IBM PowerHA SystemMirror for i announces several enhancements in the 7.4 release with a focus around integration, enhanced usability, and automation of the administrative domain.

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Integration

PowerHA SystemMirror for i continues to integrate with additional products and technologies. The 7.4 release brings the following new integrations:

IBM Copy Services Manager for DS8000 Replication

PowerHA contains support for Copy Services Manager (CSM) Metro Mirror, Global Mirror, and HyperSwap with Global Mirror.

IBM Copy Services Manager (CSM) is a strategic technology used to manage Metro Mirror or Global Mirror replication as well as other advanced storage capabilities. The integration of CSM with PowerHA for i enables PowerHA to support advanced functionality such as DS8000 HyperSwap with Global Mirror.

For additional information see: DS8000 HyperSwap with Global Mirror - Copy Services Manager Metro Mirror and Global Mirror Integration

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Figure 1 - PowerHA HyperSwap with Global Mirror and LUN Level Switching

IBM Db2 Mirror for i

PowerHA SystemMirror for i standard edition integrates with Db2 Mirror for i to provide support for near-continuous availability of IFS data within a Db2 Mirror for i environment. In addition, PowerHA SystemMirror for i enterprise edition enables Db2 Mirror disaster recovery capability through the use of new CRG containers.

For additional information see: Db2 Mirror in the IBM i 7.4 Knowledge Center.

Figure 2 - PowerHA provides near continuous availability of IFS data when integrated with Db2 Mirror for i

Figure 3 - PowerHA provides integrated disaster recovery (DR) capabilities in a Db2 Mirror for i environment. 

Enhanced Usability

The usability of the product continues to be enhanced by providing additional integrated options for configuring and controlling a PowerHA environment:

• Support for customizing and controlling behaviors in a PowerHA and cluster environment via PowerHA Policies.

• A new PowerHA policy has been introduced to allow integrated control over canceling automatic Cluster Resource Group (CRG) failovers for certain events with the new QCST_CRG_CANCEL_FAILOVER policy. For additional information see: PowerHA Policies.

• Additional customization on device CRGs with a new vary online setting of *CURRENT. When a device entry in a CRG has a vary online setting of *CURRENT the device will be varied online after a switchover or failover on the new primary node if the device was varied on prior to the switchover or failover.

• New CRG containers that serve as a control object for a collection of CRGs to be managed as a single entity. Additional information on CRG containers is coming soon.

Administrative Domain

Automated Management

Three new PowerHA policies: QCST_AD_CREATE, QCST_AD_DELETE, and QCST_AD_RESTORE enable the following functionality:

• Automate the addition of Monitored Resource Entries (MREs) across nodes in the administrative domain upon object creation.

• Automate deletion of MREs across all nodes in the administrative domain upon object deletion.

• Honor the restore of attributes on MREs in the administrative domain upon system save and restore operations.

For additional information, see the PowerHA Policies information.

Improved control over Synchronization Options

When starting the cluster administrative domain with the Start Cluster Administrative Domain (STRCAD) command, it is now possible to choose which node is used as the source of updates to push to other nodes in the cluster. Previously, when resource changes were made to nodes in an inactive Admin Domain, multiple nodes could change the same resource and there was no coordination for multiple different changes to the same resource.

For more information see the new source node parameter on the STRCAD command.

Other Improvements

• New DSPASPINF command functions.

• Continued improvements to reduce IASP vary on times.