IBM Looks to Power Up Its Virtualization Offerings (
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Big Blue is adding more virtualization capabilities to its server
portfolio and expanding the number of systems that support its new
Power6 processor.
IBM is looking to bolster the
virtualization capabilities of both its Power6 processor and its System p
servers with an eye toward selling more systems to small businesses, while
taking away customers from Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems.
The Armonk, N.Y., company announced Jan. 29 a set of virtualization software
applications called PowerVM, which works with the companys System
p servers and its Power processor architecture. The virtualization software
replaces
IBMs Advanced Power Virtualization
technology and adds some new features for small businesses and midmarket
companies.
Big Blue also announced two new entry-level System p serversthe p520 and
the p550and the BladeCenter JS21 server, which support the Power6 processor, a
dual-core chip with a top clock speed of 4.7GHz, first introduced in 2007.
(
IBM has shipped about 4,100 Power6-based
System p and System i servers since mid-2007.)
Since
November, IBM has been talking up both its AIX Unix operating system and
its System p portfolio as viable alternatives for smaller companies.
There are 10 things you should know about virtualization. Find them here.
At the same time,
IBM is looking to move
customers away from Sun, with its SPARC-based systems, and HP, with its line of
servers powered by Intels Itanium chips. To get customers to move away from
its rivals in the Unix market,
IBM is adding
a new set of features to PowerVM, including Lx86, which allows Linux binaries
to run on Power-based systems.
In addition,
IBM is hoping that PowerVM,
along with Live Partition Mobility, which uses Power6 and capabilities built
into the firmware to allow users to move an operating system and application
live from one Unix system to another without interruption, will also appeal to
customers looking to consolidate x86 servers onto a single System p system.
IBM has divided PowerVM into three categories,
including an Express edition that allows a physical server to hold three
different virtual images. The other two versions Standard and
Enterprisesupport
up to 10 virtual environments per processing core.