IBM unveils zEnterprise System

IBM has announced the launch of its new zEnterprise mainframe server and a new systems design that allows workloads on mainframe, POWER7 and System x servers to share resources and be managed as a single, virtualized system. The new mainframe is claimed to be the most powerful and energy-efficient mainframe ever.

The new systems design combines IBM's new zEnterprise mainframe server with new technology - the IBM zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension and the IBM zEnterprise Unified Resource Manager - that enable it to manage workloads running across System z, and select POWER7 and System x servers.

IBM designed the zEnterprise System to address an important issue for corporate data centers: the jumble of disparate technologies added over time to run specific applications and which operate in silos, sometimes unable to communicate with each other in real time and requiring separate staff and software tools to manage. This long-standing challenge for customers is aggravated by dramatic increases in cost and complexity amid a rising tide of sophisticated, data-intensive workloads in an increasingly interconnected world.

The IBM zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension allows supports purpose IBM POWER7 and System x BladeCenter systems as well as blades optimized for specific workloads, such as analytics and managing Web infrastructure.
IBM blade servers inside the IBM zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension - which can be managed like mainframe resources - integrate with System z and can run tens of thousands of off-the-shelf applications. Later this year, IBM will deliver the zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension with support for IBM POWER7 blades running AIX, IBM's UNIX operating system. IBM is also introducing the IBM Smart Analytics Optimizer to accelerate the performance of complex analytic workloads at a lower cost per transaction.

Next year, IBM plans to announce additional general purpose blades for the IBM zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension including select IBM System x-based blades running Linux. Additional workload optimized blades are planned to include IBM DataPower for improving website and network performance.

The New zEnterprise 196
From a performance standpoint, the zEnterprise System is the most powerful IBM system ever. The core server in the zEnterprise System--called zEnterprise 196 - contains 96 of the world's fastest, most powerful microprocessors running at 5.2Ghz, capable of executing more than 50 billion instructions per second.

This new IBM microprocessor technology has new software to optimize performance of data-heavy workloads, including up to a 60 percent improvement in data intensive and Java workloads. Increased levels of system performance in turn increases software performance, which can reduce software license costs.

The new system offers 60 percent more capacity than its predecessor, the System z10, and uses about the same amount of electricity.

The new z196 builds on the IBM System z industry leading security features. IBM System z servers are the only commercial system to achieve Evaluation Assurance Level 5 security classification.

z/OS Distributed Data Backup
IBM has also announced the development of a new z/OS Distributed Data Backup feature for its flagship DS8000 storage system that can help lower data protection and disaster recovery costs by consolidating cross platform disaster recovery environments on to the z196. Clients can now back up vital data from multi-platform workloads over high performance connections with the unmatched reliability and security of the mainframe.

For additional information please visit http://www.ibm.com/press/zenterprise

•Date: 23rd July 2010 • Region: World •Type: Article •Topic: IT continuity
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