Trying to get a better understanding of the IBM AIX hardware.

I was comparing the p650 to the p570.


What does the 4way to 8way to 16way processor mean?





How do the servers get there rperf range?




Also the 570 looks like a lot better server than the 650, do you agree, and is it because the 570 uses the power5 processor vs the power4+ processor?




Thanks in advance,

Boyd

4way - 8way - 16way is how many processors it can have installed at one time. 4way being 4 procs.

Yes, using the power5 proc, the 570 is better. Also, if AIX5.3 is installed, the rperf increases still, because of the way 5.3 talks with the system.

I don't really know how the rperf is calculated, other then it's benchmarking that IBM does.

Hope this helps.

rperf means "ration of performance", an old RS600 system had rperf=1.

"4way - 8way - 16way is how many processors it can have installed at one time. 4way being 4 procs."



Does this mean the server HAS to have 4, 8, or 16 processors, Can it only have 7 processors installed?



TIA,


Boyd

The power5 systems are made of 4-processor chips.
Each system can have 4, or 8 or 16 cpu's.
High end systems have up to 64 processors.
Each Power5 system can be partittionned.
Each partition has the number of cpu you want. 1, 7. With AIx 5.3, your partition can even have 2.38 cpu's!

One other thing to think about when comparing the two servers is the floor space. The p650 is a rack mount server, so it only needs the floor space of an existing rack. Though, the rack space can be considerable depending on your needs.

The p570 (or p 670) is a server unto itself. No rack for it. These servers are quite large consuming relatively the same amount of floor space as a rack.

The bonus to the 570 is it can be partitioned on a non-CPU boundry. For instance, giving only 20% of a CPU to one server, giving 30% to another, and still 50% to a third. You can't do that in a 650, it is limited to cpu partitioning.

Are you sure the p570 is not rack mountable? We just ordered one that is, and the spec sheet we got from our vendor said that all 570s are mountable.

I would say it's price is low compared to the price of an empty rack, but you could pack several of them in a rack...