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IBM System p

From Alfawiki
IBM System p
Company typeProduct line
IndustryComputer servers
PredecessorRS/6000
Founded2000
FateMerged into IBM Power Systems in 2008
ProductsRISC-based UNIX servers
ParentIBM

The IBM System p represents a premium series of RISC (Power)-based UNIX servers, serving as the successor to the RS/6000 lineup and the predecessor to the IBM Power Systems family.

History

Initially integrated within the RS/6000 workstation and server range, the inaugural System p server debuted in 2000 under IBM's e-Server umbrella as the eServer pSeries.

With the release of the POWER5 processor in 2004, the product line was rebranded as eServer p5. The following year, IBM consolidated its global server and storage brands, renaming this series System p5 and incorporating the IBM OpenPower offerings.

After the introduction of POWER6 processors in 2007, the branding was streamlined to System p. By April 2008, IBM combined System p with the midrange System i, resulting in the unified IBM Power Systems portfolio.

Processors

The RS/6000 originally utilized early generations of POWER and PowerPC processors; however, with the advent of pSeries, IBM standardized on RS64-III and POWER3, focusing respectively on floating-point and integer processing enhancements.

In 2001, IBM launched the POWER4, which replaced both POWER3 and RS64 processor lines. Subsequent iterations of System p incorporated POWER5 processors alongside the PowerPC 970 for entry-level and blade configurations.

The concluding System p models employed POWER6 chips, including systems like the System p 570 and JS22 blade server. At SuperComputing 2007, IBM introduced a POWER6-based System p 575 featuring 32 cores running at 4.7 GHz, supporting up to 256 GB of RAM with advanced water cooling technology.

Features

All eServer p5 and System p machines support DLPAR (Dynamic Logical Partitioning) combined with Virtual I/O and Micro-partitioning, enabling enhanced flexibility in resource allocation.

System p primarily operates on the AIX operating system and also supports 64-bit versions of Linux, addressing enterprise UNIX workload demands.

BladeCenter

eServer pSeries

  • IBM eServer pSeries 610 (7028-6C1 & 6E1)
  • IBM eServer pSeries 615 (7029-6C3, 7029-6E3) (1–2-core POWER4+ CPU)
  • IBM eServer pSeries 620 (7025-F80, 6F0 & 6F1) (1–3 2-core RS64-IV CPUs)
  • IBM eServer pSeries 630 (7028-6C4, 7028-6E4) (single-core POWER4 CPU or dual-core POWER4 CPUs)
  • IBM eServer pSeries 640 (7026-B80) featuring up to four POWER3-II CPUs
  • IBM eServer pSeries 650 (7038-6M2) equipped with two to eight POWER4 CPUs
  • IBM eServer pSeries 655 (7039-651) supporting four to eight POWER4 CPUs
  • IBM eServer pSeries 660 (7026-H80, 6H0, 6H1, M80 & 6M1)
  • IBM eServer pSeries 670 (7040-671) offering four to sixteen POWER4 CPUs
  • IBM eServer pSeries 680 (7017 series)
  • IBM eServer pSeries 690 (7040-681) delivering eight to thirty-two POWER4 CPUs

Introduced at the end of 2001, the IBM p690 was IBM's premier high-performance Unix server throughout the era dominated by the POWER4 processor. Primarily designed for the IBM AIX Unix environment, it also supported a Linux variant that lacked some POWER4-specific capabilities.

This system accommodated up to thirty-two POWER4+ processors running between 1.5 and 1.9 GHz frequencies and could be configured with as much as one terabyte of RAM. Weighing over a metric ton, it found use in supercomputing clusters such as at Forschungszentrum Jülich in 2004 before being phased out by late 2005.

eServer p5

Introduced in 2004, the IBM eServer p5 series incorporated POWER5 processors across multiple models, each designed to address distinct enterprise requirements:

