Tuesday, 20 February 2007

IBM Unveils Linux Web-Tier Consolidation Machine

IBM has unleashed a new IBM POWER5 processor-based midrange server aimed at improving IT efficiency that can accompany the proliferation of x86 Linux servers. Able to handle up to 160 virtual server images at one time per system using the optional Advanced POWER Virtualisation (APV) feature...

IBM has unleashed a new IBM POWER5 processor-based midrange server aimed at improving IT efficiency that can accompany the proliferation of x86 Linux servers. Able to handle up to 160 virtual server images at one time per system using the optional Advanced POWER Virtualisation (APV) feature, the new 1.8 GHz IBM System p5 560Q (16-core) is the most powerful member of a new family of three web-tier consolidation solutions, IBM said in a statement.

These solutions include the IBM BladeCenter JS21 for Web Serving Farms solution with up to 14 blades per system for the middle and low end; as well as Express Offerings that start with just a single PowerPC processor-based blade or 1U rack system. All three web-tier consolidation solutions utilise IBM's Advanced POWER Virtualisation (APV) to allow up to 10 virtual server images per core. The solutions can be used with Novell's new Integrated Stack for SUSE Linux Enterprise (ISSLE) for System p, the company said.

According to the company, the System p5 560Q offers virtualisation features, such as partitioning that allows clients to run multiple virtual machines on one system, and award-winning Advanced POWER Virtualisation that runs multiple partitions per processor. This virtualisation technology enables the sharing of I/O, and autonomically allocates additional resources to the application as needed. By incorporating virtualisation the system allows clients to consolidate up to 320 x86 Linux applications installed across 8 racks with 42 1U servers per rack into just one rack of five 560Q (16-core) servers running 320 virtualised server images saving up to an estimated 80 percent floor space.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell offers small and medium businesses the flexibility to choose the components they'd like to deploy, which include SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell, plus no-license fee versions of both IBM WebSphere Application Server Community Edition with web-tier clustering support and IBM DB2 Express-C. It also includes a year's license to Centeris Likewise Management Suite to allow management of Linux servers from within an existing Windows server environment. In addition to now supporting IBM System p and PowerPC processor-based BladeCenter blades, ISSLE also supports IBM System x and x86-based blades and lists for USD 349 for both POWER and x86-based environments.

According to the company, whether consolidating 320, 160 or just 12 servers at a time, the family of web-tier solutions targeted at helping clients end server sprawl and take back control of the Linux web-tier also includes:

• The new IBM System p5 560Q-based web-tier consolidation solution is the most powerful member of the family, best used to consolidate 320 x86-based Linux web servers at a time on to just a single rack of five 560Qs.
• For medium-size environments, IBM offers the BladeCenter JS21 for Web Serving Farms solution—a fully populated BladeCenter chassis with 14 JS21 blades and Advanced POWER Virtualisation (APV) standard. When delivered with the new ISSLE solution announced today that includes Linux, Apache and PHP scripting tools, the IBM BladeCenter JS21 is an affordable alternative to less flexible, rack-based x86 servers. The JS21 blade is designed to provide a scalable and energy-efficient response for businesses of all sizes facing the challenges of datacenter power, floor space constraints, remote management and performance. It effectively balances the requirement to lower total cost of ownership while still remaining responsive to client needs. Customers could consolidate 168 Linux x86 servers onto just 1 BladeCenter Chassis with 14 blades installed providing up to 56 POWER processor-based cores using IBM's Advanced POWER Virtualisation.
• For businesses with a few web servers to consolidate, the IBM BladeCenter with one or two JS21 blades and APV or the 1U System p5 505 Express or the quad-core System p5 505Q Express is an ideal starting solution. When combined with Advanced POWER Virtualisation and the new ISSLE solution, customers could consolidate 12 Linux x86 web-tier servers onto just 1 blade or quad-core POWER processor-based server.