Flash for i

Has Your Downtime Window Shrunk to ZERO?

When you need to back up your system, that’s a major problem. Flash for i might just be the solution.

WHAT FLASH FOR i DOES

Flash for i manages, automates, controls, and reports on all the flashcopy/snapshot operations on your external storage. With zero disruption of production, you can perform instant copies of your IBM i production partition and execute many operations in parallel on your production clone.

Flash for i creates and starts a clone of your IBM i production partition automatically with ZERO disruption on production. In just minutes, you can have a new environment for testing, pre-production, and extraction as well as a back up of your IBM i. 

WITH FLASH FOR i, YOU CAN:

  • Reduce backup windows drastically.
  • Run a SAVE21 and make instant copies every day, without any impact on production.
  • Greatly reduce the window needed for data extraction.
  • Improve testing quality by refreshing your UAT environment frequently and automatically. 
  • Copy your production disks before and/or after a critical batch.
  • Put your data in a vault (on your external storage) to get it back in case of corruption or a “data incident.”
  • From an IBM i command, generate a clone partition instantly and automatically.

Back up without impacting production
Refresh test environments on demand
Make recovery copies on the fly

HOW IT WORKS

  • All operations are managed from the production partition, using IBM i commands.
  • A single ‘FLCLONE’ command launches complete chaining.
  • Operations on HMC, VIOS, and external storage are automated.
  • Connections between the production partition and other elements are secured.
  • The history of operations such as DSPLOG, job logs, and BRMS files carried out on the Clone partition is sent to the production partition.

Flash for i supports all IBM external storage (SVC, Storwize, FlashSystem, DS8000) but also EMC (VMAX, Unity) and PureStorage units. However, the SnapShot or FlashCopy functions of Flash for i are not available for internal storage. Curious about the system prerequisites? Let’s chat.

YOUR NEEDS

  • Your database and applications must be available 24/7.
  • You are having trouble finding enough time for a SAVE21.
  • Your UAT database is refreshed infrequently.
  • You worry before a system or application upgrade.
  • Data extraction to your data analytics solution is heavy.
  • You fear data corruption or data loss.
  • You want to reduce the daily backup window to zero or 2 minutes maximum.

 MORE BENEFITS

  • Run your usual daily backup, with or without BRMS.
  • In minutes refresh your partitions dedicated to activities such as testing, acceptance, pre-prod, and anonymization.
  • Create a test partition before system or application upgrades.
  • Extract data from the clone partition to feed your data analytics or data warehouse (DWH).
  • Generate 2, 12, or 24 copies of your disks for recovery or rollback. 

Want to learn more about Flash for i?

MDNA is a reseller of Flash for i for M81. We believe that this product can help our clients and customers enhance their IT experience and make their jobs easier. If you’d like to learn more about the prerequisites, let’s chat!

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