IBM rolled out the Power 7 processor in February and is quickly expanding the breadth of product offerings powered by the RISC processor. RISC-based systems are usually very high-end, mission-critical systems, but in this case, IBM has an entry-level play for Power 7 for those who want its performance but not the six-figure price tag that may accompany your typical Power-based server. ServerWatch gets the details.
IBM has added three new blade systems based on its new Power 7 processor and targeted at a wide range of applications, since they’re capable of starting as single-socket entry-level blade systems and scaling up to a multi-socket, many-core system.
In tandem with the new blades, Big Blue also took the wraps off of new operating systems designed to better utilize the processors.
IBM (NYSE: IBM) first introduced the Power 7 processor in February as the successor to its Power 6 line, which has been competitive against Intel’s Itanium and Sun’s Sparc processors. In fact, IBM has been extremely aggressive in pursuing Sun customers, especially during the protracted merger with Oracle.