Drives for FlashSystem 9500

Drives for FlashSystem 9500

The IBM FlashSystem 9500 supports up to 48 high-performance NVMe drives in its 4U control enclosure, including exclusive IBM FlashCore Module 4 (FCM4) with hardware-accelerated compression, encryption, MicroLatency technology, and AI-powered ransomware detection, industry-standard self-encrypting NVMe flash drives, and up to 12 Storage Class Memory (SCM) options for ultra-low latency tiering via Easy Tier. All drives are 2.5-inch SFF NVMe format, dual-port, hot-swappable, and can be intermixed following rules (e.g., same type and capacity per DRAID array for optimal performance and compression; FCM4 requires Storage Virtualize 8.6.3+ for full features like enhanced ransomware monitoring). FCM4 provides computational storage offload and real-time anomaly detection without performance impact. Maximum 48 NVMe drives (or 12 SCM); arrays use DRAID 6 (or DRAID 1 limited).

Key Features

• IBM FlashCore Module 4 (FCM4): PCIe-optimized with performance-neutral hardware compression, encryption, advanced flash management, and AI/ML-based ransomware detection via entropy, compression ratio, and access pattern analysis.
• Storage Class Memory: 1.6 TB ultra-low latency NVMe for high-performance tiering.
• Industry-standard NVMe: Flexible, scalable self-encrypting SSDs for cost-effective capacity.
• Intermix support: FCM4, industry-standard, and SCM drives combinable in enclosure (with configuration constraints).
• High availability: Dual-port, hot-swappable drives; optimized for IBM Storage Virtualize data reduction and cybersecurity.
• Ransomware protection: Real-time inline monitoring and rapid recovery integration.

Technical Specifications

• Form Factor: 2.5-inch SFF NVMe (all drives).
• Interface: NVMe over PCIe (FCM4 optimized).
• Drive Types:
  • IBM FlashCore Module 4 (FCM4): Hardware compression/encryption with AI assists.
  • Industry-Standard: Self-encrypting NVMe SSDs.
  • Storage Class Memory: Low-latency NVMe.
• Maximum Drives in Control Enclosure: 48 NVMe flash; up to 12 SCM.
• Encryption: Built-in hardware (FCM4) or self-encrypting.
• RAID/Data Services: DRAID 6 (preferred) or DRAID 1 (limited); managed by IBM Storage Virtualize.

Available Drive Options

Use the following feature codes for NVMe drives in the IBM FlashSystem 9500 control enclosure:

FlashCore Module 4 (NVMe):

Storage Class Memory:

• 1.6 TB NVMe Storage Class Memory Drive (up to 12; specific feature code not standardized in all refs).

Industry-Standard NVMe Flash Drives:

Drives configured at order time; FCM arrays require uniform capacity per array; FCM4 enables full AI ransomware features at 8.6.3+.

Compatibility

• Designed for IBM FlashSystem 9500 control enclosures (e.g., 4666-AH8, 4983-AH8, 4666-UH8).
• Supports intermixing of FCM4, industry-standard NVMe, and SCM drives (same capacity/type per array recommended).
• Compatible with IBM Storage Virtualize for virtualization, Easy Tier, compression, deduplication, ransomware detection, and advanced services.
• Integrates with VMware, Microsoft Hyper-V, Red Hat OpenShift, Kubernetes via block protocols.
• Expansion enclosures (e.g., AFF/A9F SAS models) support SAS HDD/SSD for tiered capacity; control enclosure NVMe-only.
• All drives hot-swappable, dual-port; no mixing with older FCM generations in same array for full features.