The IBM System p is a high-end line of
RISC
In computer engineering, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) is a computer designed to simplify the individual instructions given to the computer to accomplish tasks. Compared to the instructions given to a complex instruction set comput ...
(
Power
Power most often refers to:
* Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work"
** Engine power, the power put out by an engine
** Electric power
* Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events
** Abusive power
Power may a ...
)/
UNIX
Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and ot ...
-based servers. It was the successor of the
RS/6000
The RISC System/6000 (RS/6000) is a family of Reduced instruction set computer, RISC-based Unix Server (computing), servers, workstations and supercomputers made by IBM in the 1990s. The RS/6000 family replaced the IBM RT PC computer platform in ...
line, and predecessor of the
IBM Power Systems
Power Systems is a family of server computers from IBM that are based on its Power processors. It was created in 2008 as a merger of the System p and System i product lines.
History
IBM had two distinct POWER- and PowerPC-based hardware li ...
server series.
History
The previous
RS/6000
The RISC System/6000 (RS/6000) is a family of Reduced instruction set computer, RISC-based Unix Server (computing), servers, workstations and supercomputers made by IBM in the 1990s. The RS/6000 family replaced the IBM RT PC computer platform in ...
line was originally a line of workstations and servers. The first System p server line was named the ''e''Server pSeries in 2000 as part of the e-Server branding initiative.
In 2004, with the advent of the
POWER5 processor, the server family was rebranded the ''e''Server p5.
In 2005, following IBM's move to streamline its server and storage brands worldwide, and incorporating the "System" brand with the Systems Agenda, the family was again renamed to System p5. The System p5 now encompassed the IBM OpenPower product line.
In 2007, after the introduction of the
POWER6
The POWER6 is a microprocessor developed by IBM that implemented the Power ISA v.2.03. When it became available in systems in 2007, it succeeded the POWER5+ as IBM's flagship Power microprocessor. It is claimed to be part of the eCLipz projec ...
processor models, the last rename under the System p brand dropped the p (numbered) designation.
In April 2008, IBM announced a rebranding of the System p and its unification with the mid-range
System i platform. The resulting product line was called
IBM Power Systems
Power Systems is a family of server computers from IBM that are based on its Power processors. It was created in 2008 as a merger of the System p and System i product lines.
History
IBM had two distinct POWER- and PowerPC-based hardware li ...
.
Hardware and software
Processors
Whereas the previous RS/6000 line used a mix of early
POWER
Power most often refers to:
* Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work"
** Engine power, the power put out by an engine
** Electric power
* Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events
** Abusive power
Power may a ...
and
PowerPC
PowerPC (with the backronym Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC – Performance Computing, sometimes abbreviated as PPC) is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) created by the 1991 Apple Inc., App ...
processors, when pSeries came along, this had evolved into
RS64-III and
POWER3
The POWER3 is a microprocessor, designed and exclusively manufactured by IBM, that implemented the 64-bit version of the PowerPC instruction set architecture (ISA), including all of the optional instructions of the ISA (at the time) such as ...
across the board—POWER3 for its excellent floating-point performance and RS64 for its scalability, throughput, and integer performance.
IBM developed the
POWER4
The POWER4 is a microprocessor developed by International Business Machines (IBM) that implemented the 64-bit PowerPC and PowerPC AS instruction set architectures. Released in 2001, the POWER4 succeeded the POWER3 and RS64 microprocessors, ena ...
processor to replace both POWER3 and the RS64 line in 2001. After that, the differences between throughput and number crunching-optimized systems no longer existed. Since then, System p machines evolved to use the
POWER5 but also the
PowerPC 970
The PowerPC 970, PowerPC 970FX, and PowerPC 970MP are 64-bit PowerPC processors from IBM introduced in 2002. When used in PowerPC-based Macintosh computers, Apple referred to them as the PowerPC G5.
The 970 family was created through a collab ...
for the low-end and blade systems.
The last System p systems used the
POWER6
The POWER6 is a microprocessor developed by IBM that implemented the Power ISA v.2.03. When it became available in systems in 2007, it succeeded the POWER5+ as IBM's flagship Power microprocessor. It is claimed to be part of the eCLipz projec ...
processor, such as the POWER6-based System p 570 and the JS22 blade. In addition, during the SuperComputing 2007 (SC07) conference in Reno, IBM introduced a new POWER6-based System p 575 with 32 POWER6 cores at 4.7 GHz and up to 256 GB of RAM with water cooling.
Features
All IBM System p5 and IBM ''e''Server p5 machines support
DLPAR (Dynamic Logical Partitioning) with Virtual I/O and
Micro-partitioning.
System p generally uses the
AIX operating system
AIX (Advanced Interactive eXecutive, pronounced , "ay-eye-ex") is a series of Proprietary software, proprietary Unix operating systems developed and sold by IBM for several of its computer platforms.
Background
Originally released for the ...
and, more recently,
64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit Integer (computer science), integers, memory addresses, or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing unit, CPUs and arithmetic logic unit, ALUs are those ...
versions of the
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
operating system.
