The Wall Street Journal is reporting that IBM will offer a new mainframe, the System z9 BC (Business Class). In fact, as I write this e-mail IBM is announcing this new system -- and more -- in Beijing, China, today. (There's a fast growing Chinese mainframe base, in sites and in sizes, that IBM wishes to highlight.) I have some of the details to share with you. Please note that I am not speaking in an official capacity. Please refer to real documents for the gospel truth. Please also note that MIPS figures are not particularly exact, so use LSPR and other measures to get closer to reality.
UPDATE: The official announcement letters are posted now. Please visit http://www.ibm.com/common/ssi and search on "System z9" to view them. As the Journal reported, the System z9 BC will have a U.S. price starting at $100,000 (model A01). Many customers -- particularly Multiprise 3000 customers -- asked us for a system with a lower acquisition price. We certainly heard, and greater manufacturing economies and efficiencies allow us to pass along a starting price that's half the z890's. I suspect that this entry price will push down the prices of z800 and z890 systems significantly, so there will be a full range of 64-bit mainframes at some extremely low prices. Maybe some of you will start installing them in private basements. (I'm only half joking.) My further suspicion is that these prices will allow more people to try new projects on mainframes. We have also had requests from customers (such as automobile manufacturers with factories) who want reliable systems for their remote facilities, remotely managed. The new System z9 BC (and in some cases prior models) will now be extremely attractive for such work. The System z9 BC has the same small footprint as the z890 and the same affordable starting capacity (approximately 26 MIPS). You can also configure a system exclusively with IFLs for Linux if you wish, as before. However, customers asked for some improvements, and there are many. * The standard memory is still 8 GB, but you can now expand to 64 GB on a single system and at lower prices. Many customers, particularly those running Java and Linux, wanted this higher capacity. * There are an enormous number of capacity steps to satisfy every need. It's smooth, small percentage increases at every step from 26 MIPS all the way up to 1786 MIPS (z/OS, z/VSE, z/TPF, z/VM CMS). And beyond, but more on that in a moment. * A single full speed engine on the System z9 BC is approximately 480 MIPS, i.e. faster than a z990's. * Every System z9 BC has 7 main engines. But in every configuration at least 3 of these engines are reserved for specialty engines (zAAPs, zIIPs, IFLs). Many customers wanted more engines than the z890 and z800. You will not be able to fully expand a System z9 BC to its hardware limits without activating at least three specialty engines. Specialty engines always run at full speed. * The U.S. price for a specialty engine is now $95,000 exclusively on the System z9 BC. (That's a price about 42% lower on a MIPS basis compared to the z890.) You'll find it even easier to get started with Java and/or Linux projects. * The System z9 BC has 10% lower MSU ratings for equivalent LSPR capacities compared to the z890. For any prior models (such as z800) the MSUs are 19% lower. * We have considerably beefed up I/O. The System z9 (including BC) now has 4 Gb FCP/FICON available. And there's a new, lower priced two-port FICON adapter, so you can get started with fast fiber and MIDAW inexpensively. The IBM DS8000 storage products now support 4 Gb. IBM is also announcing the System z9 EC (Enterprise Class) provided in the form of a simple update to the System z9-109. Enhancements include 4 Gb fiber support and, as you asked, subcapacity settings on the first 8 engines. These subcapacity settings will be quite helpful to all of you with small z900 systems and earlier, medium sized systems. The System z9 EC 401 starts at 199 MIPS now (instead of over 600) with fine capacity steps up to approximately 3168 MIPS, then continuing with the 707 model as before up to a 754 model. There is huge overlap between the System z9 BC capacities and the System z9 EC capacities, so you'll have a lot of choice no matter which you decide. IBM is announcing the shipment date for the zIIP which can provide significant benefits for your DB2 Version 8 workloads. That shipment date is the same as the systems themselves: May 26, 2006. Available for order now. The DB2 PTFs to enable your zIIP engine(s) become generally available in June, 2006. A lot of us thought "2006" meant December. Not even close. And if that's not enough, IBM is previewing z/VSE Version 4. I was beginning to wonder whether IBM would modernize z/VSE, and I'm now pleasantly surprised. z/VSE Version 4 will support 64-bit real addressing and, thus, it will require a z/Architecture system to run. (z/VSE 3.1 will be the final release to support the Multiprise 3000.) For those of you who asked for 64-bit support in VSE, it's coming. With a minimum of 8 GB of real storage as far back as the z800 model, this enhancement should be quite useful to the VSE community. IBM is also introducing subcapacity measures with z/VSE Version 4. I think it's safe to say we are all very excited about these announcements. - - - - - Timothy F. Sipples Consulting Enterprise Software Architect, z9/zSeries IBM Japan, Ltd. E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
