IBM expands capabilities of zEnterprise mainframe

IBM has added further storage, management and database components to its hybrid zEnterprise mainframe.

The IBM WebSphere DataPower Integration Appliance X150z for zEnterprise hardware, announced on Tuesday, is a package that processes XML and other web services protocols to make zEnterprise mainframe data available to multiple types of servers. The X150z is an add-on to the zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension (zBX) product.

Additionally, IBM released the IBM Storwize Rapid Application Storage (RAS) product, which combines IBM's pre-existing Storwize V7000 with Tivoli management software.

IBM says the integrated product can deliver a 90-percent reduction in downtime for backing up data from SAP, Oracle and Microsoft products, and can improve storage efficiency by simplifying administrative tasks.

The company also announced a ready-to-deploy pre-configured eX5 Blade System, designed specifically for database applications.

"The [new] systems can bring new levels of datacentre efficiency to help clients achieve better systems management, faster deployment and quicker response times for critical workloads," IBM said in a statement.

The zEnterprise hybrid mainframe launched in July. Touted as a tool for managing and dealing with heterogenous installations, it represents IBM's efforts to create an appliance around which datacentre hardware can converge.

 The [new] systems can bring new levels of datacentre efficiency to help clients achieve better systems management, faster deployment and quicker response times for critical workloads.

– IBM

New switches

Furthermore, IBM announced two products of its acquisition of Blade Network Technologies: two top-of-rack Ethernet switches designed to integrate with IBM servers and storage, specifically for high-performance computing, cloud computing and business analytics applications.

The RackSwitch G8052 is a 48-port 1Gb Ethernet switch with four 10Gb Ethernet uplinks. The RackSwitch G8264 has 48 ports running at 10Gb, fed by four uplinks at 40Gb. These were first announced in September and October 2010, respectively, but this is the first time they've been available from IBM.