The new IBM servers can help businesses enhance performance, reduce costs, and manage growing data loads more efficiently. The servers feature Intel's latest Xeon processors and technologies like Turbo Boost that can increase performance while lowering energy costs. Businesses can consolidate servers up to 20 to 1 using the new IBM servers, lowering total IT costs through reduced energy usage, software licenses, and maintenance needs. The servers also offer significant performance gains over previous generations.

1. The new generation of IBM servers can help you enhance performance and reduce costs
May 2011
®
How to Enhance Performance
and Reduce Energy Costs in the
Midmarket with IBM System x
and BladeCenter Systems
By Aditya Jamwal
Mark T. Chapman
IBM Systems and Technology Group

2. How to Enhance Performance and Reduce Energy Costs in the Midmarket
Page 2
Executive Overview
The world economy has pulled out of its worst recession since World War II and will stage a
sluggish recovery in the coming years. Because recovery was largely due to massive public
spending by governments, sentiment among small and medium business owners remains barely
improved over that of a year ago. Cash positions have improved, but doubts over the
sustainability of the recovery continue to linger. Yet a more robust turnaround is still somewhere
off in the future. Small and midsized companies are continuing to defer hiring, as business
owners are not yet confident enough about the economy to add employees.
Recent economic conditions have changed the way that businesses operate. At the same time,
the world is becoming smarter—more instrumented, interconnected, and intelligent. Midsized
businesses have to manage increasingly large data pools and a customer base with higher
expectations, without spending more on IT. IBM delivers leading technology solutions—smarter
systems built for a smarter planet, which provide leadership quality, service and value to such
businesses.
In business, growth is good. Having technology and infrastructure capable of keeping up with
growth is even better. Finding the right servers to meet your needs both today and tomorrow can
be the key to sustaining that growth. More than simply equipment, servers are the foundation of a
dependable IT infrastructure.
IBM has announced a new generation of x86 servers—System x® and BladeCenter® systems and
other supporting options—offering an unbeatable combination of performance, value, storage,
and energy efficiency designed to help you improve service, reduce costs and manage risk. The
new servers include:
• System x3650 M3, x3630 M3, x3620 M3, x3550 M3, and x3250 M3 rack servers
• System x3500 M3, x3400 M3, and x3200 M3 tower servers
• BladeCenter HS22 and HS22V blade servers
These new servers feature the Intel® Xeon® Processor 5600 Series, the next generation of
intelligent server processors. With these new servers you gain the benefits of proven reliability,
breakthrough performance and the operational advantages of using advanced server technology
developed specifically for small and medium businesses.
This paper shows how these new x86 servers, by integrating advanced technologies like IBM
Systems Director Active Energy Manager™ and the IBM Integrated Management Module (IMM),
offer an outstanding platform for virtualization and consolidation. Moreover, it’s a platform that’s
easy to use and manage, allowing you to lower total cost of ownership, reduce development
costs, increase performance within the same energy and cooling envelope and with continued
investment protection, and dramatically increase workload performance.
Server Refresh: A Smart Choice
Your servers have done the job so far, but you’re seeing the strains of outdated technology,
having to manage multiple systems and locations, and the growing footprint of piecemeal server
management. Updated servers can also enhance the performance of new applications or
operating systems. You need to make the right choices with your limited IT budget. With IBM
servers based on the latest Intel Xeon processors, your business will have the headroom to
handle bigger data loads and more people, while delivering the performance that your customers
and business demand. And you can do so with fewer servers, not more.
Updating your servers can offer you:

3. How to Enhance Performance and Reduce Energy Costs in the Midmarket
Page 3
• Optimal support for the latest applications
• New hardware with warranty support
• The ability to consolidate servers through virtualization, to save space, run quieter, and
simplify management
• Reduced total cost of ownership due to lower maintenance costs, more efficient energy
usage, fewer software licenses, and less downtime
Dramatically Reduce Costs
A longtime leader in the data center market, IBM uses a comprehensive understanding of
customers’ evolving computing needs to continually produce new, standards-setting offerings
across an array of product classes. Among the company’s leading-edge products are the System
x3650 M3 and System x3550 M3 rack servers. Featuring innovative and energy-efficient designs,
simplified IT management, and dramatic improvements in performance and function, the x3650
M3 and x3550 M3 set new cost-efficiency standards for the x86 processor-based server market.
