System iNetwork

June 16, 2008

i and AIX: Not Exactly the Same on Power Systems

There are still some differences in how IBM is rolling out its converged System i and System p server lineup -- though it's not so much the hardware that's different as it is the availability of the operating system. In the IBM i world, we'd pretty much always rather be first, but is being first really that critical? Last week IBM announced that its POWER6-based Power 595 running AIX with DB2 9.5 smoked by HP in the latest TPC-C benchmark by delivering nearly three times the performance per processor core of HP Superdome at a lower cost.

According to the Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC-C) benchmark result, the IBM UNIX system is the first and only server to achieve more than six million transactions per minute, IBM reports, which is 6,085,166 tpmC at $2.81/tpmC. Of course, the true cost of a multi-million dollar system is rarely calculated from a so-called sticker price, but at least it can help a buyer work the numbers. In any event, here's IBM's take:

The performance of the Power 595 can replace three 128 core HP Superdomes (384 cores spanning six computer racks) with two 64 core Power 595 servers (128 cores spanning just two computer racks), which also reduces the number of processor cores by 66 percent, which can save 20 percent on energy costs and 55 percent on software licensing purchased by the core, which also can reduce floor space by 59 percent. Per-core performance matters to customers because most major UNIX software vendors charge per core for software licenses.

i in September, Linux in October

So, yes, this is just another proof-point that the POWER6-based Power Systems are superbly scalable, etc., etc., and the assumption might be, in this post-era of System i and p consolidation, that IBM i and Linux would also be available to run on the fast new 595 that started shipping in May. Well, they can't. IBM will support the IBM i operating environment in September, followed by Linux in October.

So back to the question: Is being first really that critical? Probably not. Sure, if you're a customer in the middle of an upgrade cycle, you might find yourself in the position of needing to wait and not wanting to. Seriously, the 595, etc., is a multi-million-dollar Power System. I doubt many of these customers are quibbling with IBM over a couple of months, and if they were, I'm positive the delivery date would be sooner. Besides, if business growth had somehow rapidly expanded beyond a large customer's ability to have existing i-based boxes handle the workload, I'm sure an IBM rep could come up with a mutually beneficial solution in the meantime.

Still, I did query IBM just on the off chance that something has changed in the company's delivering strategy. Rick Bause, communications manager of the IBM Systems & Technology Group, says the availability of AIX, i, and Linux on Power 595 is simply a matter of optimizing testing schedules and resources. AIX has a smaller stack versus the integrated i environment, so it has been IBM's first OS tested with POWER6 on the high end.

Basically, not a lot has changed, just the availability of the operating system and how it's rolled out. From a business perspective, it seems odd to me to ever deliver a Power System to market by staging OS efforts in some sort of changing pattern, i.e., so that i or Linux becomes available first. However, I could see IBM holding a Power System until all three were ready in order to manipulate customer upgrade cycles or achieve some new marketing mission.

Posted by cmaxcer at June 16, 2008 9:30 AM