Vendor Spotlight:

IBM UNVEILS NEW eSERVER p5 SYSTEM TO ADVANCE UNIX COMPUTING

IBM introduced the new eServer p5 systems, an advanced line of UNIX and Linux servers that use POWER5 microprocessors and Micro-Partitioning, an IBM Virtualization Engine technology, to achieve unprecedented computing performance and reduced costs for a wide range of business and scientific applications. The new eServer p5 systems are the result of a large-scale, three-year research and development effort at IBM extending beyond traditional UNIX servers with mainframe-inspired features that are designed to help businesses by providing higher utilization, increased performance, greater flexibility, and lower IT management costs.

The new IBM eServer p5 systems, based on the POWER 5 microprocessor, give clients choices of implementing different solutions - ranging from a 2-way server to a 16-way server - all leveraging the industry standard Power Architecture and designed to deliver high performance and scalability for the entry and midrange UNIX platform, according to widely used industry benchmarks.

Using as few as one fourth the number of processors, eServer p5 systems outperform HP servers in the significant Transaction Processing Performance Council's TPC-C benchmark test. The new eServer p5 systems set records for select transaction processing, Web speed, Java performance and other business applications, in some cases beating competitors' performances by two and three times. Additionally, the new IBM systems are designed to save customers significant IT costs.

"Today, IBM is heralding the next generation in the UNIX industry, marked by extreme performance, efficiency and flexibility," said Adalio Sanchez, general manager, IBM eServer pSeries. "We've invested tremendously in new technologies, like the POWER5 microprocessor and the Micro-Partitioning technology in the IBM Virtualization Engine, derived from 40 years of mainframe innovations. This will transform the technology landscape and economics of owning and running UNIX systems. Our new UNIX systems will allow businesses to respond quickly to changing market conditions in the on demand era."

In the new computing era, client demand will shift towards systems that offer breakthrough tools like the Micro-Partitioning technology in IBM's Virtualization Engine, which is designed to significantly improve utilization and reduce IT costs. The new eServer p5 systems are the first UNIX systems designed to enable clients to run multiple (up to ten) virtual servers or Micro-Partitions on a single microprocessor letting it do the work traditionally done by many. This allows businesses to better utilize processors and automatically balance processor partitions in less than one second to meet changing on demand business needs. IBM eServer p5 systems allow for server consolidation and mixed workloads on a single system by giving businesses the capability to run multiple different operating systems simultaneously.

The new AIX 5L V5.3 operating system also enables clients to reduce costs by taking advantage of mainframe inspired characteristics in reliability, scalability and business continuity.

Benchmark Performance

The IBM eServer p5 systems have already set performance records in diverse applications, such as online transaction processing, enterprise resource planning (ERP), file sharing, and high performance computing applications such as fluid dynamics. Among the specific performance marks currently held by various eServer p5 systems:

TPC-C running DB2: the p5-570 system holds the record for the fastest 16-way result, is the only 16-way system in the TPC-C top ten list by performance and beats a 16-way HP Integrity system by 168% and a 64-way HP PA-RISC system by nearly 50%

SAP: the 8-way p5-570 achieved the best-in-class two-tier SAP SD Standard application benchmark result, and the 16-way p5-570 achieved the best-in- class two-tier SAP SD Standard Application benchmark result.

SPECfp_rate2000: the 8-way p5-570 system holds the record for the fastest 8- way result, besting an HP PA-RISC system by 298%.

SPEC OMP2001: the 16-way IBM eServer p570 holds the record for the fastest 16- way result, 335% faster than a 16-way HP Superdome.

Two and a half times better price/performance than HP PA-RISC, when comparing the price/performance results of 4.56 $/tpmC on an IBM eServer p5-570 running DB2 versus the price/performance result of 11.66 $/tpmC on an HP9000 Superdome running Oracle Database 10G Enterprise Edition using the TPC-C benchmark.

IBM Software Supported Across All eServer p5 Systems

Along with delivering IBM software solutions and various application support, IBM eServer p5 product line organizations have been working with more than 1,000 ISVs to help deliver UNIX and Linux OS-ready p5 solutions to customers. Since 2001, the pSeries ISV community has grown by 1,000%. Working with thousands of ISVs, IBM is helping software and solution providers target and drive UNIX and Linux solution revenue.

Additionally, IBM delivers a broad portfolio of software offerings on the p5 architecture, spanning its WebSphere, DB2 Information Management, Tivoli security and systems management offerings. This wide level of support, gives medium size and large enterprise customers the capability to build, deploy and manage critical business and technical applications using AIX5L and Linux, which combine performance and flexibility into a cost-effective platform.

The new AIX 5L adds advanced security automation software components to help organizations more rapidly deploy IBM Tivoli software for access control, user provisioning, directory infrastructure, security policy compliance and risk management. With these components available on the new eServer p5 systems either pre-installed or available as a download, organizations can deploy enterprise-wide security and identity management across their servers, applications and business systems faster and at lower cost.

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.