Disk and Selected Memory Prices Chopped on Power Systems

April 18, 2011 Timothy Prickett Morgan

As part of the Power Systems server upgrades last week, which The Four Hundred discusses elsewhere in this issue, IBM cut prices on disk drive features used on the platforms. Memory features used on PS7XX blade servers and conversions of memory cards from the DDR2 type used in Power 570 and 595 servers, which are based on Power6 chips, to features used in Power 770 and 795 machines, which are based on Power7 chips and use DDR3 memory, were also reduced.

In announcement letter 311-047, IBM cut the price on the 139.5 GB disk features used on various Power Systems machines supporting the OS/400 and i operating systems by 37.6 percent, to $498. The price of the 283 GB drives used for the OS/400 and i operating systems were cut by 24 percent, to $4798 and are now the same price that Big Blue was charging for the 139.5 GB disks. These disks are all 2.5-inch, 15K RPM disk drives, and the same prices and price cuts were made available for the equivalent 146.8 GB and 300 GB disks that are formatted for IBM’s AIX operating system and Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) as well as for Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

IBM also cut the prices on the fatter and older 3.5-inch disks used in Power Systems machines. The price on the 428 GB, 15K RPM SAS drives in the 3.5-inch form factor was cut by 18.7 percent, to $1,300, while the price on the 283.7 GB unit is down 17.4 percent to $950. Now, if you want the larger and hotter disks to expand your existing disk arrays, you have to pay a premium over the smaller drives for a given capacity.

Here’s a table showing all of the disk and memory price changes and the machines for which various features had their prices chopped:

