IBM extends popular high-end x440 server to mid-sized businesses
FINAL PRESS RELEASE: 8/20/02
Contact: Tim Dallman
IBM Corp.
507-253-8838
tdallman@us.ibm.com
IBM Extends Successful "Building Block" Server to Mid-sized Businesses
New Intel processor-based IBM eServer delivers affordable upgrade path;
Four-way configuration outperforms Dell PowerEdge 6600 by 75 percent on
TPC-C benchmark
ARMONK, N.Y., August 21, 2002 ... IBM today extended its popular
"building-block" Intel server architecture with the introduction of an
aggressively priced, highly scalable two-processor eServer system that
offers growing mid-sized businesses the ability to increase computing power
as they need it on a flexible, "pay-as-you-grow" basis.
Building on the success of its high-end eServer x440 Intel-based system,
IBM's new two- or four-way x440 entry model extends the company's proven
Enterprise X-Architecture technology to medium business customers looking
for technology infrastructure that can easily scale as their business grows.
The server offers a modular path that is designed support up to 16-way
scalability, and, in a four-way configuration, delivered industry-leading
performance results for an Intel(r) 32-bit architecture system on the
Transaction Processing Performance Council's TPC-C benchmark.
"Pay-as-you-grow" flexibility
The new x440 server pioneers a flexible approach that allows customers to
purchase a two- or four-way 2.4GHz Intel Xeon Processor-based system that
can easily be upgraded to eight- and 16-way configurations by replacing the
Xeon processors with the Xeon Processor MP.
Introduced earlier this year, the eServer x440 is the result of a three-year
development effort to build an exceptionally powerful Intel processor-based
server using industry-standard technologies that meets the performance,
reliability and scalability requirements of corporate data center customers.
The server offers a highly reliable, building-block architecture that allows
customers to pay for computing power as they need it, and is designed to
support up to 16 processors.
"Customer response to the eServer x440 and its 'pay-as-you-grow' approach
has been so positive that we're extending it to mid-sized businesses,
offering customers a powerful, low-cost system that can grow with their
business," said Deepak Advani, vice president, IBM eServer xSeries. "Our
new highly scalable x440 entry server can deliver outstanding investment
protection and confirms the value of IBM Enterprise X-Architecture
technology, which provides mainframe-inspired performance and reliability at
industry-standard prices."
Performance leadership IBM demonstrated the server's performance leadership
by establishing a new number-one result for a four-way, 32-bit
Intel-architecture system on the TPC-C benchmark.
The x440 entry server achieved 61,168.83 transactions per minute (tpmC) at
$5.14 per tpmC (1), delivering 75 percent more throughput than Dell's
PowerEdge 6600 and 25 percent more than the HP ProLiant DL 580-G2,
Hewlett-Packard's highest four-way TPC-C result on an IA-32-based machine.
The IBM system also delivered a price/performance score that was 21 percent
better than the ProLiant DL 580-G2 (2).
Technology innovation
The new x440 entry server is designed with innovations from Project eLiza
(tm), part of IBM's autonomic computing strategy to deliver self-managing
solutions. The server offers customers self-healing and self-managing
features, including Software Rejuvenation, Active PCI Manager, Rack Manager
and the ability to manage non-IBM systems.
The server ships standard with IBM XceL4 Server Accelerator Cache
technology, which places frequently accessed data close to the processor to
help deliver faster performance; Remote I/O, allowing multiple PCI/PCI-X
adapter slots to be added several yards away from the server via high-speed
interconnect ports; memory mirroring; hot-swappable disk storage; and IBM
Director software for superior reliability and manageability.
The x440 entry server supports Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, as
well as Red Hat Linux Advanced Server and SuSE Linux 8.0, providing
customers application choice and flexibility. Like all IBM eServer
products, the system has been rigorously tested to meet strict IBM and
customer requirements for reliability.
Planned availability for the eServer x440 entry system is August 30, 2002.
Pricing starts at $20,499 (3).
About IBM
IBM offers a full line of servers that embrace industry standards. Powered
by breakthroughs such as microprocessors with copper wiring and
Silicon-on-Insulator technology, IBM servers have captured industry-leading
benchmarks that measure transactions, Web serving capabilities and
performance in software applications. The IBM eServer product line is an
integral part of customized, flexible and scalable Internet solutions for
companies of all sizes. Linux is capable of running on the entire IBM
eServer line. For more information, visit http://www.ibm.com/eserver.
# # #
(1) IBM eServer x440, 61,168.83 tpmC, $5.14/tpmC. Planned availability for
the eServer x440 system is August 30, 2002. Planned availability for the
total system configured for this benchmark result is December 31, 2002. The
system tested used four 2.4GHz Intel Xeon Processors and ran Microsoft SQL
Server 2000 Enterprise Edition and Microsoft .NET Enterprise Server.
(2) Dell PowerEdge 6600, 34,914.92 tpmC, $5.27 tpmC, available June 1, 2002;
HP ProLiant DL 580-G2, 48,911.83, $6.56/tpmC, available July 2, 2002.
(3) Starting price may not include a hard drive, operating system or other
features. Based on U.S. list price for minimum IBM eServer x440 two-way
configuration, effective August 21, 2002. Price does not include tax or
shipping and is subject to change without notice. Reseller prices may vary.
Benchmark results referenced are current as of August 21, 2002. Full
details on these results and a complete list of all TPC results are
available at the Transaction Processing Performance Council Web site at
www.tpc.org.
The IBM eServer brand consists of the established IBM e-business logo with
the descriptive term "server" following it.
IBM, X-Architecture, xSeries and x440 are trademarks or registered
trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.
Intel and Xeon are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation
or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United
States, other countries, or both.
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
TPC-C, tpmC and $/tpmC are trademarks of the Transaction Processing
Performance Council.
All other company/product names and service marks may be trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective companies.
James Greene
Account Executive
Text 100 International
Global Technology Public Relations
236 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301
jamesg@text100.com
Tel: 650.566.2282
Mob: 415.420-2876
www.text100.com
