Hardware Today: IBM Server Snapshot

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IBM would seem to have it made. The server vendor is No. 1 worldwide in revenue according to IDC, with six distinct product lines and a steady stream of new releases. According to the research firm, IBM is tops in Unix server revenue (a 31 percent share) and blade servers (a 40.9 percent share), and No. 2 in Linux servers (a 20.3 percent share). Factor in its near monopoly in mainframes and consistent sales in Intel-based servers, and it's difficult to see any vendor posing a threat to IBM any time soon.

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IBM may be No. 1, but it's not content to rest on its laurels. From blades to its mainframes, big changes are afoot.

"IBM maintains the No. 1 spot in the worldwide server systems market with 31.9 percent market share in factory revenue, growing its revenue by 4.1 percent when compared to the second quarter of 2004," says IDC's Jean Bozman.

IBM has been comparatively quiet in recent months as far as its iSeries (midrange servers), pSeries (Unix servers), and OpenPower (Linux) lines. The big noise has come from the zSeries (mainframe) and xSeries (Intel- and AMD-based servers) lines.

Before we take a close look at changes that have occurred in the xSeries and zSeries lines, we offer a panoramic view of all six IBM server lines with the following chart.

Server Line	iSeries	pSeries	xSeries	BladeCenter and BladeCenter T (Telecom Chassis)	zSeries	OpenPower
Description	Midrange servers	Unix servers	Intel- and AMD-based servers	Intel-, AMD-, and POWER-based servers	Mainframe-class servers	Servers Tuned for Linux
Target Deployment	SMBs and enterprise departments	Data centers of all sizes	Scale-up and scale-out x86 users	SMB, data centers, high performance, and telecom	Large and midsize enterprises running mission-critical applications	SMBs and budget-conscious enterprises
Processor Type	POWER4, POWER5	POWER4, POWER5, JS20: PowerPC 970	P4, Xeon, Itanium-2	Opteron, Xeon, POWER	16 chip IBM Multichip Module (MCM) Multiple-channel subsystem (MCSS) allows logical partitions (LPARs) which can run different operating systems	POWER5
Processor Range	Small to Medium: 1- to 2-way; Medium/Large: 6- to 24-way; 8- to 16-way, 16- to 32-way, 32- to 64-way	Entry: 2- to 4-way; Midrange: 2- to 16-way; High-End: 32- to 64-way	Rack-Optimized: 1- to 4-way; Tower: 1- to 4-way; High-Performance scalable: 4- to 16-way	Support for 2-way POWER- and 4-way Intel-based servers	2 to 4 logical channel subsystems z9 scales from 1- to 54-way	Rack-mount or deskside 1- to 4-way
Operating Systems	i5 (V5R3), OS/400 V5R2, Windows, Linux, and AIX-5L	AIX-5L and Linux	Windows, Linux, AIX, and MVS	Windows, Linux, and AIX-5L	z/OS, z/OS.e, OS/390, Linux on zSeries, z/VM, TPF, VSE/ESA, zVSE, and zTPF	Linux
Servers	Small to Medium: 800 810 i5 5201 Medium to Large: 825 870 890 i5 570 i5 595	Entry-Level: 615 6C3 630 6C4 615 6E3 630 6E4 p5 5102 p5 520 p5 550 Midrange: 650 655 670 Cluster 1600 RS/6000 SP p5 570 High-End: 690 p5 575 p5 590 p5 595 High Performance Computing: Commercial Blue Gene3	Rack-optimized: 306 336 343 346 366 Tower: 100 206 226 236 255 260 High-Performance Scalable: 4454 455 460 Opteron: eServer 326	Intel-based HS20 HS40 POWER-based JS20 Opteron-based LS20	890 990 900 8005	710 720
Price Range6	Small to Medium: The starting price for the eServer i5 520 Express Edition is 11,9957 Medium to Large: The starting price for the eServer i5 570 1- and 2-way with Standard Edition is $71,0008	Entry: Starts at $3,967 Midrange: Starts at $24,927 High-End: Contact IBM	Rack-optimized: Starts at $1,159 Tower: Starts at $499 High-Performance scalable: Contact IBM	HS20: starts at $1,669 (economy) HS40: Starts at $4,999 (economy) JS20: Starts at $2,259 LS20: Starts at $2,259	z890: Starts at less than $200,000 Others: Contact IBM	710: Starts at $4,713 720: Starts at $5,000

¹ New i5 systems are part of the iSeries line despite the slightly different nomenclature.
² New p5 systems are part of the pSeries line despite the slightly different nomenclature. The pSeries line also includes the JS20, 2-way PowerPC 970 BladeCenter system.
³ Commercial Blue Gene runs PowerPC 970 processors and is 5.7 teraflops. Contact IBM for pricing.
⁴ The 445 replaces the 440.
⁵ The zSeries line also includes the S/390 G5/G6 and S/390 Multiprise, which are no longer sold but are still supported.
⁶ Based on IBM's posted prices.
⁷ The packaged configuration includes 70 GB of disk, 1 GB of memory, and a DVD and tape drive.
⁸ Does not include prepackaged disk and memory.

>> Strategies for Mainframes and Blades