
IBM Systems and Technology
Data Sheet
Highlights
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Unmatched flexibility to meet changing
workload demands
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Workload-optimized systems with customizable configurations for target
workloads
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Achieve greater performance and utilization at a lower total cost
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Keep consolidated workloads up and
running with mainframe-inspired
reliability
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Easy-to-own, simplified power and systems management with an energysmart design and remote access
System x®
IBM System x3850 X5
Maximize memory, minimize cost and simplify
deployment
Tailored to your workload demands
With rising costs, increasing workloads and demands for 24x7 availability, there’s no room in your organization for underutilized or unreliable servers. Built on the next generation of enterprise IBM®
X-Architecture® technology and Intel® Xeon® processors, the
IBM System x3850 X5 offers superior performance and unbeatable
reliability within an energy- and wallet-friendly design. Best of all, it
offers ultimate flexibility to help you get what you need, when you
need it.
The new x3950 X5 offers simple-to-deploy, preconfigured systems that
are optimized for specific workloads. These x3950 X5 Database
Optimized Systems offer the right balance of processing power, memory, and high-IOPS storage technology for your database workloads.
x3950 X5 Virtualization Optimized Systems with embedded VMware
vSphere 4.1 come standard with MAX5 for unmatched memory capacity, allowing you to increase the size and quantity of your virtual
machines.
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 customize your system for current needs while
providing the ability to react to changing workloads. Expand your

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IBM Systems and Technology
Data Sheet
System x®
Maximize memory, minimize cost and simplify deployment with the
x3850 X5
4-socket, 64-DIMM x3850 X5 to 4 sockets and 96 DIMMs
or up to 8 sockets and 128 DIMMs. 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.
Do more with your investments
Eight-core processors and expanded memory capacity let you
manage memory-intensive applications with higher utilization
and greater throughput and bandwidth. Consolidate older
4U servers on one industry-leading IBM X-Architecture
eX5 system for a lower total cost. Optimize your investments
with more and larger virtual machines per server and lower
licensing costs, while achieving greater business productivity.
Consolidate with confidence
A long-time leader in reliability, many of the features
IBM pioneered with earlier generations of X-Architecture
have now become industry standards. The x3850 X5 continues to build on this legend, enabling you to consolidate workloads without sacrificing availability—or your peace of mind.
OnForever™ features such as redundant power and cooling
help minimize the potential for catastrophic business
disruption. Other features include enhanced IBM Memory
ProteXion™ for greater data integrity, memory mirroring
and Predictive Failure Analysis for increased system uptime.
Own and operate with ease
Consolidated single points of management and an energysmart design help reduce the time and money needed to run
your system. Advanced light path diagnostics and aroundthe-clock remote access management facilitate ease of use
and proactive problem-solving. In addition, IBM Systems
Director Active Energy Manager™ helps monitor, measure
and manage power consumption to lower the energy draw
and costs.
Select configurations of the x3850 X5 are part of the
IBM Express Advantage® Portfolio designed to meet the
needs of midsized businesses. Easy to manage, Express®
models and configurations vary by country.

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IBM Systems and Technology
Data Sheet
System x®
IBM System x3850 X5 at a glance
Form factor/height
Processor (max)
Number of processors
(std/max)
Cache (max)
Memory (max)
Expansion slots
Disk bays (total/hot-swap)
Maximum internal storage
Network interface
Power supply (std/max)
Hot-swap components
RAID support
Systems management
Operating systems supported
Rack/4U per chassis
Intel Xeon up to 2.26 GHz (8-core)/1066 MHz memory access
2/4 per chassis (up to 2 node)
Up to 24 MB
16 GB/1.0 TB max PC3-10600 DDR III
7 total PCI half-length, (2 hot-plug)
8/8 2.5" Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) or 16/16 SAS SSD
4.0 TB SAS per chassis (supports 8 ⫻ 73.4 GB, 146.8 GB, 300 GB and 500 GB hard disk drives or
16 ⫻ 50 GB SSDs)
10 Gbps Fibre Channel over Ethernet Dual Channel Converged Network Adapter plus integrated dual Gigabit
Ethernet with TCP-IP off-load engine
1975 W 220 V 2/2
Power supplies, fans, hard disk drives and solid-state-drives
Integrated RAID-0, -1; optional RAID-5
Alert on LAN 2, Automatic Server Restart, IBM Systems Director, IBM ServerGuide™, Integrated Management
Module (IMM), light path diagnostics (independently powered), Predictive Failure Analysis on hard disk drives,
processors, VRMs, fans and memory, Wake on LAN, Dynamic System Analysis, QPI Faildown
Microsoft® Windows Server® 2008 (Standard, Enterprise and Data Center Editions 32-bit and 64-bit), 32- and
64-bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux® , SUSE Enterprise Linux, (Server and Advanced Server), VMware ESX
Server/ESXi 4.0
Limited warranty 3-year customer replaceable unit and onsite limited warranty

For more information
World Wide Web
U.S.
ibm.com/systems/x/
Canada ibm.com/ca/en/systems/x
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March 2010
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