  • IBM eServer p5 510 Express (9111-510): Equipped with a 1.5 GHz POWER5 CPU featuring 1 to 2 cores
  • IBM eServer p5 510 (9111-510): Featuring a 1.65 GHz POWER5 CPU with 1 to 2 cores
  • IBM eServer p5 520 Express (9111-520): Powered by a 1.5 GHz POWER5 CPU supporting 1 to 2 cores
  • IBM eServer p5 520 (9111-520): Utilizing a dual-core, 1.65 GHz POWER5 CPU
  • IBM eServer p5 550 Express (9113-550): Supports up to two POWER5 CPUs, each with 1 to 2 cores at 1.5 GHz
  • IBM eServer p5 550 (9113-550): Configured with up to two dual-core POWER5 CPUs running at 1.65 GHz
  • IBM eServer p5 570 Express (9117-570): Accommodates as many as eight dual-core POWER5 CPUs at 1.5 GHz
  • IBM eServer p5 570 (9117-570): Offers up to eight dual-core POWER5 CPUs operating at either 1.65 or 1.9 GHz
  • IBM eServer p5 590 (9119-590): Features up to four multi-chip modules (MCMs), each with eight cores at 1.65 GHz POWER5
  • IBM eServer p5 595 (9119-595): Flexible configuration with 2, 4, 6, or 8 MCMs, each containing eight POWER5 cores at either 1.65 or 1.9 GHz

These systems catered primarily to midrange and high-end enterprise sectors, delivering scalable processing power suited for intensive workloads and allowing businesses to tailor computing resources through adaptable configurations.

System p5

  • IBM System p5 185 (7037-A50): Powered by a PowerPC 970 CPU with one or two cores
  • IBM System p5 505 (9115-505): Available with one or two cores of either POWER5 or POWER5+ CPUs
  • IBM System p5 505Q (9115-505): Equipped with a quad-core POWER5+ processor
  • IBM System p5 510 (9110-51A): Configured with one or two CPUs, each having one or two cores of POWER5 or POWER5+
  • IBM System p5 510Q (9110-51A): Featuring one or two quad-core POWER5+ processors
  • IBM System p5 520 (9131-52A): Includes one or two cores of the POWER5+ CPU
  • IBM System p5 520Q (9131-52A): Comes with a quad-core POWER5+ CPU
  • IBM System p5 550 (9133-55A): Houses one or two dual-core POWER5+ CPUs
  • IBM System p5 550Q (9133-55A): Contains one or two quad-core POWER5+ processors
  • IBM System p5 560Q (9116-561): Supports configurations of one, two, or four quad-core POWER5+ CPUs
  • IBM System p5 570 (9117-570): Scales from one up to eight dual-core POWER5+ processors
  • IBM System p5 575 (9118-575): Equipped with eight processors, each having one or two cores of POWER5+
  • IBM System p5 590 (9119-590): Features one or two processor books, each containing sixteen cores of either POWER5 or POWER5+
  • IBM System p5 595 (9119-595): Offers between one and four processor books, each comprising sixteen cores of POWER5 or POWER5+

System p

  • IBM System p 520 Express: Incorporates a single, dual, or quad-core POWER6 processor
  • IBM System p 550 Express: Supports from one up to four dual-core POWER6 CPUs
  • IBM System p 560 Express: Built around the POWER6 architecture
  • IBM System p 570: Utilizes the POWER6 processor family
  • IBM System p 575: Based on the POWER6 platform
  • IBM System p 595 (9119-FHA): Configurable with one to eight processor books, each containing eight cores powered by the POWER6 CPU

In 2008, the System p lineup was renamed and merged into the Power Systems brand.

OpenPower

The OpenPower designation referred to a subset within IBM's System p family that exclusively ran on Linux operating systems built for the Power architecture using solely IBM's POWER5 processors. Unlike other systems in this line, OpenPower servers did not support the UNIX-based AIX operating system due to licensing restrictions.

Two primary models were available with different processor counts:

  • IBM eServer OpenPower 710 (9123-710) – Featuring one or two-core POWER5 CPUs
  • IBM eServer OpenPower 720 (9124-720) – Configured with between one and four POWER5 processors

Prior to the year 2005, OpenPower was categorized under the eServer brand but was subsequently integrated into the Power Systems portfolio.

IntelliStation POWER

BladeCenter

See also

eServer pSeriesTemplate:Br2000 eServer p5Template:Br2004 System p5Template:Br2005 System pTemplate:Br2007
eServer iSeriesTemplate:Br2000 eServer i5Template:Br2004 System i5Template:Br2005 System iTemplate:Br2006

External links

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