Models
BladeCenter
*
IBM BladeCenter JS12 (POWER6)
*
IBM BladeCenter JS22 (POWER6)
*
IBM BladeCenter JS23 (POWER6)
*
IBM BladeCenter JS43 (POWER6)
Main line
eServer pSeries
* IBM eServer pSeries 610 (7028-6C1 & 6E1)
* IBM eServer pSeries 615 (7029-6C3, 7029-6E3) (1~2-core POWER4+ CPU)
* IBM eServer pSeries 620 (7025-F80, 6F0 & 6F1) (1~3 2-core RS64-IV CPUs)
* IBM eServer pSeries 630 (7028-6C4, 7028-6E4) (1 1-core POWER4 CPU or 1~2 2-core POWER4 CPUs)
* IBM eServer pSeries 640 (7026-B80) 1-4 POWER3-II CPUs
* IBM eServer pSeries 650 (7038-6M2) 2-8 POWER4 CPUs
* IBM eServer pSeries 655 (7039-651) 4-8 POWER4 CPUs
* IBM eServer pSeries 660 (7026-H80, 6H0, 6H1, M80 & 6M1)
* IBM eServer pSeries 670 (7040-671) 4-16 POWER4 CPUs
* IBM eServer pSeries 680 (7017 range)
* IBM eServer pSeries 690 (7040-681) 8-32 POWER4 CPUs
The
IBM p690 was, at the time of its release in late 2001, the flagship of IBM's high-end
Unix
Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and ot ...
servers during the
POWER4
The POWER4 is a microprocessor developed by International Business Machines (IBM) that implemented the 64-bit PowerPC and PowerPC AS instruction set architectures. Released in 2001, the POWER4 succeeded the POWER3 and RS64 microprocessors, ena ...
era of processors. It was built to run IBM
AIX
Aix or AIX may refer to:
Computing
* AIX, a line of IBM computer operating systems
*An Alternate Index, for a Virtual Storage Access Method Key Sequenced Data Set
*Athens Internet Exchange, a European Internet exchange point
Places Belgium
...
Unix, although it is possible to run a version of
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
minus some POWER4-specific features.
It could support up to 32 (1.5, 1.7 or 1.9 GHz) POWER4+ processors and 1
TB of
RAM
Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:
Animals
* A male sheep
* Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish
People
* Ram (given name)
* Ram (surname)
* Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director
* RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch
* Ra ...
, which weighs well over 1000 kg. It was used in a
supercomputer
A supercomputer is a computer with a high level of performance as compared to a general-purpose computer. The performance of a supercomputer is commonly measured in floating-point operations per second ( FLOPS) instead of million instructions ...
at
Forschungszentrum Jülich
Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ here for short) is a national research institution that pursues interdisciplinary research in the fields of energy, information, and bioeconomy. It operates research infrastructures with a focus on supercomputers. C ...
in 2004, and was discontinued in late 2005.
eServer p5
Released in 2004.
* IBM eServer p5 510 Express (9111-510) (1~2-core 1.5GHz POWER5 CPU)
* IBM eServer p5 510 (9111-510) (1~2-core 1.65GHz POWER5 CPU)
* IBM eServer p5 520 Express (9111-520) (1~2-core 1.5GHz POWER5 CPU)
* IBM eServer p5 520 (9111-520) (2-core 1.65GHz POWER5 CPU)
* IBM eServer p5 550 Express (9113-550) (1~2 1~2-core 1.5GHz POWER5 CPUs)
* IBM eServer p5 550 (9113-550) (1~2 2-core 1.65GHz POWER5 CPUs)
* IBM eServer p5 570 Express (9117-570) (1~8 2-core 1.5GHz POWER5 CPUs)
* IBM eServer p5 570 (9117-570) (1~8 2-core 1.65GHz or 1.9GHz POWER5 CPUs)
* IBM eServer p5 590 (9119-590) (1~4 8-core 1.65GHz POWER5 MCMs)
* IBM eServer p5 595 (9119-595) (2, 4, 6 or 8 8-core 1.65GHz or 1.9GHz POWER5 MCMs)
System p5
![ASC Purple Supercomputer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/ASC_Purple_Supercomputer.jpg)
* IBM System p5 185 (7037-A50) (1~2-core PowerPC 970 CPU)
* IBM System p5 505 (9115-505) (1~2-core POWER5 or POWER5+ CPU)
* IBM System p5 505Q (9115-505) (4-core POWER5+ CPU)
* IBM System p5 510 (9110-51A) (1~2 1~2-core POWER5 or POWER5+ CPUs)
* IBM System p5 510Q (9110-51A) (1~2 4-core POWER5+ CPUs)
* IBM System p5 520 (9131-52A) (1~2-core POWER5+ CPU)
* IBM System p5 520Q (9131-52A) (4-core POWER5+ CPU)
* IBM System p5 550 (9133-55A) (1~2 2-core POWER5+ CPUs)
* IBM System p5 550Q (9133-55A) (1~2 4-core POWER5+ CPUs)
* IBM System p5 560Q (9116-561) (1, 2 or 4 4-core POWER5+ CPUs)
* IBM System p5 570 (9117-570) (1~8 2-core POWER5+ CPUs)
* IBM System p5 575 (9118-575) (8 1~2-core POWER5+ CPUs)
* IBM System p5 590 (9119-590) (1~2 16-core POWER5 or POWER5+ processor books)
* IBM System p5 595 (9119-595) (1~4 16-core POWER5 or POWER5+ processor books)
System p
* IBM System p 520 Express (1, 2 or 4-core POWER6 CPU)
* IBM System p 550 Express (1~4 2-core POWER6 CPUs)
* IBM System p 560 Express (POWER6)
* IBM System p 570 (POWER6)
* IBM System p 575 (POWER6)
* IBM System p 595 (9119-FHA) (1~8 8-core POWER6 processor books)
System p was rebranded to
Power Systems
An electric power system is a network of electrical components deployed to supply, transfer, and use electric power. An example of a power system is the electrical grid that provides power to homes and industries within an extended area. The e ...