Power	Feature		Old	New	Percent
Server	Number	Description	Price	Price	Change
8202	1885	300 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 720)	$1,050	$798	-24.0%
8202	1886	146.8 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 720)	$798	$498	-37.6%
8202	1888	139.5 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 720, IBM i)	$798	$498	-37.6%
8202	1911	283 GB, 10K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 720, IBM i)	$1,050	$798	-24.0%
8202	3648	300 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 720)	$1,150	$950	-17.4%
8202	3649	450 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 720)	$1,599	$1,300	-18.7%
8202	3658	428 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 720, IBM i)	$1,599	$1,300	-18.7%
8202	3678	283.7 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 720, IBM i)	$1,150	$950	-17.4%
8202	7519	Quantity 150 of Feature 3678	$172,500	$142,500	-17.4%
8202	7538	Quantity 150 of Feature 3658	$239,850	$195,000	-18.7%
8202	7564	Quantity 150 of Feature 3648	$172,500	$142,500	-17.4%
8202	7565	Quantity 150 of Feature 3649	$239,850	$195,000	-18.7%
8203	1885	300 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 520)	$1,050	$798	-24.0%
8203	1886	146.8 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 520)	$798	$498	-37.6%
8203	1888	139.5 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 520, IBM i)	$798	$498	-37.6%
8203	3648	300 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 520)	$1,150	$950	-17.4%
8203	3649	450 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 520)	$1,599	$1,300	-18.7%
8203	3658	428 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 520, IBM i)	$1,599	$1,300	-18.7%
8203	3678	283.7 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 520, IBM i)	$1,150	$950	-17.4%
8203	7519	Quantity 150 of Feature 3678	$172,500	$142,500	-17.4%
8203	7538	Quantity 150 of Feature 3658	$239,850	$195,000	-18.7%
8203	7564	Quantity 150 of Feature 3648	$172,500	$142,500	-17.4%
8203	7565	Quantity 150 of Feature 3649	$239,850	$195,000	-18.7%
8204	1885	300 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 550)	$1,050	$798	-24.0%
8204	1886	146.8 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 550)	$798	$498	-37.6%
8204	1888	139.5 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 550, IBM i)	$798	$498	-37.6%
8204	3648	300 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 550)	$1,150	$950	-17.4%
8204	3649	450 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 550)	$1,599	$1,300	-18.7%
8204	3658	428 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 550, IBM i)	$1,599	$1,300	-18.7%
8204	3678	283.7 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 550, IBM i)	$1,150	$950	-17.4%
8204	7519	Quantity 150 of Feature 3678	$172,500	$142,500	-17.4%
8204	7538	Quantity 150 of Feature 3658	$239,850	$195,000	-18.7%
8204	7564	Quantity 150 of Feature 3648	$172,500	$142,500	-17.4%
8204	7565	Quantity 150 of Feature 3649	$239,850	$195,000	-18.7%
8205	1885	300 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 740)	$1,050	$798	-24.0%
8205	1886	146.8 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 740)	$798	$498	-37.6%
8205	1888	139.5 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 740, IBM i)	$798	$498	-37.6%
8205	1911	283 GB, 10K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 740, IBM i)	$1,050	$798	-24.0%
8205	3648	300 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 740)	$1,150	$950	-17.4%
8205	3649	450 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 740)	$1,599	$1,300	-18.7%
8205	3658	428 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 740, IBM i)	$1,599	$1,300	-18.7%
8205	3678	283.7 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 740, IBM i)	$1,150	$950	-17.4%
8205	7519	Quantity 150 of Feature 3678	$172,500	$142,500	-17.4%
8205	7538	Quantity 150 of Feature 3658	$239,850	$195,000	-18.7%
8205	7564	Quantity 150 of Feature 3648	$172,500	$142,500	-17.4%
8205	7565	Quantity 150 of Feature 3649	$239,850	$195,000	-18.7%
8231	1885	300 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 710/730)	$1,050	$798	-24.0%
8231	1886	146.8 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 710/730)	$798	$498	-37.6%
8231	1888	139.5 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 710/730, IBM i)	$798	$498	-37.6%
8231	1911	283 GB, 10K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 710/730, IBM i)	$1,050	$798	-24.0%
8231	3648	300 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 710/730)	$1,150	$950	-17.4%
8231	3649	450 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 710/730)	$1,599	$1,300	-18.7%
8231	3658	428 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 710/730, IBM i)	$1,599	$1,300	-18.7%
8231	3678	283.7 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 710/730, IBM i)	$1,150	$950	-17.4%
8233	1885	300 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 750)	$1,050	$798	-24.0%
8233	1886	146.8 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 750)	$798	$498	-37.6%
8233	1888	139.5 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 750, IBM i)	$798	$498	-37.6%
8233	1911	283 GB, 10K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 750, IBM i)	$1,050	$798	-24.0%
8233	3648	300 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 750)	$1,150	$950	-17.4%
8233	3649	450 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 750)	$1,599	$1,300	-18.7%
8233	3658	428 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 750, IBM i)	$1,599	$1,300	-18.7%
8233	3678	283.7 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 750, IBM i)	$1,150	$950	-17.4%
8233	7519	Quantity 150 of Feature 3678	$172,500	$142,500	-17.4%
8233	7538	Quantity 150 of Feature 3658	$239,850	$195,000	-18.7%
8233	7564	Quantity 150 of Feature 3648	$172,500	$142,500	-17.4%
8233	7565	Quantity 150 of Feature 3649	$239,850	$195,000	-18.7%
8234	1885	300 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 550)	$1,050	$798	-24.0%
8234	1886	146.8 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 550)	$798	$498	-37.6%
8234	1888	139.5 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 550, IBM i)	$798	$498	-37.6%
8234	3648	300 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 550)	$1,150	$950	-17.4%
8234	3649	450 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 550)	$1,599	$1,300	-18.7%
8234	3658	428 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 550, IBM i)	$1,599	$1,300	-18.7%
8234	3678	283.7 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 550, IBM i)	$1,150	$950	-17.4%
8234	7519	Quantity 150 of Feature 3678	$172,500	$142,500	-17.4%
8234	7538	Quantity 150 of Feature 3658	$239,850	$195,000	-18.7%
8234	7564	Quantity 150 of Feature 3648	$172,500	$142,500	-17.4%
8234	7565	Quantity 150 of Feature 3649	$239,850	$195,000	-18.7%
8236	1885	300 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 755)	$1,050	$798	-24.0%
8236	1886	146.8 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 755)	$798	$498	-37.6%
8236	3648	300 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 755)	$1,150	$950	-17.4%
8236	3649	450 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 755)	$1,599	$1,300	-18.7%
8236	7564	Quantity 150 of Feature 3648	$172,500	$142,500	-17.4%
8236	7565	Quantity 150 of Feature 3649	$239,850	$195,000	-18.7%
8406	8208	8 GB DDR3 memory stick pair (PS7XX blade)	$799	$506	-36.7%
8406	8209	16 GB DDR3 memory stick pair (PS7XX blade)	$1,899	$993	-47.7%
8492	1885	300 GB disk (Smart Analytics System 7700)	$1,050	$798	-24.0%
8493	1885	300 GB disk (Smart Analytics System SV2)	$1,050	$798	-24.0%
9117	1885	300 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 570/770)	$1,376	$1,045	-24.1%
9117	1886	146.8 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 570/770)	$1,045	$652	-37.6%
9117	1888	139.5 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 570/770, IBM i)	$1,045	$652	-37.6%
9117	1911	283 GB, 10K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 570/770, IBM i)	$1,376	$1,045	-24.1%
9117	3648	300 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 570/770)	$1,507	$1,244	-17.5%
9117	3649	450 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 570/770)	$2,094	$1,703	-18.7%
9117	3658	428 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 570/770, IBM i)	$2,094	$1,703	-18.7%
9117	3678	283.7 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 570/770, IBM i)	$1,507	$1,244	-17.5%
9117	7519	Quantity 150 of Feature 3678	$226,050	$186,600	-17.5%
9117	7538	Quantity 150 of Feature 3658	$314,100	$255,450	-18.7%
9117	7544	Quantity 150 of Feature 1888	$156,750	$97,800	-37.6%
9117	7547	Quantity 150 of Feature 1885	$206,400	$156,750	-24.1%
9117	7548	Quantity 150 of Feature 1886	$156,750	$97,800	-37.6%
9117	7557	Quantity 150 of Feature 1911	$206,400	$156,750	-24.1%
9117	7564	Quantity 150 of Feature 3648	$226,050	$186,600	-17.5%
9117	7565	Quantity 150 of Feature 3649	$314,100	$255,450	-18.7%
9119	1885	300 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 595/795)	$1,390	$1,045	-24.8%
9119	1886	146.8 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 595/795)	$1,056	$652	-38.3%
9119	1888	139.5 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 595/795, IBM i)	$1,056	$652	-38.3%
9119	1911	283 GB, 10K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 595/795, IBM i)	$1,390	$1,045	-24.8%
9119	3648	300 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 595/795)	$1,522	$1,244	-18.3%
9119	3649	450 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 595/795)	$2,116	$1,703	-19.5%
9119	3658	428 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 595/795, IBM i)	$2,116	$1,703	-19.5%
9119	3678	283.7 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 595/795, IBM i)	$1,522	$1,244	-18.3%
9119	7519	Quantity 150 of Feature 3678	$228,300	$186,600	-18.3%
9119	7538	Quantity 150 of Feature 3658	$317,400	$255,450	-19.5%
9119	7544	Quantity 150 of Feature 1888	$158,400	$97,800	-38.3%
9119	7547	Quantity 150 of Feature 1885	$208,500	$156,750	-24.8%
9119	7548	Quantity 150 of Feature 1886	$158,400	$97,800	-38.3%
9119	7557	Quantity 150 of Feature 1911	$208,500	$156,750	-24.8%
9119	7564	Quantity 150 of Feature 3648	$228,300	$186,600	-18.3%
9119	7565	Quantity 150 of Feature 3649	$317,400	$255,450	-19.5%
9125	1885	300 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 575)	$1,390	$1,045	-24.8%
9125	1886	146.8 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 575)	$1,056	$652	-38.3%
9179	1885	300 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 595/795)	$1,376	$1,045	-24.1%
9179	1886	146.8 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 595/795)	$1,045	$652	-37.6%
9179	1888	139.5 GB, 15K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 595/795, IBM i)	$1,045	$652	-37.6%
9179	1911	283 GB, 10K SAS 2.5-inch disk (Power 595/795, IBM i)	$1,376	$1,045	-24.1%
9179	3648	300 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 595/795)	$1,507	$1,244	-17.5%
9179	3649	450 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 595/795)	$2,094	$1,703	-18.7%
9179	3658	428 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 595/795, IBM i)	$2,094	$1,703	-18.7%
9179	3678	283.7 GB, 15K SAS 3.5-inch disk (Power 595/795, IBM i)	$1,507	$1,244	-17.5%
9179	7519	Quantity 150 of Feature 3678	$226,050	$186,600	-17.5%
9179	7538	Quantity 150 of Feature 3658	$314,100	$255,450	-18.7%
9179	7544	Quantity 150 of Feature 1888	$156,750	$97,800	-37.6%
9179	7547	Quantity 150 of Feature 1885	$206,400	$156,750	-24.1%
9179	7557	Quantity 150 of Feature 1911	$206,400	$156,750	-24.1%
9179	7564	Quantity 150 of Feature 3648	$226,050	$186,600	-17.5%
9179	7565	Quantity 150 of Feature 3649	$314,100	$255,450	-18.7%

