Notifications
Notifications
CDW Logo

IBM 2076 24F Storwize V7000 SFF Expansion Enclosure

Mfg # 2076-24F-0000 CDW # 3398424

Quick tech specs

  • Two Node Canisters
  • Fiber Channel Over Ethernet
  • Memory: 64GB Cache
View All

Know your gear

The IBM 2076 is the hardware component of the IBM Storwize V7000 disk system. Storwize V7000 is a highly scalable virtualized, enterprise-class, flash-optimized storage system designed to consolidate workloads into a single system for ease of management,

This item was discontinued on October 29, 2020

Enhance your purchase

IBM 2076 24F Storwize V7000 SFF Expansion Enclosure is rated4.08 out of5 by13.
Rated 5 out of 5 by from We migrated from EMC storage and it was virtualized.What is most valuable?It was quite easy to migrate from EMC storage because everything is virtualized. Easy Tier is quite nice to use.How has it helped my organization?We're a public sector organization. One of the benefits was that it was the lowest bid for us. It basically came down to cost.What needs improvement?I had wish lists, but I found out that they have already been completed.At our current code level, when I extend any volume that is using Metro Mirror, I have to remove the Metro Mirror relationship. Once the Metro Mirror relationship is removed, I can extend the volumes and I have to re-create the Metro Mirror relationship and sync the entire volume.For example, if I have a 1TB volume and I want to extend to 1.5TB instead of 0.5TB being replicated using Metro Mirror, 1.5TB has to be replicated.The next version will include an update for this problem.What do I think about the stability of the solution?Stability has been good. We haven't had any issues, besides those that were our own fault when we pushed the work loads too high.What do I think about the scalability of the solution?Scalability is quite easy. We've been expanding pretty much every year.How is customer service and technical support?We have always used support. We have a main contact person, and he's a really good technical resource.Which solutions did we use previously?We don't really have a choice of vendors because we are public sector. To me, it's history. Our trusted partner is Horizon, and they're great people to work with. When I work with someone else, I'm not sure if they can deliver what I want. But Horizon goes the whole nine yards.How was the initial setup?I was not initially involved in the setup. I was tasked with other projects at the time.What other advice do I have?If cost is not a factor, I would definitely say IBM is good. Their business partners are good. For instance, they will try to get you vouchers to get training. With EMC, we never really got any training. It was all a cost for us in the public sector. We have to evaluate what training we can take, because I have a jack-of-all-trades type of role.Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2017-06-01T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from The services to help us migrate our NAS data from an existing EMC VNX system has failed once already with ACL permissions issues specifically on how the V7000U NAS works.Valuable FeaturesWe have not had a good experience with this platform.The installation and service was very good. But, the services to help us migrate our NAS data from an existing EMC VNX system has failed once already with ACL permissions issues specifically on how the V7000U NAS works. I have had to involved IBM Global Support by actually contacting high level Vice Presidents. As of January 26, 2016, we have not successfully migrated our NAS data.Improvements to My OrganizationIt has not improved anything yet within our environment.Room for ImprovementThey could increase the maximum storage capacity so more disk shelves can be added.Use of SolutionWe've had it for eight months, but still have not successfully migrated our NAS data yet. Also, it contains drives for AS/400 system and Exchange Archive data.Deployment IssuesSoftware functionality issues that were not known until our NAS data migration failed. We hit further ACL Permissions issues as well.Stability IssuesWe have performance and spiking issues of which IBM applied a work-around patch.Scalability IssuesThere have been no issues with the scalability.Customer Service and Technical SupportCustomer Service: 6/10Technical Support: It's average.Previous SolutionsWe switched to Pure Storage because of the way the system performs and does everything in 32K sizing. The IOPS are high and the support and customer server are exceptional.Initial SetupFairly simple as it took about two hours to rack and get on-line.Implementation TeamIt was installed through one of our partners who did a good job.Pricing, Setup Cost and LicensingWe feel that the pricing is fair and the licensing process was easy.Other Solutions ConsideredWe evaluated EMC (which we already had), DELL and HP.Other AdviceThe sales team was great as was the technical team. I now feel the EMC VNX and NetApp are both better NAS systems. If I had to do it over again, I would stayed with the EMC VNX for NAS.Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2016-01-27T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from One screen to control multiple arrays means simplified administrationWhat is most valuable?Storage virtualisation: Use o storage pool to spread I-O load across as many disks as possible, reduces “hot spots”.Ability to manage third-party arrays and virtualise them: One screen to control multiple arrays. Simplified administration.Auto-tiering with Easy-Tier: High usage volumes and parts of volumes are automatically moved to high performance disks in manageable “chunks”. This means volumes with heavy I-O usage are are moved to SSD for the best response. Zero admin overhead.How has it helped my organization?Using V7000, the storage administrator has complete visibility into the I-O load and response times of the volumes, storage pool. Together with “Easy Tier”, this means volumes