2 IBM eX5 Implementation Guide1.1 eX5 systemsThe four systems in the eX5 family are the x3850 X5, x3950 X5, x3690 X5, and the HX5blade. The eX5 technology is primarily designed around three major workloads: databaseservers, server consolidation using virtualization services, and Enterprise Resource Planning(application and database) servers. Each system can scale with additional memory by addingan IBM MAX5 memory expansion unit to the server, and the x3850 X5, x3950 X5, and HX5can also be scaled by connecting two systems to form a 2-node scale.Figure 1-1 shows the IBM eX5 family.Figure 1-1 eX5 family (top to bottom): BladeCenter HX5 (2-node), System x3690 X5, and Systemx3850 X5 (the System x3950 X5 looks the same as the x3850 X5)The IBM System x3850 X5 and x3950 X5 are 4U highly rack-optimized servers. Thex3850 X5 and the workload-optimized x3950 X5 are the new flagship servers of the IBM x86server family. These systems are designed for maximum utilization, reliability, andperformance for computer-intensive and memory-intensive workloads.The IBM System x3690 X5 is a new 2U rack-optimized server. This machine brings newfeatures and performance to the middle tier, as well as a memory scalability option withMAX5.The IBM BladeCenter HX5 is a single-wide (30 mm) blade server that follows the samedesign as all previous IBM blades. The HX5 brings unprecedented levels of capacity tohigh-density environments. The HX5 is expandable to form either a 2-node system with fourprocessors, or a single-node system with the MAX5 memory expansion blade.When compared to other machines in the System x portfolio, these systems represent theupper end of the spectrum, are suited for the most demanding x86 tasks, and can handle jobswhich previously might have been run on other platforms. To assist with selecting the idealsystem for a given workload, we have designed workload-specific models for virtualizationand database needs.
