IBM rolls out multi-OS Power6 servers, launches 'virtual memory' beta

Tuesday, IBM added two new PowerVM servers for bringing together mixed Unix, x86 Linux, and IBM i workloads. And with IBM's PowerVM Active Memory Sharing now entering beta, virtualization moves from processors into the realm of memory.

On Tuesday afternoon, IBM launched a pair of new Power6-based servers for Unix, x86 Linux, and IBM i environments, along with hardware and systems management software enhancements.

The two new hardware servers include a revamped edition of the existing IBM Power 570, plus a brand new model called the Power 560 Express that "fits [somewhere] between the 550 Express and 570," said Scott Handy, VP of of worldwide marketing and strategy for IBM's Power Systems Platform, in a teleconference.

Geared to consolidating Unix, x86 Linux, and IBM i workloads for mid-size to large database applications on to a small footprint, the Power 560 Express is delivered in four-, eight-, and 16-core configurations.

Meanwhile, the improved Power 570 provides more than twice the performance -- both per core and per energy watt -- as HP's Superdome, according to Handy. He also told journalists that the 25.8% growth rate recently assigned to IBM's Unix-enabled Power servers by IDC analysts stems partly from customer migration from HP and Sun platforms.

The Power 57-/16, which supports from two to 16 cores, now operates at speeds of up to 5.0 GHz which were previously available only on IBM's top-of-the-line Power 595, according to Handy.

IBM also announced several other enhancements to its existing Power servers. These include new Power 520 Express and Power 550 Express systems which double the amount of core processing power available on i Servers, bringing i systems "up to par" with Unix- and Linux-based Power servers. Handy said these servers will also enable Linux and AIX Unix customers to easily add i onto the same systems.

In addition, IBM's Power 570 and Power 595 servers have now been enabled with enhanced RAS features, for concurrent node repair, even while PowerHA is mirroring transactions across multiple servers and storage systems, according to the IBM VP.

As another hardware enhancement, administrators can now opt for pre-installation of i on JS12 blade servers running on IBM Blade Center, and attach them to build a storage area network (SAN).

How many IBM servers are still running i, anyway? During a Q&A session, Handy told journalists that IBM is finding it difficult right now to enumerate i installations, because so many of them are intertwined with AIX and Linux. But he also vowed that IBM will work on coming up with more numbers about actual i deployments soon.

In the software category, IBM introduced a new concept called PowerVM Active Memory Sharing, as a product now entering beta. With Active Memory, "everything you love about virtualization with processors you can now do with memory," Handy maintained during the press call. "Each virtual server thinks it has more physical memory."

Handy said that many of IBM's customers are either already running two or more of the Power-supported OS on virtualized OS, or performing back-end connectivity between separate servers running multiple OS.

Also during the call, Kris Ongbongan, systems manager for online retailer Zappos, said that his 100 percent Linux infrastructure will be moving to virtualization during 2009. Onbongan credited the "scalability" of IBM's Power servers with helping his business step from $350 million in annual revenues in 2005 to $1 billion in 2008.

Yesterday, IBM also announced a new "enterprise edition" of its Systems Director management software, along with improvements to Active Energy Manager, IBM's Rational software for the i; IBM iCluster software; and PowerHA for AIX.

Handy told reporters that Active Energy Manager, an extension to IBM Systems director, now lets administrators set an energy "cap" or limit not just for a single server, but across an entire pool of Power6-based servers.