A Close Look at IBM’s z13s Mainframe for Secure Hybrid Clouds

IBM’s z13s has advanced cryptography features built into the hardware that allow it to encrypt and decrypt data twice as fast as previous generations.

Optimized for hybrid cloud workloads, the new IBM z13s brings the security of data encryption to midsize organizations at twice the speed of previous generations.

The z13s can encrypt and decrypt data twice as fast as previous generations with technologies like the CryptoExpress5S card.

Brian David Flores, cryptographic hardware verification engineer for IBM z Systems, is holding the new z13s microprocessor chip.

The z13s introduces new embedded mainframe security features with advanced cryptography features embedded in every chip core and tamper-resistant hardware-accelerated cryptographic coprocessor cards. William Santiago-Fernandez and Brian David Flores both worked to develop the system’s embedded advanced cryptography in their roles as cryptographic hardware engineers at IBM’s Poughkeepsie, N.Y., site.

Tom Rosamilia, senior vice president of IBM Systems, talks about the new z13s during a press conference at the IBM PartnerWorld Leadership Conference in Orlando. Rosamilia said with the system’s high performance, advanced cryptography and large memory space, it is ideal for blockchain applications. IBM also announced significant investments in blockchain technology this week.

Here’s a model of a prototypical z13s mainframe with its innards displayed in a glass case at the IBM PartnerWorld Leadership Conference.

This image shows a glass-encased z13s mainframe, an IBM DS8880 storage box and a LinuxONE Rockhopper—Linux-only mainframe.

This image depicts an IBM Power systems machine encased in glass.

This image shows an IBM DS8880 storage box. The IBM DS8880 family is powered by the IBM DS8000 enterprise software platform and delivers mission-critical acceleration, availability and integration with IBM servers.