Power10 and the Impact of Upgrading
Recently, after settling into a new home, I upgraded my cable modem and router. I was fine with the internet service I had, but for the same cost, I was able to go from ~100Mbps to ~1000Mbps download speeds. Obviously those numbers may vary depending on your connection (wired versus wireless), your equipment, and the interference from other wireless devices in your area, but rest assured, upgrading is worth it. Browsing is faster. Moving large files around is faster. The overall experience is better, and the difference is very noticeable.
The same thing happened earlier this year when I upgraded my phone. I had no complaints about the old phone, but the improved performance was strikingly apparent once I made the change.
That's the basic story of technology and its impact. The devices we use day to day serve us very well, and may do so for years on end, but once you finally make the move, you're immediately reminded how quickly technology advances. As I've noted previously, it really sneaks up on you:
“So maybe you need a new laptop. Or maybe it’s time to look at your infrastructure and consider upgrading your hardware and software. Again, I was fine chugging along as I was, but now with the snappier performance, I realize what I was missing out on. I also can’t count the number of times I’ve seen IBM Power Systems users react similarly to the performance of new hardware. Yes, everyone has budgets, but what is it worth to your organization when response times are better, jobs complete faster and more work is being done with fewer cores?”
Upgrading to Power10
With that, let's talk Power10. The entire server portfolio, both enterprise and scale-out, is now available. As you would expect, the performance has significantly improved yet again. Do you think you'd notice the difference if your servers were upgraded?
Here's the IBM press release. In addition, I received this IBM email that provides basic details:
Today we are announcing the rest of the Power10 server family; the scale-out Power S1014, Power S1022, Power S1024, and the midrange Power E1050. These new systems, built around the Power10 processor, have twice the cores and memory bandwidth of the previous generation to bring high-end advantages to the entire Power10 product line.
IBM Power S1014
The IBM Power S1014 is a 1-socket, 4U Power10-based server for IBM AIX, IBM i, and Linux workloads, and has 57% more performance per core and 20% more memory bandwidth compared to the Power S914. Reduce physical data center footprints and lower your cooling and electrical costs by doing more with less. The Power S1014 is ideal for IBM i, Oracle Database SE, AI inferencing, and more. Learn more about the Power S1014 and tour a virtual demo.
IBM Power S1022
The IBM Power S1022 is a 2-socket, 2U server for IBM AIX, IBM i, and Linux workloads, and has 37% more performance per core and 2.4X more memory bandwidth compared to the Power S922. It is available in either a single chip model, the Power S1022s, or dual chip model, the Power S1022. The Power S1022 is ideal for distributed computing, DevOps, dev/test environments, and more. Learn more about the Power S1022 and tour a virtual demo.
IBM Power S1024
The IBM Power S1024 is a 2-socket, 4U server for IBM AIX, IBM i, and Linux workloads and has 33% more performance per core and 2.4X more memory bandwidth compared to the Power S924. With double the number of cores compared to Power9-based servers, you can lower your cooling and electrical costs by consolidating more workloads onto fewer servers. Users can also further optimize and reduce costs by taking advantage of flexible consumption models and only paying for what they use. Learn more about the Power S1024 and tour a virtual demo.
IBM Power E1050
The IBM Power E1050 is a 4-socket rack server optimized for data-intensive applications and hybrid cloud deployments. Enhanced security with transparent memory encryption and production-ready AI at the point of data enable faster insights for clients. Scaling is consistent across private and public cloud environments with flexible consumption options for users. Learn more about the Power E1050 and tour a virtual demo here.
If you want to go further in-depth, here are some things I've come across, starting with this blog post by Ken King, General Manager, IBM Power:
“We introduced the IBM Power10 high-end server last September and we are continuing to broaden the portfolio with a major launch of four new systems today: the scale-out Power S1014, Power S1022 and Power S1024, along with a midrange server, the Power E1050. These new systems, built around the Power10 processor, have twice the cores and memory bandwidth of the previous generation to bring high-end advantages to the entire Power10 product line.”
For other perspectives on the new servers, start with this very website, which has an announcement feature and Lifetime Champion Jaqui Lynch's analysis.
Nigel Griffiths's summary includes links to IBM Redbooks, rperf numbers and announcements letters. He also has videos, including:
For viewpoints outside of IBM, there's Charles King and The Register.
Finally, bookmark this page on IBM Support. You can select the different models and easily determine which operating systems are supported, along with the minimum and recommended levels you should be running. Power10 is just the latest addition; you'll find information on previous Power processors. I check this info all the time.
The new servers can provide quite a performance boost, particularly if you're running on pre-POWER9 hardware. When you do choose to migrate, be prepared to be pleasantly surprised.