As IT professionals evaluate options for x86 server upgrades and additions, Technology Business
Research (TBR), an independent information and market research firm, found that efficiency and
an ability to reduce costs over the life of the server are key criteria in decision making in addition
to reliability, product availability and management capabilities. Users are increasingly focused on
how new infrastructure can help lower costs and improve operations versus the pure horsepower
that a server offers. To that end, IBM focused its development on key feature areas that enable
customers to lower costs or drive more utilization, ultimately painting a picture of high ROI. IBM’s
System x lineup offers further benefits as the machines are part of IBM’s fabric of solutions, which
include IBM software, IBM System Storage®, IBM Global Financing, and IBM Global Services.
This allows customers to maximize their returns by tailoring their broader IT infrastructures,
including their System x servers and adjunct devices, software and services, to solving their
specific business needs.
Additionally, an IBM engineering research study showed that IBM’s new rack servers can reduce
annual energy costs by more than $100 per year per server over previous x3550 and x3650
models through innovative, energy-smart designs and simplified management. Integrating two
Xeon 5600 series processors with Intel QuickPath Technology and Intel Turbo Boost Technology,
the IBM servers deliver dramatic performance improvements over previous generations, while
also offering low acquisition cost. Dramatic performance gains and new virtualization solutions
can offset the initial outlay in fewer than 3 months1.
Designed to be growth engines for expanding businesses, the x3500 M3 and x3400 M3 tower
servers are dual-socket servers equipped with Xeon Processor 5600 series processors. These
are designed to offer high reliability as well as extraordinary performance and outstanding power
efficiency to help reduce costs. Figure 1 shows the x3650 M3, which makes possible the dramatic
server consolidation by replacing 5-year-old rack and tower servers with the new System x
servers. (The x3400 M3, x3500 M3, and x3550 M3 servers offer the same kind of consolidation
potential as the x3650.)
1
Based on detailed IBM analysis.

4. How to Enhance Performance and Reduce Energy Costs in the Midmarket
Page 4
Figure 1. IBM System x3650 M3 Rack server offers 20-to-1 consolidation
In addition to the energy savings enabled by the more efficient processors, the new IBM servers
also support 1.5V DDR3 memory, which is 15% more energy-efficient than the older DDR2
memory (and even more so than fully-buffered memory), as well as 1.35V DDR3 memory, which
is 19% more efficient than even 1.5V DDR3 memory. With servers now containing as much as
288GB of RAM, this energy savings is significant. Also, the servers incorporate more efficient
power supplies (up to 93% efficiency), transistors, and voltage regulator modules (up to 88%) that
help reduce energy costs, along with 2.5-inch HDDs that use up to 80% less energy than 3.5-inch
drives, and solid-state drives (SSDs) that consume only 2W of power. In addition, integrated
BladeCenter 10Gb Ethernet switches can be more than 95% more energy efficient than external
2
switch offerings . Finally, IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager provides you with the
tools necessary to monitor actual energy usage (not simply the theoretical maximum power
draw), track trends, and even cap energy usage at a predetermined point.
From a management standpoint, to use features beyond that of the standard Baseboard
Management Controller (BMC) in the older servers, you had to spend several hundred dollars to
purchase an IBM Remote Supervisor Adapter II. Now, that functionality (such as remote
management and IPMI 2.0) is incorporated inside the new IBM Integrated Management Module
3
(IMM), standard in the new servers .
Dramatically Increase Workload Performance
Get great performance, energy and cost-efficiency, and plenty of room to grow and virtualize in
the future with the next generation of IBM x86 servers based on the Xeon 5600 series
processors. These servers offer you maximum performance for heavy workloads, while reducing
energy consumption when workloads are light. It all adds up to intelligent performance that keeps
energy costs low.
