TS4500 provides advanced capabilities for integrated tape drive and media management, delivered within a single-pane-of-glass management console. The TS4500 graphical user interface (GUI) is based on the unified interface used in other IBM storage solutions. It includes key features to help guide storage administrators in completing critical tasks. For example, you can monitor a tape library via persistent, at-a-glance library utilization and health status indicators.

IBM TS4500 features such as automatic control-path and data-path failover, tape-drive encryption, dual robotic accessors and WORM media support improved management and help to reduce risk in the cloud.

In addition, IBM TS4500 now supports IBM z15, the latest generation of IBM Z servers, through virtual tape attachment. Mainframe administrators can trust TS4500 to help reduce floorspace costs and increase overall capacity.

Automates solutions for cloud environments

TS4500 is a tape drive integration leader, with features including a persistent worldwide name, multipath architecture, drive/media exception reporting, remote drive/media management and host-based path failover. TS4500 L25, D25 and S25 frames support IBM TS1160, TS1155, TS1150, and TS1140 tape drives, while TS4500 L55, D55 and S55 frames support LTO Ultrium 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5 tape drives. LTO Ultrium tape drives and TS1160, TS1155, TS1150 and TS1140 tape drives can be mixed within the TS4500 library, frame by frame. The L-frame and D-frame models help boost efficiency with improved hot-swappable drive packaging. All of the frames include high-density (HD) slot technology that can greatly increase a library’s total capacity.

TS4500 frame models can be placed in any active position, so the library can grow from both the right and the left side of the first L frame for floorspace flexibility. A dual-accessor option can help increase mount performance and overall system reliability and availability. Accessors can be serviced at the ends of the library, eliminating the need for a dedicated service bay frame.

A top-rack offering can also provide optional 5U or 10U of rack space on top of the library for Fibre Channel switches, tape data movers or IBM Spectrum Archive nodes.

Introducing Open Recommended Access Order (oRAO) to LTO 9 technology 

A key challenge when proposing an infrastructure based on tape technology is to battle the disk drive performance. While accessing disk files seems instant from a user’s point of view, access time to tape files is significantly higher, raising to several minutes for a series of files. If large volumes are being traded, this issue becomes a serious performance bottleneck and optimizations are queried in order to balance the numbers. The new LTO 9 tape drive installed on the TS4500 library is designed to optimize tape performance with the introduction of Open Recommended Access Order (oRAO). The new IBM LTO 9 Tape full height drives obtain up to 73% faster data retrieval access1 to your LTO Ultrium 9 tape cartridges while reducing wasted movement of the tape media and tape robotics, reduction of tape drive and media wear without an extra cost to the existing library.

Delivers capacity on demand 

The TS4500 library frame provides a more flexible upgrade path for users who want to expand their tape storage as their needs grow. Capacity on demand configurations for TS4500 L-frame models include an entry-level configuration, an intermediate configuration and a base-capacity configuration. All models also support HD capacity on demand configurations.

Optimized connectivity for drive optimization 

IBM TS4500 supports the latest TS1160 tape drive which provides reliable and cost-efficient connectivity with two different drive versions to help optimize drive utilization and reduce infrastructure requirement. TS1160 can be shared on a storage area network through the existing Fibre Channel 16 Gb interface, or Ethernet 10 Gb option designed for hyperscale and RHEL environment. If speed is the need, a 25 Gb version can be supported via RPQ. The TS1160 expanded attachment support, adding to the portfolio a new SAS 12 Gb interface that brings more versatility to businesses to help simplify storage management and system performance. The IBM TS4500 tape library, also supports LTO tape technology. The IBM TS1080 Model F8C has an 8 Gbps Fibre Channel dual-ported interface for connection to a wide spectrum of open system servers.

Advanced features 

TS4500 is designed with advanced features to deliver cutting-edge performance and long-term value. For example, the Advanced Library Management System (ALMS) feature supports dynamic storage management, enabling you to create and change logical libraries and configure any drive into any logical library. TS4500 also offers automatic control-path and data-path failover to help improve business continuity and disaster recovery, and policy-based automatic media verification can help minimize data risk.