IBM has launched its latest range of servers aimed at improving analytics and Cloud performance.
The launch included the sixth generation of its enterprise X-Architecture for System x and PureSystems servers and provides improvements in the performance and economics of x86-based systems for analytics and cloud.
IBM general manager Adalio Sanchez said the enterprise X-Architecture for x86-based servers and solutions delivered high performance and the highest customer satisfaction in the industry.
"We continue to innovate and deliver leadership performance, reliability and investment protection for mission-critical workloads with X6," he said.
According to a company statement, the X6 architecture represents IBM's continuing R&D investment and industry leadership in x86-based systems, and is specifically designed to provide new levels of performance and resiliency for enterprise applications.
“For memory-hungry applications, X6 delivers three times the scalable memory of current competitors' and IBM x86-based systems to support cloud and analytics,” a company statement said.
The X6 architecture has integrated eXFlash memory-channel storage.
This DIMM-based storage provides up to 12.8 terabytes of ultrafast flash storage close to the processor, increasing application performance by providing the lowest system write latency available, essential for analytics applications.
X6 can provide significantly lower latency for database operations, which can lower licensing costs and reduce storage costs by reducing or eliminating the need for external SAN/NAS storage units.
It supports multiple generations of CPUs and can reduce acquisition costs, up to 28 percent in comparison to one competitive offering.
Server models supported by this new architecture currently include the System x3850 X6 four-socket system, System x3950 X6 eight-socket system, and the IBM Flex System x880 scalable compute nodes.
IBM also is introducing the System x3650 M4 BD storage server, a two-socket rack server supporting up to 14 drives delivering up to 56 terabytes of high-density storage -- the largest available in the industry.
It provides 46 percent greater performance than previous comparable IBM System x servers and is ideally suited for distributed scale-out of big data workloads, according to a company statement.
IBM has also announced the general availability of the new IBM FlashSystem 840.
The new system provides nearly double the bandwidth and double the performance - 1.1M IOPS - of its predecessor, the FlashSystem 820, making it ideally suited for analytical databases, virtualization infrastructures, and public and private clouds.
Supporting up to 48 terabytes of usable capacity in a 2U unit, the all-Flash array also features IBM MicroLatency technology that significantly speeds data access times from milliseconds to microseconds (less than 135 microseconds) giving organisations faster actionable insights from real-time data analytics.
It is also strengthening its software defined environment (SDE) portfolio with the introduction of IBM Platform Resource Scheduler for private and hybrid IBM SmartCloud clients who want to accelerate time-to-results, improve infrastructure flexibility and reduce operating costs.
