IBM's xSeries servers have grown from a belief that users should
not be forced to acquire new Unix or mainframe expertise because
their Intel-based systems run out of steam as data volumes grow,
writes Nicholas Enticknap
IBM is better known for its zSeries, iSeries, and pSeries ranges
than for its Wintel servers. But the company has been quietly
building a strong position with the less-well-known Intel-based
xSeries range, especially in the US, where its market share rose by
2.7% in the second quarter of 2002.
IBM has been pursuing a policy of making its Intel-based products
more attractive by adding top-end server features from its other
ranges since the launch of the Netfinity range in 1997. The idea
was to differentiate its products from those of its competitors
while retaining the low-cost emphasis. Netfinity products were
built according to a blueprint known as X-architecture (with "X"
pronounced "cross" as it involved bringing across technologies from
other ranges).
Examples of such features are Chipkill memory (advanced
error-correcting memory brought across from the RS/6000) and light
path diagnostics (a technology for rapid diagnosis and correction
of problems that was initially developed for mainframes).
"X-architecture comprises capabilities not previously present in
the Intel market, so this is our product differentiation," says
IBM's xSeries communications manager Vince Smith.
Skills
In October 2000 the Netfinity range was renamed
xSeries. One year later IBM announced Enterprise X-architecture,
described by Smith as "a logical extension of X-architecture to
enable Intel servers to do mainframe computing". The theory is that
many user companies now only have Intel-based skills among their IT
professionals, and they should not have to acquire new Unix or
mainframe expertise because their Intel-based systems run out of
steam as data volumes grow.
Enterprise X-architecture consists of two major elements. At the
core is a chipset, codenamed Summit, which works with Intel
processors to provide mainframe levels of reliability and
availability. "How do you build a robust system that uses
industry-standards, DRams and chips? That is the challenge,"
explains IBM's chief hardware engineer Guru Rao.
Summit has four components: a large Level 4 cache for improving
performance; new memory technology for greater reliability; an
interconnect to allow the linking of multiple Intel processors
without degrading performance; and a feature called remote I/O,
which is designed to offset some of the limitations of using a
traditional Intel I/O bus. The chipset is the first for the Xeon MP
from any manufacturer.
The hardware features of X-architecture are supported by a system
management software product called IBM Director, which is shipped
as standard with every xSeries server.
IBM Director was originally a subset of IBM subsidiary Tivoli's IT
Director, but has been enhanced with a number of new features.
These include capacity planning capabilities from the iSeries which
warn users of impending bottlenecks and advise on appropriate
corrective action; and software rejuvenation, which predicts when
software failures are likely to occur, corrects them when possible,
and makes recommendations for planned rebooting when not.
Key differentiator
Tony Lock, senior analyst at Bloor
Research, believes IBM Director is the key xSeries differentiator.
"The x440 is unique on the hardware side, but hardware uniques
always disappear. The big difference is the management philosophy
they have wrapped around the hardware," he says.
All of these hardware and software features are incorporated in the
current flagship of the xSeries range, the x440, which was launched
in March. This is an evolution of the old Sequent Numa (non-uniform
memory addressing) architecture.
The x440 uses Intel Xeon MP processors, with two or four chips
being housed in a 4U (7in)-high box. IBM offers both an eight-way
and a 16-way version. The x440 features both physical and logical
partitioning.
Blue-chip users such as Morgan Stanley believe IBM's new recipe
works. "We have been very interested in leveraging the commodity of
Intel-based servers to support some of our application and
infrastructure workload," says Richard Anfang, Morgan Stanley's
managing director. "We are hoping to utilise the power, reliability
and scalability of the IBM eServer x440 system that are the minimum
requirements for these distributed applications."
Lock believes the only effective competitor for the x440 is the
Unisys E7000. This product was the first "Intel mainframe" - a
product with more than eight processors for running Windows 2000
Datacenter. However, it has achieved only modest sales to date.
This suggests the market is sceptical about the ability of an Intel
system to do the job of a mainframe without being equipped with
features that bring the price up to the same level. IBM is aware of
this, and stresses its competitive pricing, with a 16-way x440
priced at just over $100,000 (£70,000) - 78% under the Unisys list
price. An entry-level two-way x440 (without discs) costs just
£14,375.
Judging performance
IBM claims the metric to judge the
x440 by is not conventional price/performance but "return on
availability". Here the company says it is 20% to 30% better than
Dell, its nearest competitor, according to Gartner figures.
The x440 is the leading-edge product in a large range. The xSeries
comprises two separate product lines, universal servers and
rack-optimised servers, both of which feature between one and eight
processors. The entry-level x200 server has a starting price of
just £549. All run Windows and Linux. The xSeries also contains a
number of special-purpose appliances, mainly for improving Web
performance but also including network-attached storage systems.
Using these products, IBM's intention is to double its market share
over the next few years, taking advantage of both its own unique
technology and the pressure Compaq faces following its takeover by
Hewlett-Packard.
Phil Dawson, an analyst at Meta Group, believes Microsoft's delay
in producing the .net release of Windows will hurt IBM by giving
Compaq and HP time to regroup, pointing out that both companies
"are extremely close to Microsoft". But he adds that IBM is in a
strong position, with the x440 having "a year's advantage in a
technology sense over Compaq, and two years over Dell".
xSeries technical details
High-density packaging is a
big selling point of the xSeries. The flagship 16-way x440 fits
into a unit just 8U high (eight rack units of 1.75in, giving a
total of 14in), compared to the 40U of the only other 16-way Intel
machine available today, the Unisys ES7000. An eight-way x440 fits
into a 4U package, while the dual-processor x330 occupies just 1U.
IBM intends to extend this principle by adding blade servers that
occupy less than 1U of space to the xSeries shortly. IBM claims one
customer, Shell Exploration, has a Linux cluster of 1,280 xSeries
servers, packed 42 to a rack.