System x

IBM Systems and Technology Group

Solution Brief

SAP on IBM System

x3650 M3
Optimizing SAP performance with the Intel Xeon
processor 5600 series while lowering total cost of
ownership

Highlights

Improved memory capacity to support

compute-intensive SAP processes

Built on the latest Intel Xeon processor 5600 series to offer up to 60 percent performance improvement over
the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series1

Energy-efficient design that uses onethird the power of previous-generation

servers for up to 95 percent lower
power and facilities costs2

Simplified management that helps

reduce total cost of ownership and
improve system availability

Organizations that rely on SAP software depend on exceptional servers

to support business-critical e-business, collaboration, virtualization and
distributed database workloads. IBM System x3650 M3 servers offer
an energy-smart, affordable and easy-to-use rack solution for organizations that need to signicantly lower operational and solution costs,
and address changing market requirements as they replace their aging
servers.
Built on the latest six-core Intel Xeon processor 5600 series,
IBM System x3650 M3 two-socket servers offer a highly available,
growth-exible and virtualization-capable hardware platform that can
support the demanding workloads of an SAP implementation, even in a
constrained data center.
The new Intel Xeon processor 5600 series brings even more intelligent
performance to the most trusted server architecture, and enables new
levels of performance plus exceptional agility and scalability for SAP
solutions. Intel Intelligent Power Technology can boost performance
for critical SAP workloads when needed, or lower CPU core frequencies to conserve energy when there is less demand. And with up to
42 percent better virtualization performance over its predecessor,3 the
Intel Xeon processor 5600 series can help to increase system availability and lower total cost of ownership for SAP deployments.

IBM Systems and Technology Group

Solution Brief

System x

IBM System x3650 M3 servers provide a strong foundation

for virtualization. Scalable memory and exceptional I/O
design built into x3650 M3 satisfy the high-speed processing
and reliability requirements of running SAP software in a
virtualized environment.

In todays SAP environments, multiple workloads often run

on the same server, demanding ever-increasing levels of performance, reliability and availability. The x3650 M3 twosocket rack server with the Intel Xeon processor 5600 series
offers up to 60 percent performance improvement per watt
over servers with Intel Xeon processor 5500 series,1 providing
the speed and efficiency needed by todays mission-critical
business process applications.

SAP application-optimizing performance

IBM System x3650 M3 with the Intel Xeon processor
5600 series provides a powerful platform for the levels of performance expected from mission-critical SAP applications.
This business-critical server supports more cores than ever
before, plus increased memory and disk capacity, all in a scalable 2U package. The result is exceptional computing power
per watt.

Virtualization improves server utilization

Creating a virtualized server environment to run SAP applications helps reduce IT costs by consolidating operations on
fewer physical servers, reducing power consumption, and
enabling IT groups to align with business growth without
requiring additional hardware. Virtualization also can help
improve CPU utilization, speed up the deployment of additional SAP applications and upgrades, and reduce application
downtime by distributing workloads across a exible pool of
server resources.

With the latest Intel Xeon processor technology, the

x3650 M3 delivers high performance at a fraction of the
power of other leading servers. The x3650 M3 offers up to
two 3.33 GHz six-core processors from the Intel Xeon
processor 5600 series. Intel Turbo Boost and Intel QuickPath
Technology incorporated into this processing architecture
help increase SAP application performance within a virtual
server infrastructure.

The Intel Xeon processor 5600 series expands the benets of

virtualization with innovations that boost performance,
increase consolidation ratios and enable servers of different
generations to be combined in the same virtualized server
pool. The result can be a more exible and robust infrastructure with improved load-balancing, virtual machine failover
and disaster recovery capabilities.

IBM Systems and Technology Group

Solution Brief

System x

Signicantly reduced costs

Mission-critical reliability and security

IBM System x3650 M3 servers can help organizations

signicantly reduce energy costs. With powerful processors,
organizations can run data-intense SAP applications on
fewer systems, driving down energy costs while maintaining
high workload levels. The industry-leading energy-efficient
design of these servers and the incorporated Active Energy
Manager also play key roles in controlling power and cooling
requirements.

Highly consolidated, virtualized server environments running

SAP applications need a reliable and secure platform. The
IBM X-Architecture blueprint equips IBM x86 servers
with the IT innovation necessary to help data centers manage
risk effectively. With integrated 6Gbps RAID adaptors and
signicantly increased I/O performance compared with the
previous-generation server, the x3650 M3 built on the Intel
Xeon processor 5600 series provides a resilient architecture
with no single point of failure. Options such as hot-swap fans
and SSDs help reduce downtime, and multiple encryption
layers protect against security threats and costly data
breaches.

