IBM Flex System

Go beyond blades.

A no-compromise infrastructure integrating
compute, storage, and networking resources.

Flex System Announcement video (00:09:26)

Simplicity. Flexibility. Control.
And lower management costs.

Meet the sophisticated demands on your infrastructure
with IBM Flex System.

Learn why Clabby Analytics believes it’s
the best blade offering available

IBM Flex System™ is a revolutionary step forward in blade server-based IT infrastructure – a clean-slate design for today’s increasingly virtualized, heterogeneous data centers. Offering the ability to custom build and tune a configuration to meet your specific requirements, it’s one of the most advanced blade servers available today. Featuring Intel® Xeon® processors, IBM Flex System is the right fit for your IT infrastructure.¹

Simplicity. IBM Flex System is designed from the ground-up for fast, simple integration with a single management tool for all physical and virtual resources. Easily integrate compute, storage, and networking to support your most demanding IT solutions.
Flexibility. Take advantage of a flexible and open choice of architectures, hypervisors, operating systems, storage, and networking technologies – all within the same chassis.
Control. IBM Flex System Manager™ provides single-pane-of-glass management over the entire system via management integration of physical and virtual compute, storage and networking resources, from a single vantage point, enabling you to automate administration functions across multiple, heterogeneous resources.²

With IBM Flex System, the elements that make up IBM PureFlex™ System, you can build your own system to meet your unique IT requirements with a set of no-compromise compute, storage, networking and systems management components.

Learn more about IBM Flex System

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¹ Based on IBM testing and documented in IBM System x Virtualization Server Consolidation sizing methodology. IBM Flex System x240 supports 2.7X more Peak Utilization Virtual Machines (VMs) than previous generation BladeCenter HS22V.

² Based on IDC White Paper "The Economics of Virtualization: Moving Toward an Application-Based Cost Model," Michelle Bailey, November 2009, http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/Virtualization-application-based-cost-model-WP-EN.pdf (PDF, 216KB)

Optional IBM Flex System storage node available fourth quarter 2012.

IBM, the IBM logo, PureFlex, IBM Flex System Manager and IBM Flex System are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. For a current list of IBM trademarks, see www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml. Intel, the Intel logo, Xeon, and Xeon Inside are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. ©International Business Machines Corporation 2012. All rights reserved.

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New components and capabilities to help you go beyond blades

Starting with an innovative chassis designed for new levels of simplicity, flexibility, integration, reliability, and upgradability, IBM Flex System can help you go beyond blades. With a broad range of x86 and IBM POWER compute nodes, the new Flex System V7000 storage node, enhanced networking capabilities and improved system management capabilities, you can upgrade your existing blade infrastructure or build your own system and make your IT simpler, more flexible, more open, and more efficient.

IBM Flex System

Go beyond blades with the latest enhancements to Flex System.

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How IBM Flex System Manager compares

See how Flex System Manager compares versus a competitor.

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IBM Flex System

You know your business and your IT needs. You want to build a solution tuned for your applications and services. You need the most advanced blade system in the market, a flexible architecture to support your needs today –and tomorrow. And you need simple, integrated management to keep operational costs down. But you also want a no-compromise design and long-term investment protection.

If you need to transition or migrate an existing blade infrastructure to simplify management and improve performance and flexibility, IBM Flex System can meet your needs. IBM Flex System technology delivers the performance and flexibility you need now and is designed to support multiple generations of future technologies.

The next evolution of blade technology is here.

	Compute nodes are blades without compromise Options from price-optimized entry nodes to nodes providing maximum performance for your most demanding applications Available with the latest processors and industry-leading memory capability for Intel processor-based systems Available with the latest Intel processors and industry-leading memory capability for x86 based systems - up to 50 percent more memory than HP¹
	Storage capabilities optimized for efficiency and performance Up to 300 percent more dedicated storage for compute nodes compared to Dell² Real-time Compression reduces capacity needs and IBM Easy Tier automatically optimizes data on the tiered storage in the node
	Networking capabilities designed for virtualization and cloud Ethernet options to fit into your current infrastructure while supporting next generation capabilities - up to 200 percent more networking bandwidth than HP³ Fibre Channel switches ranging from low-cost 8Gb solutions to highly scalable 16Gb switches for maximum performance
	Management integration with IBM Flex System Manager Simple user interface and automation capabilities helps you bring new components online faster Cross resource integration to manage applications and workloads instead of components