IBM 88728RU, 88784RU, System x3950 Specifications

IBM System x3950

High-performance, flexible partitioning and mission-critical
availability for database, ERP and server consolidation

Get it now

go to ibm.com/eserver/xseries or call 1 888 ShopIBM

to buy direct or to locate an IBM reseller

Highlights

■

Delivers breakthrough perform-

ance with 64-bit memory

addressability through IBM X3

Architecture, the third genera-

tion of IBM Enterprise

X-Architecture™

■

Supports high-performance,

dual-core 64-bit Intel® Xeon®

Processors MP, and runs

32- and 64-bit applications

simultaneously providing

headroom and investment

protection

■

Features

IBM XpandOnDemand™

scalability, allowing you to

pay as you grow with high-

performance, 64-bit Intel Xeon

Processors MP up to

32 processors

■

Leverages years of IBM virtual-

ization and partitioning expert-

ise and the enterprise-proven

reliability of IBM mainframe

servers

The IBM System x3950 is built on

IBM X3 Architecture that delivers

mainframe-inspired enhancements to

the high-performance x86 server indus-

try. With a balanced focus on providing

breakthrough 64-bit performance and

high availability, the x3950 is designed

for the changing business needs of

enterprise customers—at a low entry

price point.

This flagship System x™ server intro-

duces improved modularity and parti-

tioning with its 3U, 4 CPU, 6 I/O slot

modular building-block design. Starting

with a base two-processor configura-

tion, add CPU, I/O and memory capac-

ity incrementally as your business

needs change, scaling up to 32 proces-

sors across eight chassis. Take advan-

tage of the configuration flexibility of the

x3950 to build the optimal system for

scale-up database and Enterprise

Resource Planning or scale-out virtual-

ization for server consolidation.

With X3 Architecture, IBM asserts

its leadership position in the 8- to

64-processor

1

server industry to deliver

a breakthrough x86 server. The x3950

delivers an unprecedented combination

for an industry-standard server—

pay-as-you-grow scalability, 64-bit

memory addressability, mainframe-

inspired latency reductions and

advanced availability technologies, all at

a price less expensive than comparably

performing RISC/UNIX® systems.

Improved XpandOnDemand modularity

The x3950 offers pay-as-you-grow

modular scalability to meet the diverse

needs of today’s mission-critical appli-

cations. Using the same 3U chassis

(x460) introduced with the single-core,

Intel Xeon Processor MP in June 2005,

this updated server maintains your data

center rack space footprint and pre-

serves compatibility with most optional

server components. The flexibility to

grow an x3950 into a larger SMP con-

figuration helps IT administrators in the

following ways:

●

Leverage the industry’s leading

x86 server available from a major

vendor that scales greater than four

processors with 64-bit Intel Xeon

Processors MP

●

Scale up to 32 processors for better

performance with dual-core

technology

●

With each four CPU addition, six

PCI-X 2.0 slots and up to 16 DIMM

slots are also available

●

Improve utilization with more

flexible, chassis-based partitioning

up to eight x3950 chassis connected

for SMP or arranged into multiple

4-processor, 8-processor and

16-processor partitions

●

Maximum configuration for the

x3950 is 32 processors, 128 DIMM

slots supporting up to 512GB of

memory and 48 PCI-X 2.0 slots

across eight chassis

XpandOnDemand provides a route to

higher performance on Microsoft®

Windows® or Linux® using industry-

standard hardware. Each x3950 can

scale from two processors to four

processors in a single chassis (expand-

ing beyond four processors requires

one or more 3U x3950E enclosures

with matching processors). Grow to

eight processors simply by connecting

two 4-processor chassis, up to

16 processors in four chassis, or up

to 32 processors by connecting eight

chassis. This enables the addition of

CPU, I/O and memory capacity as

your needs change to conform to the

demanding requirements of business-

critical transaction workloads like

virtualization, enterprise resource plan-

ning, customer relationship manage-

ment and database applications.

Breakthrough x86 performance

The x3950 establishes a new standard

for industry-leading x86 performance by

intelligently managing frequently

accessed data. With its mainframe-

inspired snoop filter integrated in the

processor/memory controller, the x3950

intelligently tracks data stored across

the dual front-side bus inside the on-

chip Intel processor caches. An

IBM developed 48Mb embedded

DRAM serves as a cache directory and

improves overall performance by mini-

mizing bus congestion and reducing

latency compared to competing x86

designs. In a multi-chassis deployment,

XceL4v™ Dynamic Server Cache

allows the x3950 to exploit up to

256MB of local memory configured as

virtual Level 4 cache per four CPUs to

mimimize NUMA latencies.

The x3950 supports 64-bit extensions,

turning this x86 server into a data pow-

erhouse ready for the transition to

mainstream 64-bit applications from

proprietary RISC/UNIX servers. The

x3950 supports up to 512GB of total

memory to load entire databases into

main memory for extremely fast trans-

action processing.