On the memory front, the 8 GB DDR3 memory for the PS700, PS701, and PS702 machines announced last year were cut by 36.7 percent, to $506. This is actually a pair of 4 GB, low-voltage (1.35 volt) memory sticks that go into the blade, which requires memory to be added by twosies. The 16 GB memory feature for these blades (a pair of 8 GB memory sticks) now costs $993, down 47.7 percent.

On the high-end of the line, IBM is cushioning the blow of upgrading from a Power 570 or Power 595 server using Power6 processors to a Power 770 or Power 795 using Power7 chips. On these machines, you have to buy the base memory card (the 595 and 795 boxes) or combination processor/memory module (the 570 and 770 machines), which has memory chips preinstalled. You then pay IBM to activate capacity on these cards and make it available to processors. IBM was trying to get away with charging a flat fee, converting 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB, and 16 GB activations to 1 GB activations. That didn’t fly well, obviously, particularly among the largest customers with the fattest configurations.

Before the price change last week, it cost $221 to convert 2 GB of DDR2 memory on the old box to an activation for 1 GB on the new cards; that price has been cut by 11 percent, to $196. Converting 4 GB of activated DDR2 memory on the old box to 1 GB of activated DDR3 memory on the new box now costs $147, down 33 percent. Converting 8 GB of activated memory on the Power6 boxes to 1 GB of memory on the Power7 boxes now costs a mere $49, and if you have 16 GB activations, IBM will let you have that 1 GB activation for free now.

Call me an advocate for the customer, but I think a 16-to-1 conversion is pretty stingy, particularly when IBM controls the secondhand market for Power Systems gear (more or less) and will be able to turn around and sell these memory modules and the memory cards they plug into for a nice, tidy profit.