Glossary Term

Power Systems

IBM's current server hardware family, built on the Power processor architecture, that runs IBM i, AIX, and Linux workloads.

Definition

Power Systems is the physical server hardware line that succeeded and consolidated the older AS/400, iSeries, and pSeries brands. Every current IBM i workload runs on some generation of Power Systems hardware, from entry single-partition servers to large multi-core enterprise configurations.

Buyers should always confirm which Power generation a listing refers to, since capacity, supported features, and remaining IBM support runway vary significantly between generations.

Example

A buyer comparing a Power9 server against a current Power10 or Power11 model is really comparing processor generation, memory ceiling, and remaining support life.