Application performance is critical for day-to-day business operations, as well as for creating new
products and services, increasing competitiveness, and reaching new customers. For the past
2
Based on the integrated BladeCenter BNT L2/3 10Gb Ethernet per-port power consumption of 3.1W and external Cisco Catalyst
6500 L2/3 10Gb Ethernet per-port power consumption of 94.3. 3.1/94.3 = 3.3. 100-3.3 = 96.7% savings.
3
The x3200 M3, x3250 M3, x3400 M3, x3550 M3, and x3650 M3 require an optional Virtual Media Key (VMK) to enable the remote
presence features of the IMM. The VMK is standard in the x3500 M3. The HS22 and HM22V do not require a VMK for remote
presence.

5. How to Enhance Performance and Reduce Energy Costs in the Midmarket
Page 5
decade, IT has rapidly added low-cost hardware to accommodate business growth, and many
data centers are now stretched to capacity in terms of power, cooling, and floor space. By
refreshing your data center infrastructure with higher performance, more adaptive, power-
conscious servers, you can deliver additional capability and scalability within the same energy
and space footprint, staying ahead of ever-increasing business demands.
The Xeon 5600 series processors bring together a number of innovative technologies to deliver
intelligent performance. New features include:
• Intel Turbo Boost Technology4 — Turbo Boost dynamically turns off unused processor
cores and increases the clock speed of the cores in use, by up to two model frequencies. For
example, with three cores active, a 3.33GHz 6-core X5680 processor with 3-6 cores active
can run the cores at 3.46GHz. With only one or two cores active, the same processor can run
those cores at 3.6GHz. Similarly, a 3.46GHz 4-core X5677 processor can run at 3.6GHz or
even 3.73GHz. When the cores are needed again, they are dynamically turned back on and
the processor frequency is adjusted accordingly.
• Intel Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel HT) — HT lets today’s well-threaded applications
make the most of every clock cycle. Multi-threaded software applications can execute threads
in parallel within each processor core.
• Intel QuickPath Technology — Along with the integrated memory controller, Intel QuickPath
Technology helps speed traffic between processors and I/O controllers for bandwidth-
intensive applications. With the Xeon 5500/5600 series processors, Intel has diverged from
its traditional Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP) architecture to a Non-Uniform Memory
Access (NUMA) architecture. The Xeon 5600 series processors are connected through a
serial coherency link called Intel QuickPath Interconnect (QPI). QPI is capable of 6.4, 5.6 or
4.8 GT/s (gigatransfers per second), depending on the processor model. This allows the new
servers to deliver as much as 25.6 GB/s—up to 3.5x the bandwidth of previous-generation
servers.
As a result of these and other improvements, the 5600 series processors offer up to 54% more
performance than a same-frequency Xeon 5500 processor, or the same performance with up
to 30% less energy consumption5.
Dramatically Increase Performance with Continued Investment Protection
Rack and tower servers are not the only area to benefit from new-generation technology. The
BladeCenter HS22 and HS22V blade servers also offers great performance, balanced with
flexible configuration options and simple management. All together, this creates an efficient
server designed to run a broad range of workloads exceptionally well.
You can also mix-and-match the HS22/HS22V with other BladeCenter blades and various
operating systems in existing chassis, including the BladeCenter S and BladeCenter H, for
unmatched investment protection, incredible flexibility and deployment choice. And with features
like Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), the IBM Integrated Management Module
(IMM), and IBM Systems Director you can further simplify systems management and future-proof
your infrastructure. Compared to earlier-generation Xeon processor-based servers, HS22/HS22V
blade servers can help improve the economics of your data center with:
6
• Up to 99% IT footprint reduction from server consolidation
4
Intel Turbo Boost Technology Is not available in all models of Intel Xeon processor 5600 series.
5
Based on Intel data.
6
Data center floor space cost estimate used is $500 per square foot, average 8 square feet per standard enterprise 42U rack. IT
footprint compares 1U per rack server vs. 0.5U per HS22/HS22V blade. 14 HS22/HS22V blades in 9U (.21 of one 42U rack)
BladeCenter H chassis provides equal or greater performance than 310 x346 2U rack servers inside 14.76 rack enclosures, for a
savings of 14.55 racks or 98.5%. In terms of floor space that would save approximately 117 sq. ft. (613U). (Realistically, in most
data centers 2U rack servers cannot be populated that densely, due to air flow and power issues. So the IT footprint savings would
be even greater for BladeCenter H.)

