Fresh off a an impressive quarter for both its server and storage divisions, IBM is wasting no time upgrading kit in preparation for the rest of the year.

First up, IBM has started selling its second Itanium 2-based server - the x382. The server has arrived a month late, but that's no surprise. IBM is a less than enthusiastic supporter of Intel's 64bit chip. Nonetheless, the two processor box is now available with 1.4GHz Itanium 2 processors, up to 16GB of memory and three PCI-X slots.

Along with the high-end kit, IBM is upgrading the low end of its 32bit server line. It has started shipping the x305 server with 3.06GHz Pentium 4 chips. The chip has a 533MHz front-side bus and 133MHz DDR memory - max 4GB. The x305 is a 1U server that can hold up to 240GB of IDE storage or 146GB of SCIS storage. IBM has also started shipping the x205 tower server with the 3.06GHz chips.

IBM's server team posted stellar results in the second quarter. IBM reclaimed its spot as the top server seller worldwide, according to IDC, and boosted sales 10.12 percent. It gained in both Intel and RISC sales.

IBM's storage business also faired well in the second quarter. It drew closer to overall leader HP as revenue rose 10.2 percent. The server and storage groups were clearly able to help each other out during the period.

To help bolster its storage business, IBM has rolled out the TotalStorage Enterprise Tape Drive 3592. The drive has a 300GB capacity and can transfer data at 40MB per second. ®