Migrate IBM i/AIX Systems to the IBM PowerVS Cloud
Migrate IBM i/AIX Workloads from On-Premises Power to the PowerVS Cloud
For over 20 years, FalconStor has provided a virtual tape library (VTL) disk-based solution to IBM customers that reduces storage costs and now greatly simplifies migration to PowerVS. Companies across the world, including banks, retailers, insurance and healthcare providers continue to build hybrid cloud infrastructures by expanding or moving their workloads to PowerVS. StorSafe VTL software allows customers to get from on-premises (on-prem) machinery to the PowerVS cloud infrastructure without the typical migration issues.
Often, the difficulty in moving to the cloud is directly proportional to the size of the database and applications that have to be moved from on-premises datacenters to the cloud. StorSafe VTL can make this a lot easier by backing up IBM i or AIX workloads on-prem, replicating to StorSafe VTL for PowerVS, and then restoring to Power System in PowerVS.
Details: Migrate On-Prem to PowerVS
The figure below provides an overview of the process for migrating. StorSafe VTL for Power is used to backup workloads residing on-premises, then they are replicated to StorSafe VTL for PowerVS, which then restores them to complete the migration.
- Backups are directed to StorSafe VTL for Power
- All data is encrypted in flight and at rest
- Replicate deduplicated on-prem IBM i / AIX backups to StorSafe VTL for PowerVS and then restore in PowerVS
- Legacy tapes can be migrated to PowerVS as well
How does IBM i and AIX Migration to PowerVS work?
FalconStor has partnered with industry experts to create scripts and document all the steps necessary to migrate IBM i or AIX workloads to IBM PowerVS with a procedure that is reliable, repeatable, and consistent. The figure below shows the detailed steps for migrating IBM i workloads. The process overview is:
- Backups are directed to StorSafe VTL for Power at the customer site
- Backups are replicated to StorSafe VTL for PowerVS running in PowerVS
- Restore to PowerVS-resident IBM i or AIX to complete the migration
- StorSafe VTL for PowerVS then runs in PowerVS for on-going backups
- Prep for migration using BLDMIGDSLO script on Machine C.
- Perform a SAVE 21 on Machine C on-premises at the customer site.
- Replicate both tapes from the customer’s site to StorSafe in the IBM cloud.
- Restore the boot manager from StorSafe tape to Machine A in IBM Cloud.
- Run BLDBOOTENV on Machine A to read the data from the DSLO tape.
- Boot Machine B from NFS on Machine A, configure StorSafe VTL.
- RESTORE 21 on machine B to migrate of Machine C to the IBM cloud!
Are there Managed Service Providers that can help me?
Yes. FalconStor or has been working with leading IBM i Managed Service Providers worldwide to protect mission critical IBM i servers that reside within the MSP datacenter, the IBM cloud, or on-premises at customer sites.
What have the IBM i MSPs experiences been?
Meet three IBM i Savvy Managed Service Providers that are servicing IBM i customers with StorSafe and StorSight software world-wide today.
IBM Champion
“40+ Years of IBM Experience”
Co-President of ilnTheCloud LLC
Chief i-entist at Frankeni
Technology Consulting, LLC
Consulting IBM Champion
IBM i Power Systems
A leading worldwide MSP
“FalconStor was the easiest to deploy, the most scalable, flexible and product that gave us fantastic dedupe ratios.”
Technical Lead
Service Express
A prominent Swiss MSP
“I needed a trustworthy, proven solution and that’s why FalconStor was on top of the list.”
Senior IT Solutions Architect
Wagner AG
Larry Bolhuis is well-known in the IBM i ecosystem. He is the Co-President at iInTheCloud LLC, Chief i-entist at Frankeni Technology Consulting, LLC, and an IBM i and Power Systems Consulting IBM Champion.
Mike Boreham is the Technical Lead at Service Express where he uses StorSafe heavily and reports that “FalconStor was the easiest to deploy, the most scalable, flexible and product that gave us fantastic dedupe ratios.”
Martin Meier is the Senior IT Solutions Architect at Wagner AG and was recently quoted saying that “I needed a trustworthy, proven solution and that’s why FalconStor was on top of the list.”
