IBM launches new System z10 Mainframe

IBM has announced the System z10 mainframe, which the company says can help clients create a new enterprise data center.

The system z10 is designed to help increase data center efficiency by improving performance and reducing power, cooling costs, and floor space requirements. It offers high levels of security and automates the management and tracking of IT resources to respond to ever-changing business conditions.

In addition to the z10, IBM also announced it has invested $300 million in architects, technical skills, as well as design and benchmarking centers to help clients transform to a new enterprise data center. Qualified clients can receive free assessment services to prioritize and take action to implement a more efficient, shared and dynamic IT infrastructure.

IBM's next-generation, 64-processor mainframe, which uses Quad-Core technology, is built from the start to be shared, offering greater performance over virtualized x86 servers to support hundreds to hundreds of millions of users.

The z10 also supports a broad range of workloads. In addition to Linux, XML, Java, WebSphere and increased workloads from Service Oriented Architecture implementations, IBM is working with Sun Microsystems and Sine Nomine Associates to pilot the Open Solaris operating system on System z.

From a performance standpoint, the new z10 is designed to be up to 50% faster and offers up to 100% performance improvement for CPU intensive jobs compared to its predecessor, the z9, with up to 70% more capacity.

The z10 is the equivalent of nearly 1,500 x86 servers, with up to an 85% smaller footprint, and up to 85% lower energy costs. The new z10 can consolidate x86 software licenses at up to a 30-to-1 ratio.

IBM is also announcing the immediate availability of DB2 for z/OS Value Unit Edition, which provides a new one-time-charge offering that enables the deployment of new application workloads. This offering strengthens the role of System z as a cornerstone for key business initiatives such as SOA, Data Warehousing, Business Intelligence and packaged applications such as SAP. DB2 for z/OS Value Unit Edition and IBM Information Server enable System z clients to further deliver trusted information for their dynamic warehousing requirements.

In addition, IBM will bring new Master Data Management capabilities to System z in the second half of this year. This will include the InfoSphere Master Data Management Server for Linux on System z, which allows businesses to centrally manage customer, product, and account data for use across an enterprise.