IBM puts all its OSs in one box as Power5 emerges in next AS/400

Rethink IT, June, 2004

IBM has finally delivered on a promise that it made fully 20 years ago, to deliver a single machine that will merge all of its disparate midrange operating systems--launched recently as the eServer i5 built around its new Power5 chipset.

The server will run i5/OS, which is the next generation of OS/400 and is aimed at changing the way small and medium-sized businesses buy in computer power.

The Power5 is the 64-bit version of IBM's PowerPC range of chips, most widely installed now as the Power4. The new IBM eServer i5 can integrate and run multiple operating systems simultaneously, including i5/OS,Windows, Linux and AIX 5L.

IBM plans to bundle its Virtualization Engine technology embedded in the new eServer i5 systems to offer virtualization capabilities such as logical partitioning and also sharing of storage environments.

IBM claims a 40% improvement in system price/performance over previous iSeries systems, which makes them comparable to the prices found on Unix-based systems for memory, disk and server components. However, the iSeries has always had more expensive software, so we can't yet vouch for total system price.

The eServer i5 Model 520 will come as a single or dual processor and the Model 570 will come as a one to four way machine offering capacity on demand upgrades. The eServers come preloaded with operating system, and DB2 database.

The Power5 has 276m transistors per processor, and is made with IBM's 0.13-micron copper wiring and Silicon-on-Insulator processes and uses simultaneous multithreading so that multiple processors can attack one job at the same time.

Using the built-in IBM Virtualization Server, customers can reduce infrastructure costs by managing all of their Linux, Unix and Windows servers together with integrated storage, security and back-up.

The IBM eServer i5 will be available on June 11, with the 520 starting at $9,995 and the 570 starting at $85,200.