IBM delivers first X3-based server

Claiming a significant breakthrough in server-based computing, IBM this week will unveil its first Intel system based on its X3 architecture, along with a customized chip set that allows it to support as many as 32 single- or dual-core Xeon chips.

The newly minted IBM eServer xSeries 366 — the first in a series of dual-core-capable Intel servers coming this year — features built-in technical “hooks” designed to support IBM’s Virtualization Engine and to ease server consolidation. The system also runs 32- and 64-bit applications on the same platform, thereby allowing users to migrate to a 64-bit environment gradually, IBM said.

The server uses a new chip set, code-named Hurricane, which adheres to the PCIX (PCI Extended) 2.0 specification and offers significantly more bandwidth capacity than the PCI 1.0 standard, said Tom Bradicich, CTO of xSeries and BladeCenter servers at IBM.

“We could not find the reliability, performance, and scalability customers are asking us for in a commodity chip set. But by pooling our technical resources, … we have an architecture that can deliver those capabilities,” Bradicich said.

Some analysts believe the Hurricane chip set and X3 architecture are a technical breakthrough that could benefit corporate buyers and apply pressure to IBM’s server competitors, most notably Dell and Hewlett-Packard.

“This is big news for the x86 market because now there are fewer components doing more powerful work, which translates into lower costs, better workloads, and hopefully a better deal,” said Vernon Turner, group vice president at IDC.

In developing the chip set, IBM officials feel they have solved the long-standing problem of making industry-standard memory faster, which improved overall system performance.

“A processor is like a three-piece suit with the chip, the memory, and the I/O. With Hurricane on X3, we have made each of these better because the chip set acts as glue and as an intercommunications mechanism among all three parts,” Bradicich said.

The built-in virtualization hooks support present and future versions of Linux and Windows, including Microsoft’s long-hyped Longhorn, due in late 2006.

The xSeries 366, available in late March, will ship with four processors. Throughout 2005, IBM plans to deliver other X3-based, Xeon-based systems containing eight, 16, and 32 chips with either single or dual cores.

The Xeon chips in the upcoming system have EM64T (Extended Memory 64 Technology) memory addressing, which serves to leverage the marriage of the Hurricane chip set and the latest processing capabilities of the Intel x86. The combination of these technologies boosts system performance by 35 percent when a maximum of 64GB of memory is used.