IBM System x3850 X5 Implementation Guide

Chapter 4. IBM System x3690 X5 123
Figure 4-7 MAX5 memory expansion unit internals
For an in-depth look at the MAX5 offering, see 4.5, “MAX5” on page 127.
4.2 Target workloads
The x3690 X5 is an excellent choice for business applications that demand performance and
memory. It provides maximum performance and memory for virtualization and database
applications in a 2U package. It is a powerful and scalable system that allows certain
workloads to migrate onto a 2-socket design, and it delivers enterprise computing in a dense
package. Target workloads include the following items:
򐂰 Virtualization, consolidation, or virtual desktop
The x3690 X5 with only two sockets can support as many virtual machines as older
4-socket servers because of having five times more memory than current 2-socket,
x86-based servers. The result can lead to client savings on hardware and also on software
licensing.
򐂰 Database
The larger memory capacity of the x3690 X5 also offers leadership database
performance. The x3690 X5 features the IBM eXFlash internal storage using SSDs to
maximize the number of IOPS.
32 DIMM socketsIntel Scalable
memory buffers
Five hot-swap
fans
MAX5 slides
out from the
front
IBM EXA chip
Power supply
connectors

IBM System x3850 X5 Specifications

General

Processor Cores	Up to 10 cores per processor
Chipset	Intel 7500
Hard Drive Interface	SAS/SATA
Processor	Intel Xeon E7-4800 series, Intel Xeon E7-8800 series
Memory Slots	64 DIMM slots
Storage	Up to 16 x 2.5" hot-swap SAS/SATA HDDs or SSDs
RAID Support	RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10
Network Interface	Integrated Gigabit Ethernet
Operating System Support	Microsoft Windows Server, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, VMware vSphere
Form Factor	4U Rack