6. How to Enhance Performance and Reduce Energy Costs in the Midmarket
Page 6
• Up to 96% reduction in energy costs from server consolidation7
• Up to 23X faster performance than 2005-era servers8
In addition, BladeCenter consolidation and integration offers significant benefits over rack
servers:
9
• Up to 28% lower connectivity costs
• Up to 92% fewer cables10
You can use the new performance capability to expand your existing IT infrastructure by reusing
your existing chassis.
Dramatically Increase Performance within the Same Energy Envelope
Midsized companies can now enjoy the dramatic increase in performance with new HS22 blades
without increasing their data center space or energy footprint. Figure 3 illustrates how you can
expand your IT infrastructure without bearing the burden of an increase in power cost. (This
example shows new low-voltage 60W HS22 blades used in a 2005-era BladeCenter E chassis
7
Using a 22.1-to-1 performance ratio of today’s HS22/HS22V to a 2005 xSeries 346 2U rack server, 1 BladeCenter H chassis
containing 14 HS22V blades would provide the computing performance of approximately 310 2U rack servers. 1 BladeCenter H
chassis containing 14 HS22V blade servers consumes an average of 4,382W. 310 2U rack servers consume 119,040W. Thus, the
energy savings for replacing 310 x346 2U rack servers with 1 BladeCenter H chassis is 96.3%.
- HS22/HS22V blade server with "reduced voltage" processor configuration: 2S 6C Xeon X5670 (Intel Turbo Boost Technology up
to 3.33GHz and 12MB cache) with 24GB (12 x 2GB) of DDR3 PC3-10600R memory, and 1 SSD; average power draw with
chassis burden = 313W under load, SPECjbb2005 = 875,369 bops.
- x346 2U rack server: 2S 2C Intel Xeon (2.8GHz 2MB cache) with 8GB (8 x 1GB) and 1 HDD; average power draw = 384W under
load, SPECjbb2005 = 39,585 bops.
8
Performance and energy savings calculations are based on actual SPEC results and IBM estimate of SPECint_rate2006:
Rack to blade comparisons:
2011 HS22/HS22V to a 2005 xSeries 346 2U rack server SPECjbb2005 ratio = 23.1-to-1:
- HS22/HS22V blade server configuration: 2S 6C Xeon X5680 (Intel Turbo Boost Technology up to 3.60GHz and 12MB cache)
with 24GB (12 x 2GB) of DDR3 PC3-10600R memory, and 1 SSD; average power draw with chassis burden = 372W under load,
SPECjbb2005 = 915,323 bops
- x346 2U rack server: 2S 2C Intel Xeon (2.8GHz 2MB cache) with 8GB (8 x 1GB) and 1 HDD; average power draw = 384W under
load, SPECjbb2005 = 39,585 bops.
2011 HS22/HS22V to a 2006 System x3650 2U rack server SPECjbb2005 ratio = 7.95-to-1:
- HS22/HS22V blade server configuration: 2S 6C Xeon X5680 (Intel Turbo Boost Technology up to 3.60GHz and 12MB cache)
with 24GB (12 x 2GB) of DDR PC3-10600R memory, and 1 HDD; average power draw with chassis burden = 372W under load,
SPECjbb2005 = 913,456 bops.
- x3650 2U rack server: 2S 2C Xeon 5160 (3.00GHz 4MB cache) with 8GB (8 x 1GB) and 1 HDD; average power draw: 324W
under load, SPECjbb2005 = 114,941 bops.
Blade to blade comparisons:
2011 HS22/HS22V (SPECint_rate2006) vs. 2005 HS20 (IBM estimate of SPECint_rate2006) ratio = 18-to-1:
- HS22/HS22V blade server configuration: 2S 6C Intel Xeon X5680 (Intel Turbo Boost Technology up to 3.60GHz and 12MB
cache) with 24GB (12 x 2GB) of DDR3 PC3-10600R memory, and 1 SSD; total power with chassis burden = 372W under load,
SPECint_rate2006 = 377
- HS20 blade server configuration: 2S 1C Xeon (3.80GHz 2MB cache) with 8GB (4 x 2GB) and 1 HDD; total power with chassis
burden = 280W under load, IBM estimate of SPECint_rate2006 = 21.
