© Copyright IBM Corp. 2014. All rights reserved. 1Chapter 1. IntroductionThe IBM X6 family of scalable rack servers consists of two servers: IBM System x3850 x6, a four-socket 4U rack-mount server IBM System x3950 X6, an eight-socket 8U rack-mount serverThese servers are the sixth generation of servers built upon the IBM EnterpriseX-Architecture. Enterprise X-Architecture is the culmination of bringing generations of IBMtechnology and innovation derived from our experience in high-end enterprise servers.The IBM X6 servers deliver innovation with enhanced scalability, reliability, availability, andserviceability features to enable optimal break-through performance ideal for mission-criticalscalable databases, business analytics, virtualization, enterprise applications, and cloudapplications.The IBM X6 generation servers pack numerous fault-tolerant and high-availability featuresinto a high-density, rack-optimized, chassis-like package where all serviceable componentsare front and rear accessible, significantly reducing the space needed to support massivenetwork computing operations and simplify servicing.These servers can be expanded on demand, offering flexible modular scalability inprocessing, I/O, and memory dimensions so that you can provision what you need now andexpand the system to meet future requirements. X6 is fast, agile, and resilient.This chapter contains the following topics: 1.1, “Target workloads” on page 2 1.2, “Key features” on page 5 1.3, “Positioning” on page 6 1.4, “Storage versus in-memory data” on page 7 1.5, “Flash storage” on page 8 1.6, “Energy efficiency” on page 9 1.7, “Services offerings” on page 10 1.8, “What this book contains” on page 101