Power6-Based System i Performance: Your Mileage Will Vary
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Two weeks ago, I walked you through some performance and price/performance comparisons for the new Power6-based System i 570 server, which was announced in July. In that story, I focused on IBM's Commercial Performance Workload (CPW) ratings for the new box as well as on three prior generations of 16-core systems. This week, I will go over some other performance metrics that IBM is making available to help i5/OS and OS/400 shops suss out the amount of work these machines can do. READ MORE >

Performance Per Watt on Power6: Same Thermals, More Work
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

The largest data centers in the world, particularly those that are located on the East and West coasts of the United States or in similarly heavily urbanized areas around the globe that strain their respective power grids, are facing two problems. The first problem is that their data centers are running out of power and cooling capacity to keep servers and their related storage running. The second problem, affecting mostly urban areas on the coasts so far but maybe everywhere on the grid as electricity consumption grows, is that power companies are actually telling corporations that they have to cap their electricity usage. READ MORE >

IBM's Reorg: The Good Me or the Bad Me?
by Brian Kelly

IBM has revamped its marketing organization ostensibly "to better target the small-to-medium-sized business (SMB) market" as stated by corporate executives. The System i division had been part of the IBM Systems and Technology Group (STG). System p division had been part of the STG as well. Neither division exists in the new IBM. Instead, there is one sales group that sells large enterprise customers and another that sells to SMBs. As defined by IBM, SMB means businesses with no more than 1,000 employees. READ MORE >

Mad Dog 21/21: Classical Architecture
by Hesh Wiener

In the 16th century, the Italian architect Andrea Palladio designed buildings that reached back 2,000 years to the golden age of Greece for their inspiration. Two hundred years later, during what would be called the neoclassical period, Thomas Jefferson built Monticello, a tribute to Palladio's work. Even today, classical architecture remains an influence in the construction of buildings that are intended to be monuments to governmental power, educational prowess, or financial strength. Computers have architectures, too, and some of them are indeed classical in their own way. IBM's computer architects, at their best, understand classical aesthetics. READ MORE >