System x is a line of x86 servers produced by IBM, and later by Lenovo, as a sub-brand of IBM's System brand, alongside IBM Power Systems, IBM System z and IBM System Storage. In addition, IBM System x was the main component of the IBM System Cluster 1350 solution. In January 2014, IBM announced the sale of its x86 server business to Lenovo for $2.3 billion, in a sale completed October 1, 2014.

History

Starting out with the PS/2 Server, then the IBM PC Server, rebranded Netfinity, then eServer xSeries and finally System x, these servers are distinguished by being based on off-the-shelf x86 CPUs; IBM positioned them as their "low end" or "entry" offering compared to their POWER and Mainframe products. Previously IBM servers based on AMD Opteron CPUs did not share the xSeries brand; instead they fell directly under the eServer umbrella. However, later AMD Opteron-based servers did fall under the System x brand.

Predecessors

IBM PS/2 Server

IBM PC Server

PC Server range

Numbering scheme

IBM Netfinity

1998–2001 server line; Not to be confused with a software IBM product with a similar name, NetFinity (notice the capital F).

Netfinity range

Numbering scheme

The numbering scheme started off similar to that of the IBM PC Servers, but additional ranges were added, like the entry-level 1000 model later on. Models ending with an R, are rack-mount.

KVM cabling scheme

Some Netfinity servers used IBM's C2T cabling scheme for Keyboard/Video/Mouse.

IBM eServer

IBM eServer range

IBM eServer was a marketing effort to put all of the diverse IBM server platforms under one header. The AS/400 became the IBM eServer iSeries, the RS/6000 became the IBM eServer pSeries, the S/390 mainframe became the IBM eServer zSeries and the Intel processor based IBM Netfinity servers became the IBM eServer xSeries. A few exceptions were however made

Numbering scheme

For marketing reasons the AMD processor based e325, e326 and e326m and the BladeCenter which supports non-Intel processor products were not branded xSeries, but were instead placed directly under the eServer brand. The xSeries brand was limited to only Intel-based server products. From a numbering perspective the AMD servers did fit into the xSeries range, under the similar x335 and x336 Intel processor products. These numbers were not re-used in the xSeries range to prevent confusion.

IBM eServer xSeries

While most servers used Intel x86 (IA32) processors, the x380, x382, x450 and x455 used the Intel Itanium (IA64) processor.

xSeries range

Numbering scheme

KVM cabling scheme

Many xSeries servers used IBM's C2T cabling scheme for Keyboard/Video/Mouse.

System x

IBM System x range

Lenovo System x range

These systems are effectively the same as the previous IBM branded models, but with a Lenovo badge. Lenovo also had its own ThinkServer family of Intel servers. This family is technically less advanced than System x. At the time of this writing, System x is being discontinued and replaced by the Lenovo ThinkSystem family of Intel servers.

Enterprise eX5 architecture

Enterprise X4 architecture

Numbering scheme

2nd digit increments to show capability 3rd digit is a 0 for tower models, and 5 for rack-mount 4th digit is a 0 for Intel processors, and 5 for AMD Opteron. Models with a T at the end are meant for Telco purposes.

IBM iDataPlex

IBM System x iDataPlex, introduced in 2008, was used by many TOP500 supercomputers (as part of IBM Intelligent Cluster), including SuperMUC, Yellowstone and Stampede. Other smaller installations included SciNet Consortium's General Purpose Cluster It is an unusual form-factor in that you have two columns of 19" rack servers side-by-side in a single rack. This rack, unlike traditional racks, however was very shallow which is where the space saving came from for large installations. As such it only supports specially designed shallow servers. It was typically deployed in combination with a Rear Door Heat Exchanger (RDHx) to cool the exhaust heat with water. It was replaced with IBM NeXtScale in 2014.

Components

iDataPlex could be ordered as preconfigured rack tower (System x iDataPlex Rack with optional Rack management appliance), or as independent nodes.

Rack

iDataPlex 100U rack — compact dual rack ((1200x600mm footprint — instead of standard 1280x1050 (2x 42U rack))

Chassis

Chassis also compatible with standard racks (with another rails).

Nodes

1U blade servers.