2011 HS22/HS22V vs. 2007 HS21 XM (SPECint_rate_base2006) ratio = 6.65-to-1:
- HS22/HS22V blade server configuration: 2S 6C Intel Xeon X5680 (Intel Turbo Boost Technology up to 3.60GHz and 12MB
cache) with 24GB (12 x 2GB) of DDR3 PC3-10600R memory, and 1 SSD; total power with chassis burden = 372W under load,
SPECint_rate_base2006 = 352
- HS21 XM blade server configuration: 2S 2C Intel Xeon 5160 (3.00GHz) with 16GB (8 x 2GB) of DDR2-5300F ECC memory,
and 1 HDD; total power with chassis burden = 319W under load, SPECint_rate_base2006 = 52.9
Source: www.spec.org.
9
Up to 28% lower connectivity costs based on IBM BladeCenter Open Fabric Manager vs. HP Virtual Connect web pricing as of
4/1/11. Configurations include 10 chassis, 2 Ethernet L2/L3 and 2 8Gb Fibre Channel switch modules per chassis, and basic and
advanced functions, including automated failover.
10
Up to 92% fewer networking cables based on calculations of: one 42U rack populated with 4 BladeCenter H chassis populated
with 14 blades each (56 total) supporting 12 I/O ports per blade (672 total ports) requiring a total of 64 cables per rack for 6
integrated switch modules (8 cables from the Virtual Fabric switches and 8 cables from other LAN switches; the VF switches
support both LAN and SAN traffic, so separate SAN cabling is unnecessary). An equivalent 56 1U rack servers populated in 2
rack enclosures supporting 14 I/O ports per server (12 LAN cables and 2 SAN cables connected to corresponding external LAN
and SAN switches) requiring a total of 784 cables. This doesn’t even include the 85% reduction in cabling for power cords (16 per
rack for BCH vs. 112 for 56 1U servers with redundant power).

7. How to Enhance Performance and Reduce Energy Costs in the Midmarket
Page 7
upgraded to a 2000W power supply.)
Figure 2. Replace HS20s 18:1 with HS22s fors up to a 99% reduction in footprint
Summary
IBM, your trusted partner in growth, enables your business growth by offering the right technology
to meet your needs today and tomorrow. With IBM servers based on the latest Intel Xeon
processors, your business will have the headroom to handle bigger workload, more people, and
deliver dramatic performance that your customers and employees demand—with fewer servers
and without impacting too much on your wallet.
For more information, call the concierge Monday through Friday at 1-877-IBM-ACCESS for help
in selecting or enhancing your current infrastructure. After normal business hours or on
weekends, you can leave a message and you'll be contacted the next business day.
Or, visit our IBM Express Advantage™ home page for more information:
ibm.com/jct03004c/businesscenter/smb/us/en/
For More Information
For more information visit:
• Extend Competitive Advantage with Innovative Offerings from IBM System x
http://ibm.com/systems/x/
• System x Unleashed : Reduce Costs While Improving Performance
http://ibm.com/marketing/edocument/stg/en_bladecenter_s_kit/document/
• IBM Express Servers and Storage for Midsize Business
http://ibm.com/systems/in/express/servers/x/index.html
• IBM Case Study : SECAR revs up performance and scalability with IBM BladeCenter solution

8. How to Enhance Performance and Reduce Energy Costs in the Midmarket
Page 8
For More Information
IBM System x Servers ibm.com/systems/x
IBM BladeCenter Server and options ibm.com/systems/bladecenter
IBM System x and BladeCenter Power Configurator ibm.com/systems/bladecenter/powerconfig
IBM Standalone Solutions Configuration Tool (SSCT) ibm.com/servers/eserver/xseries/library/configtools.html
IBM Systems Director Service and Support Manager ibm.com/support/electronic
IBM ServerProven Program ibm.com/servers/eserver/serverproven/compat/us
IBM Technical Support ibm.com/server/support
IBM Configuration and Options Guide ibm.com/servers/eserver/xseries/cog
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XSW03060-USEN-01