with high workloads are automatically moved to the highest performing disks (SSD) in the array. There is almost zero administration required once the storage pool is established.Data migration: The migration wizard made migration from old to new an absolute doddle. Something that historically had been “hard and difficult” became a background task, once the old array was managed by the V7000.What needs improvement?The replication of data between IBM Storwize arrays in V1 of the product had some major limitations. A lot of the limitations were overcome in V2 of the product. Some improvement can still be made in scalability using clustered V7000 nodes.One area for improvement is in the GUI, where host clusters are not properly dealt with. With Hypervisor host clusters, all hosts must see the same volumes in the same order. Using the concept of a “host-group” has been around (even with IBM) for many years, so why not with the V7000?For how long have I used the solution?Four years.What do I think about the stability of the solution?Some isues were encountered during upgrades in the early firmware versions. This has now been resolved.What do I think about the scalability of the solution?The V7000 can scale up to 10 enclosures (disk shelves), each up to 24 disks per enclosure. A cluster of 2 x V7000 has twice the capacity.Using the V7000 you must be careful not to overload the CPU and disk backplane. When planning to implement any storage array, you must plan your workload carefully. IBM have a superb tool, Disk Magic, that predicts the I-O performance of the array configuration you have selected. This is an invaluable tool in planning any IBM storage array.How is customer service and technical support?I was lucky to have a very good relationship with the local IBM storage support experts. The implementations were done under IBM guidance and, knowing this, any issues that came up at my sites were quickly dealt with. The support staff knew the arrays had been installed with expert guidance and had no inherent issues in design.Which solutions did we use previously?Previous storage solutions included the HPE 3PAR array family. We switched to IBM for 3 reasons:* Upgrade cost* Complexity with administration tasks and day-to-day running* Support costsHow was the initial setup?The IBM V7000 initial setup was straightforward, as I had engaged IBM support early on and was given very good advice on how to size, configure and implement the array(s), including data migration from the old to the new.What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?It pays to go back and get the best price you can from your supplier. The first offer is not always at the best discount.Ensure that all the features you need (including replication) are included in the license options.Which other solutions did I evaluate?Several vendors were evaluated in addition to IBM: HPE, NetApp, EMC.What other advice do I have?* Download the IBM Redbook on best practices to implement.* Engage IBM support or your integration partner/reseller at a detailed level.* Know what you want to do and document your requirements.* Investigate upgrade costs and five-year maintenance options.Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2017-09-17T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from We don't have to learn more than one interface to manage the storage arrays.What is most valuable?The ease-of-use and scalability are the most valuable features.How has it helped my organization?The common interface has improved the way we work. We don't have to learn more than one interface to manage the storage arrays.What do I think about the stability of the solution?So far, it seems pretty stable. We haven't had any major issues.What do I think about the scalability of the solution?We find the product very scalable. We've been able to implement many storage arrays in our environment with very little effort.How is customer service and technical support?We have used technical support. So far, we haven't had any bad experiences with them. We have been able to get the proper support we needed.Which solutions did we use previously?When selecting a vendor, I want stability, years in the industry, and overall stability.How was the initial setup?The setup was straightforward.What other advice do I have?Make sure you look at a wide variety of products. That way you can come to an intelligent decision on what platform you are going to go with.Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2017-06-04T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Valuable features include compression, disaster recovery, and storage pooling functions.What is most valuable?The valuable features for us are the extra add-ons, such as the FIM provisioning, the compression, the disaster recovery capabilities, and the storage pooling functions.How has it helped my organization?Most of my customers love it because it's easy to use and easy to manage. They can get their applications up and running very fast. They can buy it at a good price.What needs improvement?I would like to see the connection to cloud service providers, although I think that's already there. There's not much more that I can tell you. There are some issues on a firmware level. It's not very transparent. The option to connect to a Cloud storage provider seems to be available but there is not much detail on how it's implemented.As a field engineer I’m used to how the systems work. Some customers however have expressed to me , well for lack of better word “anxiety” at not being able to see more of what goes on in the background (as an option). They would like a more detailed progress of the firmware upgrade process. (i.e. NVRAM,controller, etc…).AHV is Acropolis Hypervisor – A relatively new Hypervisor, robust and stable as VMware vSphere, has built-in advanced analytics and powerful operations, Self Service Portal and components for DevOps included, managed by a single pane of glass (Prism) via HTML5 and