ARMONK, N.Y. – 15 Feb 2011: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced
workload-optimized systems to help companies manage a range of more
demanding workloads that are placing new stresses on already
over-taxed data centers.
IBM mainframe computers have provided the technology
backbone for businesses requiring secure systems for processing
massive amounts of data, which includes transactions from ATMs,
medical records and stocks. Pictured below, the IBM 1401 —
introduced 1959 — was one of the first computers to run completely
on transistors, not vacuum tubes. Dave Michlowski, top photo, IBM
employee, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., installs a new component into IBM’s
newest zEnterprise, which has over 50,000 times more processing
capability than the IBM 1401 (Feature Photo Service, Bob
Goldberg).
The offerings, which span IBM’s systems portfolio, represent
IBM’s continued investment in systems integrated and optimized
across chips, hardware and software, for a range of work at a time
when companies face unprecedented amounts of data and are under
pressure to become more efficient in managing and drawing timely
insights from the information.
The new systems include: A new offering for the zEnterprise
BladeCenter Extension (zBX), IBM’s systems design that allows
workloads on mainframe servers and other select systems to share
resources and be managed as a single, virtualized system; and key
new Storage and System x products, which can bring radical new
levels of efficiency to the data center.
The new products from IBM reflect the market reality that new
business requirements and economic pressures are driving changes in
the way systems are designed, data is managed and analyzed, and IT
is delivered and consumed. The systems can bring new levels of data
center efficiency to help clients achieve better systems
management, faster deployment, and quicker response times for
critical workloads.
The offerings include:
zEnterprise System: The zBX has added support
for IBM WebSphere® DataPower® Integration Appliance XI50
for zEnterprise. The DataPower XI50z is a workload-optimized
appliance that helps data and applications on different servers to
communicate regardless of the type of platform. It does this by
processing XML and Web services protocols so that data can be
understood and used by all types of servers — an increasing need
as customers strive to obtain a single, comprehensive view of their
entire business scattered across various types of disconnected
servers in the data center. When integrated with zBX, the DataPower
XI50z can offer up to 23 times (1) better price/performance
compared to competitive systems. When integrated with zBX, it can
be managed as a single system with in the zEnterprise System. The
appliance complements other supported zBX systems, such as select
POWER7 Blades and IBM Smart Analytics Optimizer.
Storage: The new IBM Storwize Rapid Application
Storage (RAS) solution combines the recently introduced IBM
Storwize V7000 with powerful management software (Tivoli Storage
Productivity Center and Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager) and
implementation services delivered by IBM or an IBM Business
Partner. The integrated offering can help improve storage
efficiency, simplifying administrative tasks such as setup and
management. Compared to traditional storage offerings, it can be
implemented in half the time (2) and delivers up to 90 percent
reduction in downtime associated with backing up data for software
such as SAP, Oracle and Microsoft Exchange (3). This can enable
clients to improve availability of their business critical
applications to more quickly analyze and make sense of data. IBM
Business Partners participate by selling the bundled hardware and
software with their implementation services. IBM offers incentives
to its Business Partners who sell the solution (4).
IBM introduced the IBM Storwize V7000 midrange storage system in
October 2010 and the systems sold out in the fourth quarter, with
IBM shipping more than 1,000 systems to customers. IBM announced
that the Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and
Epidemiology at the University of Leipzig, Germany, selected the
Storwize V7000 to manage the torrent of data flowing into its
organization so it can be swiftly delivered for workloads like
genetic research.
System x: IBM announced a new, ready-to-deploy,
pre-configured eX5 Blade System for database applications.
The new Workload Optimized Blade for Database is designed to
help companies take the guesswork and hassle out of configuring
systems for database-intensive workloads in healthcare and
financial services, where companies are grappling to manage growing
amounts of “Big Data.” New types of information — voice
recordings, web video, photos, etc. — and growing numbers of
transaction-oriented workloads require additional memory, reliable
solid–state drives, and virtual fabric to tailor
the server for applications which need to transact with large,
distributed databases.
System Networking: IBM is also announcing
offerings from Blade Network Technologies (BNT), the company that
IBM acquired in October 2010 that specializes in Ethernet switches
and software that route data and transactions to and from servers,
storage and networks. The offerings include two top-of-rack
Ethernet switches that will be closely integrated with IBM servers
and storage to support dynamic workloads that require high-speed
and low-latency performance, such as cloud computing, business
analytics and high performance computing (HPC).
Over the past two years, IBM has expanded its networking
business through relationships with leading networking companies.
The BNT acquisition helps IBM bring system networking products to
its clients, complementing core networking offerings from leading
providers.