IBM goes after Intel, AMD with Linux-only server
OpenPower for your rack
Posted in Servers, 21st January 2005 19:03 GMT
Free whitepaper – Reliability analysis of the APC Symmetra MW Power System
IBM looks set to make a new, lower-end addition to its line of Power-based servers designed to run the Linux operating system, The Register can reveal.
IBM has put the two-processor OpenPower 710 up for sale in the UK. (IBM kindly pulled the linked web site down about an hour after this story first appeared. Thankfully, there is still a cached version here.) The sample configuration for the rackmount system shows it running on 1.65GHz Power5 chips. The new box will fit in below the four-processor OpenPower 720 released last September.
If notes floating about on IBM partner sites are correct, the OpenPower 710 will officially be unveiled on Jan. 31. It looks like IBM will drag executives from Red Hat and Novell in front of its partners as part of the product release.
IBM offered up Linux as an option on its standard Power servers for some time before heading in this specialized Linux-only route. The OpenPower systems don't have all the bells and whistles found on standard Power-based servers designed to run AIX. This lets IBM keep the price of the OpenPower boxes low, making them competitors to x86-64-bit systems running on Intel and AMD chips as well as rivals' RISC kit.
All of the speeds and feeds for the OpenPower 710 can be found here - cached for your convenience. ®
Related stories
HP takes on RISC with Itanium 2 gambit
Euro AMD Opteron server demand slows
AMD to gain market share in 2005
HP confirms that Itanium is Intel's responsibility
Free whitepaper – Fundamental Principles of Generators for Information Technology

Enabling the Agile Data Center
Straight Talk with Dell: Sending out an SaaS
New storage architectures make SSDs more cost-effective
Dell PowerEdge R710 solution vs. Dell PowerEdge 2850 solution
Analyst Keynote: The Register Agile Data Center Summit

Vint Cerf mods Android for interplanetary interwebs
Adaptec CEO on the ropes after dreadful results
Boffins working on biodegradable flexi LED implants
Nvidia taps Transmeta team for x86 chip, claims analyst