IBM enhances server with Power 7+ chips

BANGALORE, INDIA: IBM unveiled new technologies across security, cloud computing, data analytics. The offerings include new Power Systems, disk storage system, and software updates for IBM's mainframe computer.

The new Power Systems powered with Power 7+ feature elastic capacity, and business analytics. Developed as a result of over $1.4 billion in R&D investment, IBM's Power Systems, Power 770 and Power 780 servers, come with new hardware and software updates.

The new Power 770 and Power 780 servers feature Power 7+ microprocessor, which according to the company offers a performance boosts of 30 to 40 per cent on application workloads compared with previous versions.

The Power 7+ offers 2.5x L3 cache memory, 'faster' file encryption for IBM AIX operating system, and memory compression.

The Power 795 server can run business analytics by utilizing up to 16 terabytes of memory with new 64GB Dual In Line Memory Modules (DIMM).

In addition, IBM has added several new capabilities to its family of Power Systems servers to help customers build virtualized private cloud or managed service cloud infrastructures. Elastic Capacity on Demand for Power Systems Pools enables the sharing of resources across multiple servers.

IBM solidified two of its high-end storage systems with performance and security updates. The IBM System Storage DS8870 is the newest member of the company's DS8000 family of 'high-density' enterprise class storage systems.

Upgraded with Power7 processors and up to 1TB of system cache, the DS8870 delivers up to three times more performance for transaction processing applications than the current DS8800 model, claims the company in a release.

On the tape storage front, IBM updated its Virtualization Engine TS7700 Release 3, a system that melds virtualization with magnetic tape. The system is an update of the TS7700 Enterprise Virtual Tape Library System.

The new Technical Computing for Big Data solution includes IBM's General Parallel File System (GPFS), a file management platform.

Combining GPFS with the latest IBM Platform Symphony scheduler and application platform, as well as the IBM Intelligent Cluster, delivers enterprise clients a scalable, high performance environment for analytics, adds the release.

IBM also announced software offerings for its new mainframe, zEnterprise EC12, unveiled in August. The new System z comes with IBM's DB2 Analytics Accelerator V3 appliance.

IBM is enabling its CICS (Customer Information Control System), to be developed, delivered and operated in the cloud.

IBM has also come out with a new Security zSecure Suite V1.31.1, which can provide real-time alerts and network behaviour analytics, and managing security audits. Integration with QRadar SIEM (security information and event management) provides enterprise-wide security monitoring, adds the release.

IBM also announced a software defined networking (SDN) controller for its enterprise networking portfolio.

The new IBM Programmable Network Controller provides intelligent software for IBM RackSwitch and other OpenFlow-enabled switches.

Through OpenFlow, people can create virtual networks with the scalability and flexibility required to respond to business changes in cloud and mobile services environments.