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IBM System x3850/x3950 X5

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Highlights

  • Impressive flexibility to meet changing workload demands
  • Balanced systems for virtualisation, database and enterprise workloads
  • Workload-optimised systems with customisable configurations for target workloads
  • Achieve greater performance and utilisation at a lower total cost
  • Keep consolidated workloads up and running with mainframe-inspired reliability
  • Easy-to-own, simplified power and systems management with an energy-smart design and remote access.

Tailored to your workload demands

With rising costs, increasing workloads and demands for around-the-clock availability, there’s no room in your organisation for underperforming, underutilised or unreliable servers. Built on the latest generation of IBM® Enterprise X-Architecture technology and Intel processors, the IBM System x3850 X5 offers superb performance and excellent reliability within an energy- and wallet-friendly design. Best of all, it offers ultimate scalability and flexibility to help you get what you need, when you need it.

You need to get solutions deployed in your data centre and generating returns faster than ever. The x3950 X5 workload-optimised systems are turnkey solutions configured for high performing database or virtualisation environments. Choose among models configured with the right balance of processing power, memory, high performance storage, networking and software for your database application, virtualised or SAP high performance analytics applicance (HANA) environment.

Grow as your business grows

The x3850 X5 server allows freedom of choice with extremely flexible configurations plus memory expansion capabilities. A modular building block design lets you customise your system for current needs while providing the ability to react to changing workloads. Expand from a two processor system up to four processors. Add a second system to create an eight processor system. Start with two memory dual inline memory modules (DIMMs) and expand up to 192 with a dual-node system and two MAX5 memory expansion options. Reallocate resources as your environment changes. The x3850 X5 meets your needs today, while providing an easy, cost-effective upgrade path to change your environment when you’re ready.

Select configurations of the x3850 X5 are part of the IBM Express Portfolio designed to meet the needs of small and midsized businesses (SMBs). Easy to manage, Express models and configurations vary by country.

Product features

  • High memory capacity, processor scalability and storage options for ultimate flexibility and choice
  • Expand memory by an additional 50 percent with MAX5
  • IBM eXFlash high performance, high reliability solid-state storage technology
  • Workload-optimised x3950 X5 models for database or virtualisation
  • Support for integrated Emulex 10 gigabit Ethernet (GbE) Virtual Fabric Adapter with capability for upgrades to fibre channel over Ethernet (FCoE)
  • Built on the latest IBM X-Architecture with fifth generation eX5 chipset design enhancements
  • Easy upgrade path and pay-as-you-grow expansion offer greater investment protection
  • Greater performance with higher utilisation, throughput and bandwidth for virtualisation and enterprise applications
  • Advanced service and remote management capabilities for greater ease of use and improved productivity
  • Power-optimised, energy-smart design for enhanced performance per watt

Hardware summary

  • Two- to 4-processor, 4U rack-optimised enterprise server with Intel Xeon processors
  • Ten-core, 8-core and 6-core processor options with up to 2.4 GHz (10-core), 2.13 GHz (8-core) and 1.86 GHz (6-core) speeds with up to 30 megabyte (MB) L3 cache
  • Scalable from 2-processor sockets and two DIMMs to 8- processor sockets and 128 DIMMs (with two systems)
  • Optional MAX5 32-DIMM memory expansion
  • Sixteen x 1.8 in. Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) SSDs with eXFlash or 8x 2.5 in. SAS or serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) HDDs
  • Seven PCIe x8 high performance input/output (I/O) expansion slots
  • Optional embedded hypervisor

