Today, at an event in California, IBM is disclosing details about a new integrated system for transactional workloads called the IBM pureScale Application System. This new integrated system will comprise of DB2 pureScale and WebSphere Application Server on IBM Power 770 servers that run the AIX operating system. When you receive the system, the components are already integrated, already configured, and already tuned for handling transactional workloads.

IBM pureScale Application System is the latest in IBM’s line of workload-optimized systems. IBM’s strategy is to provide integrated systems that are optimized for particular workloads. For instance, the IBM Smart Analytics System that was announced last year is optimized for analytical workloads. Whereas IBM pureScale Application System is optimized for transactional workloads. This optimization extends from hardware configuration through software configuration and storage configuration. By the way, today, IBM also announced new models of the IBM Smart Analytics System for System x (x86) and System z (mainframe).

We are all well aware of the benefits of such integrated systems. These typically include lower initial purchase costs and single-number support. Because the systems are pre-integrated, they take less time and effort to deploy, which means that you enjoy faster time-to-value. I could go on-and-on, but I’m sure you know all of this already.

So, what’s so special about IBM pureScale Application System? Of course, the individual components of this system all have their own merits. From the raw performance, server utilization, and resiliency of the IBM Power 770, to the leading performance, cluster scale-out efficiency, and continuous availability of DB2 pureScale, to the performance, transaction integrity, and flexibility of WebSphere Application Server. These are all very compelling aspects to the system. However, in my opinion, the real value of this system lies in:

1. Workload Optimization
   
   Unlike Oracle Exadata, which is designed to handle both transactional and analytical workloads within the same environment, IBM pureScale Application System is optimized for transactional workloads only. Transactional and analytical workloads are fundamentally different in nature. Catering for both types of workload within the same system means that you cannot truly optimize for either of those workloads, which in turn means that you will have a less efficient and more costly IT environment. Database software is very expensive to purchase and maintain. In my opinion, to prudently and efficiently run your IT environment, you cannot afford to run less efficient systems. You need systems that are optimized for the work being performed.
    
2. Flexible Configuration
   
   The base system for the IBM pureScale Application System consists of two IBM Power 770 servers, each of which has 4 CPU cores and 32GB of RAM. There are two IBM Power 770 servers for redundancy reasons. They are connected by an Infiniband network. Initially the system is configured with four logical partitions that are dedicated to DB2 pureScale. You can optionally add partitions for WebSphere Application Server. The system then installs the software on these partitions, and optimizes the settings for the chosen configuration.
   
   You can scale within by adding CPU cores to each IBM Power 770 enclosure. You can scale up by adding additional enclosures for each IBM Power 770 server. And you can scale out by adding additional IBM Power 770 servers. Adding WebSphere Application Server instances and DB2 pureScale cluster nodes is flexible and easy.
   
   This flexibility to grow as your needs dictate is in stark contrast to the rigid configurations for the Oracle Exadata system.
    
3. Flexible Licensing
   
   One aspect of the IBM pureScale Application System that excites many clients is the flexible licensing. DB2 pureScale has daily pricing. When you combine daily pricing with true application transparency, where you can easily add and remove cluster nodes in minutes and without application changes, it means that clients do not need to over-provision for the worst case scenario. Instead, they can add or remove capacity as needed, and only pay for the additional capacity for the days on which they use it. This can dramatically reduce software license and maintenance costs for retailers who have huge spikes in activity during holiday periods, for organizations with similar “busy periods”, for business who want to run special promotions, and so on.

IBM has not yet announced the availability date for this new system. However, it is expected to be available for purchase in June of this year.