IBM System x3690 X5 Server Takes Java Crown with SPECjbb2005 Benchmark

July 12, 2010

The highest score ever achieved by a two-socket, x86 server on the SPECjbb2005 benchmark has been achieved.

IBM’s System x3690 X5 server, announced in March, clocked 1,015,260 business operations per second on the popular SPECjbb2005, the SPEC benchmark test used for evaluating the performance of servers running typical Java applications.

Designed to lower costs around acquisition, software licensing and storage for enterprise workloads, the results show that the x3690 X5 offers leadership performance for businesses running Java-based workloads.

The x3690 X5, part of the eX5 portfolio of enterprise x86-based systems, is the only scalable two-socket server designed to support critical enterprise applications as well as external memory expansion. The flexible x3690 X5 can double memory capacity -- 3.5-times more memory than competitors’ two-socket machines. Clients no longer have to add another processor simply because they need more memory. As clients’ business demands grow, the scalable x3690 X5 can expand to four sockets. With IBM’s eXFlash high-IOPS storage technology, the x3690 X5 offers the most SSD storage capacity and IOPS in the industry.

The x3690 X5 can significantly reduce acquisition costs while improving performance, allowing users to run 82% more virtual machines for the same licensing costs. Compared to competitive four-socket systems, the two-socket x3690 X5 can support the same number of virtual machines at half the license costs. In database environments, clients can support the same number of users as a competitive four-socket server for half the licensing costs.

The System x3690 X5 can also help to slash storage costs. With the high capacity, high IOPS SSDs and eXFlash storage technology, clients no longer have to purchase large-scale external storage to run their databases. With just one eXFlash SSD pack, users get the same performance as 800 spinning disks, which makes the eXFlash 97% less expensive while requiring just 1% of the power costs. The System x3690 X5 can support up to three eXFlash packs, for a total of 4.8TB and 480,000 IOPS.