IBM Offers Decent Rebates on Model 820s with Linux

by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Customers have to buy a pretty hefty configuration of the Model 820 server to get the rebates, of course. You spend more, you get a little bit of a break. The Model 820 servers have to be configured with logical partitions, and customers have the option of installing Red Hat Linux 7.1 for iSeries, SuSE Linux Enterprise Server for iSeries, or Turbolinux 6.5 for iSeries on the machines. Customers can buy as many Model 820s as they want under this deal, provided that they are production, not demonstration, machines. The deal is in effect in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean geographies for machines acquired after March 26.

IBM is offering three different Model 820 configurations as part of this deal. All of the machines come with a base 256 MB of main memory. The first configuration is a uniprocessor Model 820-0150, which has a 600 MHz S-Star processor with 2 MB of L2 cache memory that is rated at 1,100 server CPWs of performance, and which has no interactive performance (but is incapable of having it added at a future date, so be careful). This base machine has a list price of $44,000. To this, customers must add 1 GB of main memory, six 17.54 GB or six 35.2 GB disk drives, a PCI RAID disk controller, a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet adapter, a DVD-RAM drive, and OS/400 with logical partitions and Linux enabled. This configuration using the less-costly 17.54 GB disk drives, not including the cost of a commercial Linux license and support services for Linux, has a list price of $77,625. IBM is offering a rebate of $11,600 on the machine, which comes to 15 percent off the cost of the configured Model 820-0150. This is a pretty good discount from the MidMarket Server division, but remember that in the Unix-Linux battle out there in the midrange at large, Unix vendors are discounting anywhere from 25 to 45 percent off list price to protect their bases from the onslaught of Linux.

The second configuration eligible for this rebate is a two-way Model 820-0151, which has a 600 MHz S-Star processor configured with 4 MB of L2 cache, and which is rated at 2,350 CPWs of server power; again, no interactive power is available on this machine. This machine must be beefed up with 2 GB of main memory, a dozen disk drives, the same additional features as the previous Model 820 configuration, plus a feature 5157 power supply. This machine using the 17.54 GB disks lists for $136,375, and the $27,200 rebate IBM is offering amounts to a 20 percent discount.

The third configuration is for a four-way Model 820-0152, which also uses the 600 MHz S-Star processor equipped with 4 MB of L2 cache. This machine has 3,700 CPWs of raw server computing capacity. Customers have to add 4 GB of memory, a dozen disk drives, and the same features as the prior configuration to get the $40,000 rebate. This machine lists for $199,205, so that $40,000 rebate comes to a 20 percent discount.

Customers can combine other discounts or deals that they may be entitled to from IBM or its resellers with these Model 820 Linux rebates. IBM says, however, that the Model 820 Linux rebate cannot be combined with discounts or deals that specifically involve the Model 820 server. This latter distinction is silly, and one worth arguing with IBM about. Moreover, customers buying an iSeries and wanting to install production Linux partitions should rightfully point out that they are just as entitled to a similar rebate from IBM, whether they are buying a Model 270 entry server or a Model 840 enterprise server. The Model 820 machines IBM is steering customers toward in the deal are zero-interactive machines, and I think that customers buying any iSeries server--especially those supporting old and new workloads--should be entitled to the rebate.