in 2008.
OpenPower
OpenPower was the name of a range of servers in the
System p
The IBM System p is a high-end line of RISC (Power)/UNIX-based servers. It was the successor of the RS/6000 line, and predecessor of the IBM Power Systems server series.
History
The previous RS/6000 line was originally a line of workstations and ...
line from
IBM. They featured IBM's
POWER5 CPUs
A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, and ...
and run only 64-bit versions of
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
. IBM's own
UNIX
Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and ot ...
variant,
AIX
Aix or AIX may refer to:
Computing
* AIX, a line of IBM computer operating systems
*An Alternate Index, for a Virtual Storage Access Method Key Sequenced Data Set
*Athens Internet Exchange, a European Internet exchange point
Places Belgium
...
is not supported since the OpenPower servers are not licensed for this
operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...
.
There were two models available, with a variety of configurations.
Before 2005, OpenPower belonged to the
eServer
IBM eServer was a family of computer servers from IBM. Announced in 2000, it combined the various IBM server brands (AS/400, Netfinity, RS/6000, S/390) under one brand. The various sub-brands were at the same time rebranded from:
*IBM RS/6000 to ...
product line but were eventually rolled into the IBM's
Power Systems
An electric power system is a network of electrical components deployed to supply, transfer, and use electric power. An example of a power system is the electrical grid that provides power to homes and industries within an extended area. The e ...
product portfolio.
* IBM eServer OpenPower 710 (9123-710) (1~2-core POWER5 CPU)
* IBM eServer OpenPower 720 (9124-720) 1-4 POWER5 CPUs
IntelliStation POWER
*
IBM IntelliStation POWER 265
*
IBM IntelliStation POWER 275
*
IBM IntelliStation POWER 185 (PowerPC 970)
*
IBM IntelliStation POWER 285
BladeCenter
*
IBM BladeCenter JS20 (PowerPC 970)
*
IBM BladeCenter JS21 (PowerPC 970)
See also
*
Web-based System Manager
IBM Web-based System Manager (WSM) is a management software (GUI) for administering AIX 5L host on RS/6000 systems, it can be run in standalone mode or in a client-server environment.
Introduced in AIX 4.3 and installed by default in AIX 5.1 if t ...
, an
AIX
Aix or AIX may refer to:
Computing
* AIX, a line of IBM computer operating systems
*An Alternate Index, for a Virtual Storage Access Method Key Sequenced Data Set
*Athens Internet Exchange, a European Internet exchange point
Places Belgium
...
management software
*
IBM Hardware Management Console {{Refimprove, date=October 2020
Hardware Management Console (HMC) is a Physical / Virtual appliance used to manage IBM Systems including IBM AS/400, IBM System p, IBM System z, and IBM Power Systems. HMC supports command line (ssh) as well as web ...
, a management appliance
*
Dynamic Logical Partitioning
Dynamic Logical Partitioning (DLPAR), is the capability of a logical partition (LPAR) to be reconfigured dynamically, without having to shut down the operating system that runs in the LPAR. DLPAR enables memory, CPU capacity, and I/O interfaces to ...
*
Linux on Power
PowerLinux is the combination of a Linux-based operating system (OS) running on PowerPC- or Power ISA-based computers from IBM. It is often used in reference along with ''Linux on Power'', and is also the name of several Linux-only IBM Power Syste ...
*
IBM IntelliStation POWER
*
PureSystems
PureSystems is an IBM product line of factory pre-configured components and servers also being referred to as an "Expert Integrated System". The centrepiece of PureSystems is the ''IBM Flex System Manager'' in tandem with the so-called "Patterns ...
*
List of IBM products
The following is a partial list of products, services, and subsidiaries of International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation and its predecessor corporations, beginning in the 1890s.
This list is eclectic; it includes, for example, the ''AN/FS ...
References
External links
IBM Power Systems product pageIBM's System AgendaVirtualizing an Infrastructure with System p and Linux
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibm System P
System p
The IBM System p is a high-end line of RISC (Power)/UNIX-based servers. It was the successor of the RS/6000 line, and predecessor of the IBM Power Systems server series.
History
The previous RS/6000 line was originally a line of workstations and ...