IBM Launches New HMC for Power 5 Servers

Published: February 20, 2007

by Alex Woodie

Have an i595 on the horizon? Then you'll absolutely need a dedicated Hardware Management Console (HMC) to manage its partitions. Even if you're not in the market for the biggest i5/OS server on the market, you might be interested in the newest rack-mounted HMC model 7310-CR4 announced by IBM last week.

IBM introduced the HMCs for iSeries nearly three years ago when it launched its Power 5-based "Squadron" servers, including the model 520 and model 570 iSeries servers. The HMCs, which before that had been used to manage pSeries and zSeries machines, were needed to eliminate a potential failure point in the way logical partitioning (LPAR) was implemented on the Power5 servers.

Not all System i servers require an HMC. But if you're planning on using IBM's capacity upgrade on demand feature, or run a System i5 Model 595 or a System p5 Model 575, 590, or 595, you will need an HMC to set up and manage the partitions.

The 7310-CR4 features dual core Intel Xeon processors, 1 GB of memory, an 80 GB hard drive, and a DVD-RAM for performing backups. The workstation comes with an external modem, one serial port, two video ports, two integrated Gigabit Ethernet ports, and four USB ports.

The upgraded 7310-CR4 HMC will ship this Friday, February 23. It joins other consoles, including the 7310-C05 desk-side HMC, which is still available. The 7310-CR4 replaces the 7310-CR3, which IBM will stop selling April 27.

The new workstation comes at a base price of $3,800. Included free of charge with this price is the Linux-based HMC itself, pre-loaded with the HMC for Power 5 licensed machine code (as well as the "Made in America" indicator, according to IBM).

However, you'll have to pony up some extra dough for the luxurious add-ons to the 7310 line, such as a monitor ($699 to $1,657 for 15- to 20-inch flat-panel displays), a keyboard ($104), a mouse ($78), a 1.44 MB disk drive ($104), a 6-meter Ethernet cable ($32), redundant 670 watt power supply ($220), or power cord ($18). Altogether, these items add nearly $1,150 to the cost of the HMC, assuming you go for the meager 15-inch monitor. Of course, if you've already bought an i595, these costs won't add much to the overall sticker shock.

For more information, see IBM Hardware Announcement 107-093.

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