Concept diagram

The following concept diagram illustrates how IBM® storage systems are accessed and utilized from the VMware environment through IBM Spectrum Control Base Edition.

The storage administrator uses Spectrum Control to select which IBM storage systems (arrays) and what storage pools should be available for use in the VMware environment, and control which specific vCenter servers can utilize the IBM storage resources.

This image shows Spectrum Control in a typical VMware environment. — Figure 1. Integration of IBM storage systems with a VMware environment

Spectrum Control allows registered VMware vCenter servers to utilize its VASA functions, which can be monitored on the vSphere Client station.

In parallel, the following operations are enabled on the VMware environment side:

Through vSphere Web Client, administrators can manually create, map, and fully control storage volumes on the available storage systems and storage pools.
Through vCenter Orchestrator, administrators can issue workflows for automating the same volumes operations that are available through vSphere Web Client. The automation is run by the VMware vCloud Automation Center (vCAC) platform.
Through vCenter Operations Manager, administrators can obtain comprehensive monitoring information about the IBM storage resources that are utilized in their virtualized environment.

Note: New storage pools can be created in advance through the dedicated storage system management tools or from Spectrum Control. New pools cannot be added from the VMware environment.