Do I need to change my backup software to use StorSafe VTL?
You do not need to make any changes to your current backup processes. StorSafe VTL works with all enterprise backup tools.
Looking at one of the stacks in the above diagram we see that the IBM i systems send their backup data to the StorSafe VTL. Because it emulates an industry standard VTL, StorSafe VTL is 100% compatible with the backup software and operations that are in place today.
How does StorSafe deduplication technology reduce storage costs by up to 95%?
When the backups are received by the StorSafe VTL it uses FalconStor’s patented deduplication technology to discover any redundant information which can be eliminated to reduce the size of the backups. Typically, every Friday the backup administrator does a full backup of the mission-critical application servers. Because the backup data received over time is highly redundant, StorSafe can deliver up to 95% deduplication rates.
What hardware is required to run StorSafe VTL?
Every customer site is going to be different. StorSafe VTL is software you can use with the hardware of your choice, and it stores the backup data on block or object storage.
StorSafe VTL can run in something as small as a single VM or up to nine industry-standard servers. StorSafe VTL stores backups on disk, which of course is much faster than storing them on tapes, however tapes are supported if desired.
What is the best way to manage instances of StorSafe VTL across sites and clouds?
StorSight delivers management simplicity to StorSafe. Management of all the instances of StorSafe VTL that are being run by all the customers of an MSP is easily achieved.
StorSight provides a central console across all copies of StorSafe and StorGuard that are running across sites and clouds.
StorSight provides real-time visibility into status health and the integrity of backup operations. StorSight provides smarter rules, analytics, reports, and forecasts.
Secure multi-tenancy ensures the highest level of security and Role-Based Administration allows teams to work together without everyone having full administrative power.
Each company or department that is using the StorSafe VTL can be charged for what they use, making StorSight and StorSafe perfect for MSPs wishing to offer migration services for IBM i systems to the MSP or IBM cloud.
Can StorSafe VTL be used for MSPs to offer PowerVS-resident Backup as a Service?
Yes. Once the IBM i/AIX system has been migrated to PowerVS, it will continue to be protected with StorSafe VTL for PowerVS, along with the management console. MSPs can use the PowerVS in the IBM Cloud or other cloud offering.
- IBM i backups are directed to the StorSafe VTL in PowerVS
- All data is encrypted in flight and at rest
- StorSafe deduplicates backups, reducing the size by up to 95% over time
- Replicate backups to another PowerVS availability zone or remote cloud for secure, offsite protection
- Excellent visibility to ensure all backups are completed, SLAs met, and billing based on usage reported
In fact, looking at the following figure, MSPs have a number of options for working with IBM i/AIX workloads from data protection on-prem, migrating to PowerVS, and then protecting them in the cloud.
What are all 4 use cases for FalconStor software and IBM i systems?
There are four primary use cases for StorSafe VTL:
1. Migrate From On-premises to PowerVS
Migrate workloads and legacy tapes to IBM PowerVS
2. Hybrid Cloud Backup
Backup on-prem, deduplicate, and send a copy to PowerVS
3. PowerVS-Resident Backup
Back up IBM i, AIX, and Linux workloads in PowerVS via StorSafe VTL for PowerVS
4. PowerVS Disaster Recovery
Replicate workloads in PowerVS to another cloud location for recovery in the event of disaster
The figure above shows the entire FalconStor solution for IBM customers, from protecting data on-premises, migrating workloads to PowerVS, and then protecting them while resident on PowerVS. A single solution supporting on-prem to cloud greatly simplifies IT environments while increasing business continuity.
StorSafe VTL for Power and PowerVS are available from the IBM Cloud Catalog.
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StorSafe VTL migrates and protects Power Systems on-premises and PowerVS-Resident IBM i/AIX systems running mission-critical applications by providing a backup to disk target that looks like a standard tape library. StorSafe VTL has been the go-to virtual tape library for IBM i/AIX environments and has proven itself
worldwide for over 20 years!
StorSafe VTL powers DSI appliances – so you may already be using it.
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