IBM Introduces New “Virtualization-Ready” System x Server

IBM Introduces New “Virtualization-Ready” System x Server

IBM (NYSE: IBM) previewed today the fourth generation of its chipset technology, X4, to be available in a high-end, scalable server leveraging the latest in quad-core processing technology from Intel. The System x3950 M2 server will debut a new embedded hypervisor capability, enabling clients to easily deploy virtualized server applications right out of the box.

X4 marks significant advances in performance, availability and processing efficiencies for its System x line of servers, adding to IBM’s X-Architecture portfolio of innovation for x86 servers. X4 will enable richer x86 server configurations to fuel the growth of virtualization on high-end systems. Several other new features will allow clients to easily adopt virtualization.

The new system will be ready for virtualization right out of the box by eliminating software setup and installation time. An internal USB interface will accommodate chip-based or “embedded” virtualization software preloaded on a 4GB USB flash storage device.

The new system offers double the memory slot capacity. Four times the amount of memory can be hosted on a single chassis compared to the previous system, enabling more virtualization workloads.

IBM has developed and released three generations of X-Architecture chipsets since 1997, and remains the only top-tier vendor in the industry to incorporate its own chipset in Intel-based servers. The third generation chipset, X3, introduced in 2005, was optimized for server consolidation and enterprise application software, and gave rise to widespread adoption of server virtualization solutions. By the end of 2006, IBM more than doubled its client engagements for virtualization on x86 systems enabling IBM clients to deploy on average a total of 1,000 virtual machines a day to address power consumption, heat dissipation and physical space limitations in the data center.

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