Event Summary
[Source: IBM] 10/16/2000
IBM has introduced the eServer pSeries 680 - and announced it will ship the UNIX-based system to customers beginning Nov. 17. Code-named "Turbo," the pSeries 680 has captured eight major performance benchmark records using up to 24 copper microprocessors with IBM's Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) technology. (See IBM Continues RS/6000 Performance Focus.)
Additional features include:
IBM will also make available the ability to cluster up to 16 servers.
Market Impact
For those unfamiliar with the new product line names, the "eServer pSeries" is the new name for the former RS/6000 UNIX product line.
IBM is clearly continuing its assault on Sun. But that's to be expected, with Sun still believed by many to be the leading Web server vendor. IBM's take-no-prisoners attitude is exemplified by their publishing a wide range of performance benchmark data (see Table 1 below), especially in those sections of Table 1 where "Sun has not published" similar data.
The pSeries has a few things to recommend it:
Table 1.
Fastest Web server
7,288 simultaneous connections
Sun has not published
HP - 1,750 simultaneous connections
Most powerful OLTP server
220,807.27 tpmC @$43.30 /tpmC
Sun E10000 64-way 156,873.03 tpmC @ $48.81 /tpmC
HP V2500 32-way 102,025.50 tpmC @ $63.21 /tpmC
Java Performance (2) VolanoMark
(1) SPECjbb2000
Top Java performance for UNIX 133,251 messages per second
56,834 operations per second
Sun results no longer available
HP has not published
HP - 40,192 ops
Best SAP performance
8,570 assembly orders per hour
HP - 2,260 assembly orders per hour
Best Baan performance
11,886 Baan Reference Users (BRU's)
PeopleSoft performance
General Ledger
Payroll
Best PeopleSoft Performance
15,584,416 journal lines
533,546 transactions per hour
One issue which detracts from these figures is the price/performance ratio. This was accomplished with a five-year equipment cost listed in the TPCC report at just under $7 million. Upon closer inspection: we think this is a neat trick, considering that the base cost of the server hardware (again, from the report, and without adding the costs for Oracle or for client hardware) is over $9.3 million. The difference? Deep discount - over $4.5 million. Now, discounts are certainly not un-American. We just wish vendors would maintain an apples-to-apples outlook. (IBM is not the only vendor to offer discounts, they just happen to be the vendor we're writing about today.)
User Recommendations
IBM continues to produce high-performing Unix systems. Customers already using the RS/6000 will appreciate the upgrade path. Of course, these systems aren't cheap, but we're talking about heavy-duty compute requirements, so that's to be expected.
We would not be surprised if Sun started offering discounts, just to steal some of IBM's thunder. Sun's history does not indicate a concern about what IBM does, though.
A key issue for potential customers trying to decide between IBM and Sun is that, currently, there are significantly more software apps available for Solaris than for AIX (IBM's version of Unix). For many customers wanting to have an enterprise-level system, this is a significant issue.
Editor's Note: This article has been modified from its original form since the original publication date.