Bangkok – April 23, 2009: IBM Thailand unveiled new generation of Intel Xeon processor 5500 series-based System x™ servers and software that would equip Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with the strength to brave the current economic challenges while being able to more easily roll out virtualized computing and significantly reduce growing operating costs with higher performance, simplified management and increased utilization.
With the current economic downturn, many SMEs find it a mandatory task to reduce cost, improve their operation efficiency as well as enhance their competency in order to survive and beat the economic recession. In order to achieve this objective, many SMEs realize that they need to be equipped with the powerful tools and one of them is the right IT solutions that are efficient yet affordable and easy to manage. With this requirement of SMEs in mind, IBM has put tremendous effort by leveraging state of the art technologies used in designing data centers for large corporation and deployed them in BladeCenter and System x, the IBM’s Intel-based servers, to create a dynamic infrastructure for SMEs. In addition, in order to help enable a more dynamic infrastructure, IBM’s four new x86 rack servers and blades feature unique designs – such as lower wattage requirements – that can slash energy costs up to 93 percent. At the same time, the new System x servers boast double the compute performance in some models, and support more memory, storage and I/O to help customers of all sizes ease the transition to highly efficient virtualized computing resources. System x blades and racks lead the industry with 96GB to 1TB memory options.
“The current economic downturn has sent seismic tremor throughout every segment of the business and SMEs are no exception. This has pushed them to the point where they all need to take whatever action that can help them beat the crisis and survive. With this challenge in mind, SMEs need to be equipped with the right tools that can help them save cost, improve operation efficiency and also enhance their competitiveness. Obviously, the efficient yet affordable and cost-saving IT solution is one of those tools” said Tanapong Ittisakulchai, Country Manager, Systems and Technology Group, IBM Thailand Co., Ltd. “With the launch of the new generation of IBM BladeCenter and System x, our range of Intel-based servers, today, we are strongly confident that it would equip SMEs with the strength to weather the current economic storm and help them achieve their business objectives in the long run.” added Mr. Tanapong.
In addition to the hardware innovations, IBM also announced new management software to complement Systems Director 6.1, which enables clients to automatically manage virtual and physical assets across platforms. IBM Power Systems, System z, storage and non-IBM x86 servers are all supported, with a potential cost savings in management costs of up to 44 percent.
New IBM Servers: Lower Ownership Costs Through Innovation
This new generation of System x technology maximizes the power and performance with a new generation of intelligent server processors – the Intel® Xeon® Processor 5500 series.
IBM BladeCenter HS22
A no-compromise blade with breakneck speed, the two-socket IBM BladeCenter HS22 offers outstanding performance, flexible configuration options and simple management in an efficient server designed to run a broad range of workloads. Among other features, the completely revamped HS22 features three times as much memory as its predecessor, which allows the HS22 to process twice as many transactions per minute. In fact, customers can achieve as high as a 11-to-1 consolidation ratio migrating older rack and blade servers onto HS22 blades, while saving over 93 percent in energy costs alone. In addition, two hot-swap internal storage bays offer customers a choice of SAS, SATA, or solid state options. The HS22 offers best-in-class reliability and is fully compatible with all BladeCenter enterprise and office chassis, protecting the investments customers have already made in BladeCenter.
IBM System x3650 M2 and x3550 M2
Built with all-new, energy-smart designs to simplify power distribution and reduce energy loss, these two-socket enterprise servers feature lower wattage, highly efficient power supplies exceeding the “80 Plus Gold” standard, counter-rotating fans, altimeters, and advanced power management. These innovations translate into reducing energy consumption and lowering annual energy costs for a single enterprise class data center. They also feature outstanding performance delivering computing speeds up to 6.4GT/s, design redundancy and unique security options.
Systems Management Leadership
IBM Thailand today also announced key system management upgrades designed to complement its new generation of x86 systems and help IT managers orchestrate the unique workload demands of modern businesses.
IBM Systems Director 6.1
The new IBM Systems Director 6.1 provides powerful tools for managing both physical and virtual resources and features an easy-to-use, web-based interface with integrated wizards/tutorials, such as Systems Director Active Energy Manager. It delivers broad cross-platform support including IBM Power Systems, System z, storage and non-IBM x86 servers, with a potential cost savings that can reach 34.5 percent for Windows servers and 43.8 percent for Linux x86 servers.
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)
IBM is offering next-generation BIOS -- the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) – to provide a consistent BIOS across its portfolio and to allow for more detailed remote-configuration options.
Integrated Management Module (IMM)
The Integrated Management Module (IMM) combines diagnostics, virtual presence and remote control to manage, monitor, troubleshoot and repair from any corner of the world. Its standards-based alerting also enables “out-of-the-box” integration into enterprise management environments and provides a single firmware stack for all IMM based systems.
IBM ToolsCenter
The IBM ToolsCenter initiative simplifies the acquisition and usage of single system management tools with a single webpage to acquire tools. It establishes a common look and feel across the entire tool set, this maximizes efficiency and reduces training cost. The latest addition to the ToolsCenter portfolio, IBM bootable media creator is used to create custom bootable media (CD, DVD or USB key) with updates for clients systems.