Overview - IBM N Series Hardware Manual

4.1 Overview

Figure 4-1 shows the N7950T Model E22 modular disk storage system. It is designed to
provide these advantages:
High data availability and system-level redundancy
Support of concurrent block I/O and file serving over Ethernet and Fibre Channel SAN
infrastructures
High throughput and fast response times
Support of enterprise customers who require network-attached storage (NAS), with Fibre
Channel or iSCSI connectivity
Attachment of Fibre Channel, serial-attached SCSI (SAS), and Serial Advanced
Technology Attachment (SATA) disk expansion units
Figure 4-1 N7950T Model E22 modular disk storage system
The IBM System Storage N7950T (2867 Model E22) system is an active/active dual-node
base unit. It consists of two cable-coupled chassis with one controller and one I/O expansion
module per node. It is designed to provide fast data access, simultaneous multiprotocol
support, expandability, upgradability, and low maintenance requirements.
The N7950T can be configured as a gateway and is designed to provide these advantages:
High data availability and system-level redundancy designed to address the needs of
business-critical and mission-critical applications.
Single, integrated architecture designed to support concurrent block I/O and file serving
over Ethernet and Fibre Channel SAN infrastructures.
High throughput and fast response times for database, email, and technical applications
Enterprise customer support for unified access requirements for NAS through Fibre
Channel or iSCSI.
Fibre Channel, SAS, and SATA attachment options for disk expansion units designed to
allow deployment in multiple environments. These environments include data retention,
NearStore, disk-to-disk backup scenarios, and high-performance, mission-critical I/O
intensive operations.
The N7950T supports the EXN1000 SATA storage expansion unit, the EXN4000 FC storage
expansion units, the EXN3000 SAS/SATA expansion unit, and the EXN3500 SAS expansion
unit. At least one storage expansion unit must be attached to the N series system.
The IBM System Storage N series is designed to interoperate with products capable of data
transmission in the industry-standard iSCSI, CIFS, FCP, FCoE, and NFS protocols.
Supported systems include the IBM System p®, IBM System i® (NFS only), IBM System x,
and IBM System z® (NFS only) servers. The N7950T system consists of Model E22 and
associated software.
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IBM System Storage N series Hardware Guide