Quote Checklist
FlashSystem Quote Checklist
A practical checklist for gathering the workload, capacity, protection, host, migration, and lifecycle details needed before requesting an IBM FlashSystem quote.
A useful FlashSystem quote request gives the reseller enough context to configure the array, not just price a model number. Use this checklist before comparing vendors.
Quote inputs
| Input | What to Gather |
|---|---|
| Workloads | IBM i, AIX, Linux, VMware, database, file, backup, analytics, and any high-ingest workloads. |
| Capacity | Current used capacity, growth rate, required usable capacity, snapshot retention, and data reduction expectation. |
| Performance | Latency targets, IOPS, bandwidth, peak ingest windows, batch windows, and host count. |
| Media | Whether FCM is required, optional, or unknown; include any standard NVMe preference. |
| Connectivity | Fibre Channel, Ethernet, switch ports, zoning, host adapters, VIOS, multipath, and virtualization requirements. |
| Protection | Safeguarded Copy, Cyber Vault, immutable backup, synchronous or asynchronous replication, and DR testing needs. |
| Migration | Current array, firmware level, host OS mix, cutover window, outage tolerance, and fallback plan. |
| Lifecycle | Support term, Storage Assurance interest, refresh window, capacity expansion expectations, and budget model. |