With up to 15 times the performance per server based on

Intel performance data,4 the energy-efficient design of the
Intel Xeon processor 5600 series offers a 20:1 server
consolidation ratio5 and up to 95 percent lower operating
costs2. This means upgrading SAP infrastructure to
x3650 M3 servers built with the Intel Xeon processor
5600 series could pay for itself in about ve months,6 signicantly reducing total cost of ownership while combating data
center sprawl.

To help ensure the high availability of all SAP applications,

predictive failure analysis and light path diagnostics provide
advanced warning on power supplies, fans, VRMs, disks,
processors and memory. In addition, redundant, hot-swap
components let busy IT groups replace failures without
system downtime and help avoid unplanned outages.

The x3650 M3 offers a exible, scalable design and simple

upgrade path to 16 HDDs or SSDs, and 192 GB of memory
with 18 DIMMs.7 It supports 9.6 TB of internal storage, representing a 60 percent increase in local storage capacity over
previous generation servers.8 The result? Processing power
and memory that helps maximize the number of SAP workloads per physical server.

Simplify system management

Enhanced system management tools in the IBM x3650 M3
include advanced diagnostics, a cable management arm and
the ability to control resources from a single point to make it
easy to deploy, integrate, service and manage. Systems are
kept current through updates with pretested packaging, automatic retrieval and automated deployment.

IBM Systems and Technology Group

Solution Brief

System x

For ease and convenience, IT staff can manage the servers

from remote locations securely, independent of the operating
system state, and consistent tools across the portfolio help
reduce training costs. Administration costs can be reduced by
up to 35 percent when running Microsoft Windows and
up to 44 percent when running Linux,9 using a suite of
management tools that includes:

SAP, Intel and IBM: Collaborating for

powerful business solutions
For more than 30 years, IBM and SAP have worked together
to create powerful solutions for business challenges across
all industries. Leadership benchmarks with SPECpower
and SAP help ensure that running SAP applications on
IBM System x3650 M3 can achieve outstanding performance
while reducing costs and ensuring high availability.

IBM Systems Director: Enables the management of physical and virtual resources across heterogeneous systems easily and efficiently
ToolsCenter: A consolidated integrated suite of management tools with a powerful bootable media creator
Integrated Management Module: Standards-based hardware that combines diagnostic and remote control
UEFI: Next-generation BIOS for a richer management
experience and future-ready platform

Businesses running SAP applications also benet from the

close relationship between Intel and SAP. Nearly 75 percent
of new SAP installations are deployed on Intel-powered platforms,10 which provide superior compatibility and performance for SAP deployments and ensure the future value of IT
investments with a strong, stable technology roadmap that
delivers consistent innovation.

For more information

These fully integrated capabilities provide the tools to help

increase efficiency, support green initiatives and start saving,
without sacricing the performance and reliability needed to
power-demanding business-critical SAP applications.

To learn more about SAP on IBM System x, please contact

your IBM marketing representative or IBM Business Partner,
or visit the following Web sites:

ibm.com/systems/x/
ibm.com/solutions/sap/
ibm-sap.com
ibm.com/systems/x/solutions/infrastructure/erpcrm/sap.html

IBM Systems and Technology Group

Solution Brief

System x

Up to 1.6x performance compared to Intel Xeon 5500 series claim

supported by a CPU intensive benchmark (Blackscholes). Intel
internal measurement as of February 25, 2010.
Conguration details: Blackscholes
Baseline Conguration and Score on Benchmark: Intel
preproduction system with two Intel Xeon processor X5570
(2.93 GHz, 8 MB last level cache, 6.4 GT/sec QPI), 24 GB memory
(6x4 GB DDR3-1333), 4 x 150 GB 10K RPM SATA RAID0 for
scratch, Red Hat EL 5 Update 4 64-bit OS. Source: Intel internal
testing as of February 2010. SunGard v3.0 source code compiled with
Intel v11.0 compiler. Elapsed time to run benchmark: 18.74 seconds.
New Conguration and Score on Benchmark: Intel preproduction
system with two Intel Xeon processor X5680 (3.33 GHz, 12 MB last
level cache, 6.4 GT/sec QPI), 24 GB memory (6x4 GB DDR3-1333),
4 x 150 GB 10K RPM SATA RAID0 for scratch, Red Hat EL 5
Update 4 64-bit OS. Source: Intel internal testing as of
February 2010. SunGard v3.0 source code compiled with Intel v11.0
compiler. Elapsed time to run benchmark: 11.51 seconds.

