IBM Introduces Single Frame and Rack Mount IBM z16 and IBM LinuxONE 4
Latest servers expand IBM Z offerings to small and medium businesses
Today, IBM announced it is expanding its offerings to a broader range of data center environments, with the introduction of new single frame and rack mount configurations of IBM z16 and IBM LinuxONE 4. The new offerings are designed to provide a modern, flexible hybrid cloud platform to support digital transformation for a range of IT environments.
“With the introduction of these [new configurations], we are really completing the z16 and LinuxONE families,” says Tina Tarquinio, vice president of product management for IBM zSystems and LinuxONE.
The new options will bring the secure, reliable and scalable transaction processing of IBM z16 and LinuxONE to new environments, creating opportunities for IBM partners to expand their offerings to broader audiences—small and medium-sized businesses, in particular. The rack-optimized footprint is designed to be used with client-owned, standard 19-inch racks and power distribution units.
Figure 1. The new z16 configuration; source: IBM
Addressing Today’s Most Pressing Business Challenges
Many of today’s IT leaders face the difficult challenge of solving technical problems without sacrificing budgets and security. Space, sustainability, scalability and standardization are paramount.
The single frame and rack mount configurations are built with these common pain points in mind. “When we talk to [our clients], we hear about their hybrid cloud journeys. We hear that they don’t want to replicate data. We hear that they want to keep their data secure. We hear that it has to be available. So we build all of that into our offering,” Tarquinio says.
IBM Telum Processor
The new single frame and rack mount form factors are built on the foundation of LinuxONE and z16, the industry’s first quantum-safe system. At the heart of those systems is the IBM Telum processor, which features an industry-leading AI accelerator for low-latency inferencing and enables users to build and train their models anywhere, then deploy them directly on IBM Z and LinuxONE.
A Full Stack Approach to Meeting Business Goals
“We really bring a full stack approach with these offerings,” Tarquinio says. “That’s not just from the hardware, firmware and operating system—but all the way through the hybrid cloud, DevOps and how our clients leverage the technology … we understand that the mission-critical data for our clients resides on these systems and we want it to be secure, but also strengthen the hybrid cloud in which they operate.”
The new form factors support the following critical business goals:
1. Sustainability: The single frame and rack mount configurations can potentially reduce a client’s carbon footprint using partition-level power monitoring capabilities and additional environmental metrics. According to IBM, consolidating Linux workloads on an IBM LinuxONE Rockhopper 4 instead of running them on compared x86 servers with similar conditions and location can reduce energy consumption by 75% and space by 67%.
2. Flexibility: The new form factors give clients flexibility in the data center, creating opportunities to work within specific data center design requirements or to colocate services more easily.
3. Security: Leveraging the built-in security of the z16, the new configurations offer security capabilities like confidential computing, centralized key management and quantum-safe cryptography.
4. Reliability: z16 and LinuxONE 4 offer the highest levels of reliability in the industry—with 99.999999% availability, the single frame and rack mount configurations will help support mission-critical workloads, now in a smaller form factor.
5. Edge computing: The smaller configurations also support edge computing requirements, making rack utilization more efficient where space is limited.
z16 and LinuxONE Technical Support
“This is a full IBM announcement. We partner with IBM Research, with IBM Security, with Consulting, really across the board. I think it makes us unique … because the technology is really great, but our clients need to deploy it,” Tarquinio says. “[That’s why] we’ve been thoughtful in the steps they have to take—so not just bringing the technology, but also creating a thoughtful way for them to adopt and deploy it, all the way from test through production.”
To help clients with their LinuxONE Rockhopper 4 deployments, IBM is offering IBM Expert Care, which integrates and prepackages hardware and software support services into a tiered support model to reduce risk and regular maintenance costs.
Tarquinio says, “I am really thrilled that our industry-leading technology will be available in a wide range of options so that it’s really available to all of our clients through all of our partners.”
Read the press release or Tarquinio’s blog to learn more about the new IBM z16 and LinuxONE Rockhopper 4 single frame and rack mount options.