"Essentially, this is a server that customers won't outgrow. That's especially important for database customers, who find it very painful to migrate," added Bretzmann.
The x455 mimics the capability found in current IBM servers based on Intel's 32-bit Xeon chips, including the chip set that the Armonk, N.Y.-based computing giant developed: the Enterprise X Architecture. EXA--once code-named 'Summit' and part of both the new x455 and the older 32-bit, Xeon-powered x440--boosts I/O performance and includes such features as hotswap memory and automatic failover. The EXA chip set is a result of work IBM conducted to bring the same sort of scalability and reliability once limited to mainframes into the Intel server universe, said Bretzmann.
Prices for the x455 start at $21,199. The x455 will come with Windows Server 2003, or Linux from Red Hat or SuSE Linux, the company recently acquired by Novell.
In other server-related news, IBM on Monday also announced a new option kit for the eServer x445 that upgrades that Xeon-based server's remote-management capabilities.
The Remote Supervisor Adapter II now supports servers based on the IBM XA-32 chip set, allows control of the server from any Web browser, and includes virtual CD and virtual floppy-disk capabilities, said IBM.
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