This IBM Redbooks publication describes how IBM Storage Scale enables organizations to manage “abstract data”—data that spans multiple storage tiers, geographic locations, and storage technologies—through a single, unified global namespace. It explains the underlying architecture and key capabilities, including storage pools, filesets, policy‑driven Information Lifecycle Management (ILM), Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM), Active File Management (AFM), and data acceleration technologies. Using practical examples and real‑world scenarios, the book shows how Storage Scale delivers scalable, high‑performance, and cost‑efficient data management for AI, analytics, HPC, hybrid cloud, and enterprise data environments.

Introduction

1. Overview of IBM Storage Scale and connecting to abstract data

2. Storage pools

3. Filesets

4. Hierarchical storage management and ILM

5. Active File Management

Appendix A. Use Case: Major University