IBM gets serious about 64 bits

Hoping to accelerate the acceptance of 64-bit technology into the Linux world as well as getting a jump on competitors announcing products at next week's LinuxWorld, IBM on Wednesday unveiled a new server based on AMD's Opteron processor, along with a new version of its DB2 database and DB2-based clustering.

The new IBM eServer 325 with the new software, which will be aimed at companies looking to integrate their e-business infrastructure, is capable of running both 32- and 64-bit applications. Company officials believe this will significantly ease the transition many corporate users will eventually have to make as 64-bit technology becomes more pervasive in the next couple of years.

"This platform should offer a good migration path to 64-bit apps while supporting the legacy 32-bit ones. But we are focused more now on clustering because users are seeing they can gain better price-performance and administrative efficiencies as they cluster dozens and even hundreds of these things together," said Scott Handy, director of IBM's Linux Software Solutions in Somers N.Y.

Handy sees the announcement of the DB2 Integrated Cluster Environment (ICE), which can support as many as two to 1,000 nodes, as the more important announcement for helping the company gain credibility among corporate users who have been waiting for industrial strength Linux-based clustering to finally emerge. He sees the eServer 325-DB2-ICE-based combination going head to head with HP's 64-bit hardware running Oracle's flagship database and clustering environment.

"What is driving Linux's success as we see it is the ability to get Unix-type reliability at Intel-based price points. That one value proposition is resulting in huge savings in some cases. We think we have an advantage there," Handy said.

IBM will also make an integrated offering of the new products available called the eServer Integrated Platform For e-Business. The package can include either an eServer iSeries server or eServer Unix-based server, either of which is driven by the company's Power 4 processor.

The package also includes IBM's WebSphere Application Server and DB2 Universal database, SuSE Linux, and a collection of development and management tools.

As with most IBM server-based announcement over the past year the company is offering users an option of either buying the eServer 325 or paying for whatever processing power they need and when they need it on an on-demand basis.

In a related announcement IBM revealed it is extending Linux support to client- and server-based software from Lotus including Lotus Domino Web Access, formerly called iNotes Web Access, which is a browser-based Web client product. Support is also now offered for Lotus Domino for Linux which runs on IBM's Intel-based eServer xSeries.

Likewise IBM is extending Linux support to three of its Tivoli server applications. New Linux support on the company's eServer zSeries of mainframes and client support for Linux on its pSeries servers has been added to the Tivoli Data Storage Solution. The company also introduced an enhanced version of its Tivoli Monitoring for Transaction Performance, which offers detailed analysis of availability of J2EE transactions on Linux. Last, the Tivoli Access Manager support for Linux has been expanded to include Linux on Intel-based servers.

More information about the products can be seen at the company's Web site.