With IBM Recently anouncing that they are no longer offering their IBM POWER6 product range, I looked at what this meant and possible upgrade options available for upgrades and how best to maximise any machines that still have spare CPU/RAM slots that could be upgraded.
The withdrawal dates for IBM POWER6 after which you can’t buy new machines (nor POWER5 to POWER6 upgrades) are as follows:…
IBM Power6 product withdrawal details and how Centiq can help your business before time runs out.
With IBM recently announcing the withdrawal of their IBM POWER6 products from their range, IT consultants and IBM Premier Business Partner Centiq looked at the options available for upgrades and how best to maximise any machines that still have spare CPU/RAM slots that could be upgraded.
The withdrawal dates for IBM POWER6 after which you can’t buy new machines (nor POWER5 to POWER6 upgrades) are as follows:
| POWER6 System | Product ID | Withdrawal date |
| Power 560 | 8234-EMA | 07-January-2011 |
| Power 570 | 9117-MMA | 07-January-2011 |
| JS23/J43 | 7778-23X | 29-April-2011 |
| Power 520 | 8203-E4A | 27-May-2011 |
| Power 550 | 8203-E8A | 27-May-2011 |
| Power 595 | 9119-FHA | 29-July-2011 |
You may still purchase Processor and memory upgrades for current installed systems for 12 months following the withdrawal date. So if you were thinking of upgrading or adding to any spare CPU/RAM slots – Please make a note of these dates, or contact Centiq to see how we can help plan this for you.
IBM POWER7 products do come with a vast improvement in price and performance, so you might wonder who’d be buying POWER6 anymore anyway? Some customers with long term roll-out plans, need consistent equipment for reduced complexity and reduced testing and so still want POWER6 and could get caught out.
Example upgrades from Centiq
| Current system | Possible POWER7 upgrade | Possible CPU upgrade | Possible RAM upgrade |
| Power 570 (9117-MMA) |
IBM Power 750 Express |
4 GB to 48 GB of 667 MHz DDR2 or 16 GB to 96 GB of 533 MHz DDR2 or 32 GB to 192 GB of 400 MHz DDR |
Two or four 4.4, or 5.0 GHz POWER6 processor cores in the first building block; four identical cores in all others OR Four or eight 4.2 GHz POWER6processor Cores in the first building block; eight identical cores in all others |
|
Power 520 |
IBM POWER 720 |
2 GB to 64 GB of DDR2 SDRAM |
One, two or four 64-bit 4.2 or 4.7 GHz POWER6 with AltiVec™ SIMD and HardwareDecimal Floating-Point acceleration |
The IBM Power 720 is the workhorse of IBM’s Power Systems lineup now, as the Power 520 was ahead of it. And in fact, this is the box that IBM is allowing customers to upgrade to from Power 520 machines using Power6 or Power6+ processors. Customers with earlier Power-based entry servers cannot upgrade to thePower 710, Power 730, or Power 740, and it is not clear that IBM is offering upgrades across the new Power7-based entry machines, either.
As a Premier IBM Business Partner, Centiq have the team and experience to manage and make this transition as easy as possible. We can plan and manage your upgrade from POWER6 to POWER7 systems, or if it’s spare CPU/RAM slots that could be upgraded, Centiq offer the full IBM product range to meet not only your businesses current needs, but also allow your IT and business to grow once the recession eases.
If you would like to speak to one of our advisors on the options open to you, please call us on 0115 951 9666 or email us at info@centiq.co.uk