Manager host software,
DS4000 storage server controller firmware, DS4000 drive expansion enclosure ESM
firmware, and drive firmware at the time of the initial installation and when product
updates become available.
To be notified of important product updates, you must first register at the IBM
Support and Download Web site:
www-1.ibm.com/servers/storage/support/disk/index.html
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2005, 2006
cases, the actual device might look different from the figure.
This applies particularly in cases where the DS4300 single-controller storage
subsystem (Model 6LU/6LX) differs from the DS4300 dual-controller storage
subsystem (Model 60U/60X).
Important
In order to keep your system up to date with the latest firmware and other
product updates, use the information below to register and use the My
support Web site.
1