Blade servers star in new IBM server range

IBM has unveiled a range of servers that it says will provide industry-leading price performance in blade, desk side, and rack-mounted systems.

IBM says its Quad Core Module systems are the industry’s only four-core processor module and are designed to offer clients the performance, reliability features and flexibility of a Power5+ system, while being priced competitively with x86-based systems.

Additionally, says IBM, clients will get virtualisation, improved RAS features and what the company boasts is a proven track record for running some of the world’s most demanding applications. Designed and priced specifically for mid-sized businesses, the System p5 Express machines are attributed with outperforming the competition on workloads including transaction processing, high-performance computing, Java business operations, SAP and floating point.

The servers offer optional Advanced Power Virtualisation (APV), which includes Micro-Partitioning technology and Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) V1.3 to help drive system efficiency and utilisation. System p5 express servers with APV also support Integrated Virtualisation Manager (IVM), a Web-based tool that allows clients to set up and manage virtualisation, and also includes IBM Director for comprehensive
platform management of heterogeneous systems from a simple, graphical interface.

At the power end of the portfolio is the System p5 505Q Express, a compact 1U 4-core server using IBM’s Power5+ QCM (Quad Core Module) technology. The 505Q Express, along with its siblings, the System p 5, 505, 510, 510Q, 520, 520Q, 550 and 550Q, are powered by IBM’s Power 5+ processors. There are two new lines of entry System p servers.

IBM has also updated its line of Quad Core systems – the first in the industry with four cores per socket – with the new 1.65 GHz Power5+ Quad Core Module, delivering tremendous performance density and value at prices on par with less capable commodity servers.

IBM has also introduced a 2.1 GHz model of its 2 & 4-core system System p5 550 Express and the BladeCenter JS21 Express blade server, designed with the latest PowerPC 970MP processor technology.