News Briefs - Software:

IBM's eServer i5 Achieves Leading Result On SAP Benchmark

IBM announced that the new IBM eServer i5 Model 520 has achieved the record result in the important two-tier SAP Sales and Distribution (SD) Standard Application Benchmark on a 2-way POWER5 processor-based system.

The eServer i5 server is the first IBM server to be fueled by the company's flagship POWER5 processor and features IBM i5/OS, its premier operating system complete with integrated security, DB2 Universal Database, Web enablement and leading virtualization technology. With this integration, businesses running SAP applications on iSeries servers have a demonstrated high performance system that can consolidate multiple applications and speed deployment of new applications, helping deliver a potentially faster return on their investment.

In the two-tier SAP SD Standard Application Benchmark on 2-way processor-based systems, the eServer i5 Model 520 server running i5/OS outperformed competitive systems from Sun and HP configured with Opteron and Xeon processors running Linux and Windows respectively.

The IBM eServer i5 520 surpassed throughput results by a Sun server configured with two AMD Opteron 2.2GHz processors and twice the main memory. The eServer i5 also outperformed an HP server configured with two Intel Xeon 3.2 GHz processors and 8 GB of memory. IBM was able to achieve the leadership result with the 1.65 GHz POWER5 processor in the eServer i5 Model 520, demonstrating innovation within the operating system and microprocessor, rather than processor speed alone.

In addition to the first server to use the POWER5 processor, the IBM eServer i5 with i5/OS is also the first server to deliver IBM's Virtualization Engine systems technologies. The virtualization capabilities of the eServer i5 enable customers the ability to choose from a wide variety of operating systems including i5/OS, Linux, Windows (via an IXA or IXS) and AIX 5L simultaneously on a single server. IBM's i5/OS operating system also integrates proven middleware like DB2 UDB and WebSphere Internet Infrastructure software.

Results referenced are current as of May 25, 2004. The benchmark complies with the SAP Benchmark Council regulations and has been audited and certified by SAP AG. For the latest results, visit http://www.sap.com/benchmark.

About IBM

IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. Drawing on resources from across IBM and key IBM Business Partners, IBM offers a wide range of services, solutions and technologies that enable customers, large and small, to take full advantage of the new era of e-business. For more information about IBM, visit http://www.ibm.com. For more information on IBM's on demand strategy, visit http://www.ibm.com/ondemand.