IBM Unveils Faster Unix Server

IBM Corp. is to unveil a new server computer today that an analyst says gives the world’s largest computer maker a temporary advantage over two key rivals.

IBM’s pSeries 680, part of the company’s new eServer line, is the most powerful server using the increasingly popular Unix operating system, according to Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM. It’s the first such server to process more than 200,000 transactions per minute, a key industry benchmark, said senior analyst Brad Day with market researcher Giga Information Group.

The pSeries 680, designed for heavy corporate workloads and to run Web sites, compares favorably with servers from Sun Microsystems Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. because the 680 gains memory, speed and chip enhancements that help keep the price down, Daly said.

The IBM server uses 24 chips and can outperform more expensive models from Sun and HP using more than twice as many chips, IBM said in a statement. Sun is the market leader in Unix-based servers.

The fewer the chips, the lower the cost, Daly explained. The chips in the pSeries 680 also will deploy a new insulation technique from IBM researchers, called silicon-on-insulator, that allows copper-based chips to run 30% faster.

The pSeries 680 starts at $420,000 and will be available Nov. 17, IBM said. Shares of IBM rose $5.94 to close at $109.06 in trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.