Comparing the Power11 S1112 to Previous P05 Systems
Now that the IBM Power S1112 has been announced, Let's see how it compares to the previous generations of P05 Tier systems, especially the Power10 S1012 and S1014, along with the Power9 S914 and Power8 S814.
After reviewing the specifications, a few trends stand out.
If you're coming from a Power10 system, the performance increase is modest.
The four-core Power11 S1112 9242-21B delivers about 5% more CPW than a four-core S1012 and about 10% more than a four-core S1014. Those aren't dramatic increases, but they aren't the whole story either.
The memory improvements are just as interesting.
The IBM i P05 software tier is still limited to 64 GB. That hasn’t changed. On previous P05 systems, part of that memory was reserved for firmware and hypervisor functions, leaving about 50 GB available to IBM i.
With the IBM S1112, IBM i can use the full 64 GB when the system is configured with more than the minimum 64 GB of physical memory. In that case, the firmware overhead is moved outside of the IBM i allocation, resulting in roughly 28% more usable memory while staying in the same software tier.
The S1112 continues to use the same DDR5 memory introduced with Power10. The same DDR5 memory features remain supported, while the Power11 architecture improves how that memory is utilized through enhancements to the memory subsystem.
Storage depends on which system you're replacing.
If you're moving from an S1012, the maximum internal NVMe capacity remains the same at 12.8 TB raw (6.4 TB mirrored).
If you're upgrading from an S1014 or Power9 S914, the maximum internal capacity doubles from 6.4 TB to 12.8 TB, or from 3.2 TB to 6.4 TB in mirrored configurations.
The biggest gains are for customers still running Power8 and Power9 hardware.
A Power9 S914 to S1112 upgrade more than doubles available CPW. A Power8 S814 to S1112 upgrade delivers more than three times the processing capacity, along with newer memory technology, NVMe storage, and more.
The S1112 builds on that foundation by introducing a P05 tier system within the Power11 portfolio for the first time. For organizations planning their next hardware refresh, the decision is about more than CPW. Usable memory and storage capacity are both important features when deciding whether or not to upgrade.