Claim: Up to 15x performance per server. Disclaimer: Intel

performance comparison using SPECjbb2005 business operations per
second between four-year-old single-core Intel Xeon processor
3.8 GHz with 2M cache-based servers and one new Intel Xeon
processor X5670based server. Any differences in system hardware or
software design or conguration may affect actual performance.
Performance tests and ratings are measured using specic computer
systems and/or components and reect the approximate performance
of Intel products as measured by those tests. Any difference in system
hardware or software design or conguration may affect actual
performance. Buyers should consult other sources of information to
evaluate the performance of systems or components they are
considering purchasing. For more information, visit
www.intel.com/performance/server

Baseline platform: Intel server platform with two 64-bit Intel

Xeon Processor 3.80 Ghz with 2M L2 Cache, 800 FSB, 8x1GB
DDR2-400 memory, 1 hard drive, 1 power supply, Microsoft
Windows Server 2003 Ent. SP1, Oracle JRockit build
P27.4.0-windows-x86_64 run with 2 JVM instances
New platform: Intel server platform with two six-core
Intel Xeon processor X5670, 2.93 GHz, 12MB L3 cache, 6.4QPI,
12 GB memory (6x2 GB DDR3-1333), 1 hard drive, 1 power supply,
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 64 bit SP2, Oracle JRockit build
P28.0.0-29 run with 2 JVM instances

Claim: Up to 95% lower energy costs. Disclaimer: Intel comparison

replacing 15 four-year-old single-core Intel Xeon processor 3.8 GHz
with 2M cache-based servers with one new Intel Xeon processor
X5670based server. Costs have been estimated based on internal Intel
analysis and are provided for informational purposes only.
Baseline platform: Intel server platform with two 64-bit Intel Xeon
processor 3.80Ghz with 2M L2 cache, 800 FSB, 8x1GB DDR2-400
memory, 1 hard drive, 1 power supply, Microsoft Windows Server
2003 Ent. SP1, Oracle JRockit build P27.4.0-windows-x86_64 run
with 2 JVM instances
New platform: Intel server platform with two six-core Intel Xeon
processor X5670, 2.93 GHz, 12MB L3 cache, 6.4QPI, 12 GB memory
(6x2GB DDR3-1333), 1 hard drive, 1 power supply, Microsoft
Windows Server 2008 64 bit SP2

IBM Alinean Tool Results, 1Q 2010. For more information, visit:

ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/29690.wss

Claim estimated based on comparison between 2S single-core Intel

Xeon 3.80 with 2M L2 cache and 2S Intel Xeon X5670based servers.
Calculation includes analysis based on performance, power, cooling,
electricity rates, operating system annual license costs and estimated
server costs. This assumes 8kW racks, $0.10 per kWh, cooling costs
are 2x the server power consumption costs, operating system license
cost of US$900/year per server, per server cost of US$7200 based on
estimated list prices and estimated server utilization rates. All dollar
gures are approximate. Performance and power comparisons are
based on estimated server-side Java benchmark results as of January
2010. Platform power was estimated during the steady state window of
the benchmark run and at idle. Performance gain compared to
baseline was 15x.
Baseline platform: Intel server platform with two 64-bit Intel Xeon
processor 3.80Ghz with 2M L2 cache, 800 FSB, 8x1GB DDR2-400
memory, 1 hard drive, 1 power supply, Microsoft Windows Server
2003 Ent. SP1, Oracle JRockit build P27.4.0-windows-x86_64 run
with 2 JVM instances
New platform: Intel server platform with two six-core
Intel Xeon processor X5670, 2.93 GHz, 12MB L3 cache, 6.4QPI,
12 GB memory (6x2GB DDR3-1333), 1 hard drive, 1 power supply,
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 64 bit SP2, Oracle JRockit build
P28.0.0-29 run with 2 JVM instances

Up to 192 GB available 2Q 2010

Availability 2Q 2010

IBM Engineering Research Study, 1Q 2009

10

http://www.sap.com/usa/ecosystem/customers/directories/
technology/intel/index.epx

Intel Xeon processor X5570-based platform details: Cisco result

referenced as published at 25.06 at 17 tiles. For more information, see:
www.vmware.com/files/pdf/vmmark/VMmark-Cisco-2010-01-12B200M1.pdf Intel Xeon processor X5680 based platform details: Cisco

result referenced as published at 35.83 at 26 tiles. Cisco UCS B250

M2 platform with two Intel Xeon processor X5680 (3.33 GHz, 12 MB
L3, 6.4 GT/s, six-core, 130 W TDP), Turbo Enabled, HT Enabled,
192 GB memory (48x4 GB DDR3 1333), EMC CLARiiON
CX4-240 storage system with 25x73 GB SSD, 20 x 450 GB
15 K RPM, 5 x 300 GB 15 K RPM, VMware vSphere 4,0 U1 Source:
www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/ps10265/at_work_promo.html#~industry_
benchmarks

 Copyright IBM Corporation 2010

IBM Systems and Technology Group
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RTP, NC 27709
Produced in the United States of America
April 2010
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