IBM Enhances Linux Raid Storage Management

IBM today announced a suite of software enhancements for Linux system administrators, systems integrators and OEMs who manage or integrate Mylex and ProFibre RAID storage products from IBM. The company said the Global Array Manager (GAM) suite for Linux allows an administrator with Internet access to install, configure, monitor and manage a RAID array from a Linux-based client anywhere in the world.

Comprised of Linux versions of IBM’s GAM Server, GAM Client and SANArray Manager Client, the GAM suite for Linux supports PCI Hot Plug, which enables the removal of a failed PCI controller and replacement with the same model or an upgrade model, without shutting down the server.

For IT departments that prefer to use a command line interface, an additional tool enables customizing scripts and batch files for specific applications. System administrators who manage enterprise storage and Windows NT, Windows 2000, NetWare or UnixWare servers can do so from a GAM-enabled Linux client. GAM also allows the user to monitor physical and logical devices, events and environmental factors such as enclosure temperature and fan speed. GAM also passes through hard drive conditions captured and reported by S.M.A.R.T., SAF-TE and SCSI Enclosure Services (SES).

These applications run on top of the Mylex device driver embedded in the latest Linux distributions from Red Hat, SuSE, Caldera and Turbolinux. Mylex AcceleRAID and eXtremeRAID PCI-based controllers are supported with kernel 2.2 and above, while SANArray external controllers and the IBM ProFibre Storage Array RAID subsystems are supported in distributions 2.4 and above.