5 Characteristics of IBM iSeries
Posted by Crystal Nichols on Mon, Jun 14, 2010 @ 06:13 AM
If you’ve been running in solely Windows and/or Linux environments, you may be ready to move up to a more robust solution. For more than 20 years, IBM i series has provided solutions not only to larger and medium sized businesses, but to small businesses as well.
Here are some things you should know about IBM i series if you’re thinking about making a move:
1. IBM i Series Uses an Object-Based Kernel
IBM i series has always been created using an object-based kernel. This means that you will find some features in the IBM i series that you won’t find in other operating systems, such as single level storage. In turn, these features provide increased stability and security for your enterprise.
2. IBM i Series has Broad Integrated Component Offerings
There are a number of core operating system functions that come with the IBM i series. They include web application servers and web services servers, a fully integrated file system, DB2 for i RDBMS (relational database management system), as well as other tools. In fact, the integrate components can perform over 300 tasks, from backup and recovery to operations to communications and security.
3. IBM i series Provides Efficient Administrator interfaces
When you’re running a Windows or Linux environment, you often need a wide range of tools from a variety of vendors to get the most from your systems administration efforts. With IBM i series, you can rely on IBM autonomic technologies to perform many mundane tasks, and can sue a streamlined interface for the rest of your administration needs.
4. IBM i Series Lets You Have Fewer Physical Servers
Virtualization technologies, such as PowerVM, mean that you don’t need as much hardware cluttering up the data center. This, in turn, reduces the complexity of administration as well as your energy costs. You can balance your workloads across all of your system resources, including processor, memory and I/O. You just can’t do that as evenly on an x86 server. In turn, you’ll experience a significant increase in your overall capacity.
5. IBM i Series Offers More Efficient Partitioning
VMware, Hyper-V and Xen have their limitations. Chief among them is that their virtualization techniques are software-based, rather than firmware-based. This means that your workload management features aren’t going to be integrated as closely with your partitioning, leading to a degradation of performance. To get the most bang for your partitioning buck, you need a firmware virtualization solution, and IBM i series offers you just that.