Feature Benefits
Flexible, balanced design for scalability, memory expansion
  • Freedom to choose the right balance of processing power and memory capacity for your workloads
  • Flexibility to scale your platform up or out as workload demands change
Fifth generation IBM X-Architecture chipset design combined with the latest Intel Xeon processor E7 product line
  • Maximise memory
    • Twice the memory capacity of x3850 M2, and expandable by an additional 50 percent with MAX5
    • More virtual machines
    • Larger virtual machines
    • Bigger databases and faster database performance
    • Improved server utilisation
  • Minimise cost
    • More virtual machines on one platform
    • Reduce software licensing costs with higher performance per processor
    • eXFlash SSD technology designed to improve database performance and reduce database storage and energy costs
    • Reduce certification/testing costs with simplified deployment
    • Buy the capacity you need when you need it
  • Simplify deployment
    • Preconfigured workload optimised systems for faster deployment and faster time to value
    • Reduce qualification time with a single architecture
    • Scalability from 2 to 8 processors
    • Ability to expand memory, central processing unit (CPU) and I/O independently
IBM MAX5 for System x
  • Expand memory by an additional 32 DIMMs for a total of 96 DIMMs, up to 3.0 TB, in a 4-processor system. 50 percent more memory can deliver more VMs, larger VMs and larger, faster databases
Exclusive IBM eXFlash high performance SSD technology
  • Up to 3.2 TB high performance, high reliability internal SSD storage
  • Improve performance and reduce space, energy and hardware costs by consolidating spinning HDDs to SSDs
Available Emulex integrated 10 gigabit Ethernet (GbE) Virtual Fabric Adapter delivering Line Rate 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) performance with TCP Offload and capability for future upgrades to fibre channel over Ethernet (FCoE)
  • 10 GbE removes bottlenecks to network traffic to maximise data centre capability
  • TCP Offload Reduces CPU utilisation by up to 31 percent freeing the system to handle greater application workloads or more VMs
  • Upgradeability to FCoE provides an easy path to convergence, reducing hardware capital expenditure costs and operating expenditure management costs
IBM Systems Director
  • Increased uptime, reduced costs and improved productivity via advanced server management capabilities
  • Simplified management including around-the-clock remote management capability
  • Improves server availability by continuously monitoring your system and notifying you of potential system failures or changes
IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager
  • Advanced power notification, control and monitoring to help achieve lower heat output and cooling costs
Power-optimised, energy-smart design
  • Promotes greater energy savings in the data centre
Hot-swap, redundant, rear-access power supplies
  • Increase system and application uptime by eliminating another single point of failure (SPOF) with a second hot-swap power supply
  • Access power supplies from the rear of the system
  • Improved usability with rear chassis accessibility, allowing you to remove the power supplies without having to pull the system from the rack
Light path diagnostics
  • Provides information on failing components without interrupting system operations
  • Provides a lighted path to failing components inside the system
  • Speeds hardware repairs to reduce service time
Predictive Failure Analysis (PFA)
  • Detects when components are operating outside of set thresholds or are approaching historical failure thresholds
  • Helps you increase uptime by enabling you to receive proactive alerts in advance of failure
Redundant array of independent disks (RAID)-0, -1 and -1E (optional RAID-5 and -6 with battery-backed cache)
  • Enhanced system availability and data protection by supporting SSDs with advanced RAID capabilities
Optional embedded hypervisor
  • Embedded hypervisor technology to simplify adoption and deployment of industry-leading third-party virtualisation solutions
  • New, system-friendly thin hypervisor architecture can help optimise virtualisation performance
  • Integrated into server hardware, the hypervisor can provide compatible, pretested and optimised hardware configurations
Hot-swap redundant components
  • Allow the server to continue operating in case of fan, power supply, HDD or SSD failure
  • Replace components without taking your server offline or out of the rack
Memory reliability features through IBM Active Memory
  • Enhanced error recovery with Chipkill memory, Memory ProteXion and memory mirroring to help maintain data integrity
Integrated dual port GbE
  • Provides increased network throughput and redundancy with efficient slot-saving integration
OS flexibility
  • Choice of Windows® Server, 64-bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux® (RHEL) and SUSE Enterprise Linux, (Server and Advanced Server), VMware vSphere Hypervisor

Form factor/height Rack/4U per chassis
Processor (max) Intel Xeon up to 2.4 GHz (10-core)/1066 MHz memory access
Number of processors (std/max) Two/four per node (optional 2-node support)
Cache (max) Up to 30 megabyte (MB)
Memory (std/max) 32 gigabyte (GB)/2.0 terabyte (TB) max PC3-10600 double data rate (DDR)3L, up to 3.0 TB with MAX5
Expansion slots Seven total PCIe half-length
Disk bays (total/hot-swap) 8/8 2.5 in. Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) or 16/16 SAS solid state drive (SSD)
Maximum internal storage 4.8 TB per chassis (supports 8 × 73.4 GB, 146.8 GB, 300 GB, 500 GB and 600 GB SAS hard disk drives (HDDs), 8 × 160 GB and 500 GB SATA HDDs, or 16 × 50 GB and 200 GB SSDs)
Network interface 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) Dual Channel Converged Network Adapter, integrated dual Gigabit Ethernet with TCP-IP off-load engine (TOE), 10 Gbps Ethernet
Power supply (std/max) 1975 W 220 V 2/2
Hot-swap components Power supplies, fans, HDDs and SSDs
Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) support Integrated RAID-0, -1; optional RAID-5, -6
Systems management Alert on local area network (LAN) 2, Automatic Server Restart, IBM Systems Director, IBM ServerGuide, Integrated Management Module (IMM), light path diagnostics (independently powered), PFA on HDDs, processors, VRMs, fans and memory, Wake on LAN, dynamic system analysis (DSA), QuickPath interconnect (QPI) Faildown
Operating systems supported Microsoft® Windows® Server 2008 (Standard, Enterprise and Data Centre Editions 64-bit), 64-bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux® (RHEL), 64-bit SUSE Enterprise Linux, (Server and Advanced Server), VMware vSphere Hypervisor
Limited warranty Three years customer replaceable unit and on-site limited warranty

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