it is free of charge – That is why Nutanix is so advanced and revolutionary.The challenge here is in order to replace massively Install base of VMware vSphere they need to expand their ecosystem with ISVs (i.e. F5, PaloAlto, Citrix, TrendMicro etc.) to provide a wider range of solutions running as a virtual appliance (vApp) just like VMware did years ago.Currently there is an ecosystem but I think it is around 30-40 providers.What do I think about the stability of the solution?So far, it's been a very stable platform. There have been some issues lately with some bad codes, but for the most part, it's been very stable. It is something that I can recommend at any time.What do I think about the scalability of the solution?Scalability has improved so far. It seems like every year there are more and more expansion added to that.How is customer service and technical support?I have used the technical support and so far it has been very good. The response was a little bit lacking last year, but it looks like it's been improving.What other advice do I have?Just buy it. Support for sure is important when considering which vendor to go for, as well as ease of use and the track record of the code base.Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2017-06-02T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from You can run it on several different configurations.What is most valuable?The ease-of-use and ease-of-setup are the most valuable features. You can get one up and running in a couple hours. I do it quite frequently for customers. The simplicity of it is the big benefit for me, compared to some others that I've used.How has it helped my organization?A lot of features are beneficial. It's a robust solution from my standpoint. We've got it running on several different configurations. You've got tiering and a lot of nice features to have in today's world. You can put flash in them. It is a good system to use.What needs improvement?As far as for what we use it for, they have got it spot on for our market. I'm sure others might have some additions, but our market is more in the SNB space. It is everything we've ever needed.With the latest releases of software, it's pretty robust. They've pretty well nailed it. I don't see any further weaknesses with the interfaces or anything.What do I think about the stability of the solution?I have not had any real issues. I think it is very stable. We have not had any outages or any unexpected issues. I would say it’s very stable.What do I think about the scalability of the solution?It is definitely very easy to scale. It's like everybody says, "plug and play". It just works.How is customer service and technical support?Technical support is very good.Which solutions did we use previously?We had a few customer requests for it. I attended conferences and they showed me that they have really put a lot of time and effort into this. It's a good solution. It was worth our time to push it for our customers.How was the initial setup?The initial setup was very straightforward.Which other solutions did I evaluate?We did not look at other vendors. We are a business partner for IBM on the storage side. Primarily, they're the only game we mess around with.What other advice do I have?Definitely give it your time. Give it your time, get some IBM folks to show you some benefits and maybe do a demo. It's a great solution.Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:We are a business partner for IBM on the storage side.
Date published: 2017-06-01T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from We have not seen many drive failures. It should have built-in reporting to understand the health of the array.What is most valuable?The hardware is the best feature of the product. We have not seen many drive failures. The V9000 all-flash is constructed well.How has it helped my organization?It has not made us more efficient from a deployment standpoint. That is why we have been migrating to a hyper-converged solution.What needs improvement?* The overall code.* The ability to have built-in reporting to understand the health of the array.* Stability within the code.* Clear upgrade paths for the code.* Support is horrible. It takes weeks to get simple answers. We had a LUN down and support refused to get on a WebEx without the array being completely down.For how long have I used the solution?We have had the system for over two years.We currently have about 1PB worth of storage that spans IBM Storwize V5000, V7000, and V9000. This is across two datacenters.What do I think about the stability of the solution?We had stability issues as stated elsewhere.What do I think about the scalability of the solution?The V9000 can only hold two shelves of flash, at which point you need new controllers.How is customer service and technical support?Technical support is the worst in the industry, as mentioned elsewhere.Which solutions did we use previously?We previously used EMC. We switched based on cost.How was the initial setup?Setup is not difficult.What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?Not worth the money.Which other solutions did I evaluate?EMC was evaluated.What other advice do I have?There are far better products with better support for less cost.The hardware itself is good, but the code that runs on it is not good at all. We have LUNs that will just go offline, and support has no clear answer. Each result is a code upgrade that does not resolve the problem. There is no built-in historical reporting. That is a costly add-on for an already overpriced system.Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2017-05-24T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Easy to use GUI, both for me and the customers is the most valuable feature of this solution.What is most valuable?Easy to use GUI, both for me and the customers is the most valuable feature of this solution. It's very self-explanatory, very easy to install and of course, the IBM Easy Tier function is easy to maintain.How has it helped my organization?The benefits are pretty much the same as I have mentioned herein, i.e., it's the time that takes to do an installation as compared to the old products. So, everything is time-related, i.e., the less time you use then it's also cost-effective.What needs improvement?I really don't have any preference for it, this is very easy to install and is actually a customer setup. I've talked to many customers, and all of them agree that "This is so simple, so easy, and straightforward", so IBM has done a very good job so far.For how long have I used the solution?Since 2012What was my experience with deployment of the solution?Very easy so no problems.What do I think about the stability of the solution?The stability is very good.What do I think about the scalability of the solution?Scalability is also very good because in the first product you could add four expansions to it, but then today, with the later code you can add nine to the controller units. So, it's very good and also, if you put an SVC product on top of it, then it works very well together as we see in all of the products as well.How is customer service and technical support?Customer Service: Out af 10 I would say 8 for none advanced usersTechnical Support: Very good when it's needed.Which solutions did we use previously?We are a business partner and what we sell are IBM Storwize products. That's our main focus, we don't sell any other vendors. So, it was a pretty straightforward decision to invest in this solution. But according to what I have seen in the past and worked with than this is without a doubt the most user friendly product.How was the initial setup?Actually, I've done many of the installations; it is very straightforward.What other advice do I have?This product is so easy to use.Have it checked over, test it out and try it. Compare it to the other competitors and make a decision from there, because I think this will definitely be a winner.Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:We are a business partner.
Date published: 2017-06-04T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Versatile, reliable, performs well and makes admin simpleWhat is most valuable?I think the v7000 is versatile, reliable, and gives really good performance in the configuration you choose. The V7000 can be configured in different ways. It has proved to me that it is reliable, that the disks do not constantly break down, and that any administration work is simple. It also has a very complete assistant that helps you to solve the problems that arise.How has it helped my organization?This product has improved the speed of disk access where I have mounted, but I do not think that is its best feature since others give you the same performance. As I said for me what recommends this product is its reliability and the peace of mind it brings.What needs improvement?Of course the cost, it's expensive compared to other solutions.For how long have I used the solution?I've been using for more than five years.What do I think about the stability of the solution?No problem, in fact it is a characteristic that I like.What do I think about the scalability of the solution?No problem, there are very scalable models, everything depends on planning and the requirements.How is customer service and technical support?The technical support in general of IBM, in my personal opinion, could be much better. The truth is that I have never had any problem with them at a hardware level, the service is agile. Things get a bit complicated if the issue is not solved with a replacement part. I would give technical support a seven out of 10.Which solutions did we use previously?I have used many solutions, having mounted many projects with storage (NetApp, HPE, Clarion, etc.) but if I had to choose one based on value for money, I think I would stick with V7000.How was the initial setup?The initial configuration is simple, but critical because at this point you can make it not work or even damage it completely. I think configuration should be done by a specialist. A storage specialist who had never set up a V7000 would not have problems.What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?As I have already noted, everything depends on how you want it set up. I think there are others in the market that are equal in cost but much worse.What other advice do I have?If you are going to go with a V7000, you will not regret it. Be sure to clarify what you need, and it will give you the expected results.Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2017-09-18T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Thin Provisioning and Flash Copy are valuable but stability has been an issueWhat is most valuable?* Thin Provisioning* Flash Copy* User friendly management interfaceHow has it helped my organization?We run our business applications on it. Also OS was booted from SAN.What needs improvement?Product support is restricted to IBM only. It must be decentralized to IBM partners as well.For how long have I used the solution?Six years.What do I think about the stability of the solution?Yes, we faced power supply failure, Multiple SAS drives failure, and at the end both controllers were dead.What do I think about the scalability of the solution?We are able to add additional drives easily.How is customer service and technical support?One out of 10.Which solutions did we use previously?No, it was our first experience with any kind of SAN.How was the initial setup?Initial SAN configuration was smooth.What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?If you are planning to purchase a new SAN then go for all flash. Do not invest in a hybrid SAN.Which other solutions did I evaluate?Yes, HPE and Fujitsu.What other advice do I have?Please make sure that you will be getting proper after-sales support from IBM.Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2017-09-13T00:00:00-04:00

This page was printed on 4/23/2024 4:07:56 AM.