Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary
IBM Power10 delivers markedly higher performance and efficiency compared to Power9—typically 20–30% more performance per core, and up to 2.6× better performance per watt. It brings new encryption, AI inference, and virtualization capabilities. However, upgrading requires architecture planning, cost evaluation, and alignment with workload characteristics.
2. Architectural Evolution: Power9 → Power10
Power9, launched in 2017 and built on 14 nm FinFET, implemented Power ISA v3.0 and came in SMT4/SMT8 variants for scale-out or scale-up environments. Power10 debuted in late 2021 on Samsung’s 7 nm EUV process, upgrading to Power ISA v3.1 and integrating matrix-math accelerators and enhanced acceleration logic designed for AI workloads.
3. Core & SMT Differences
- Power9 offered 12-core SMT8 (PowerVM scale-up) or 24-core SMT4 (PowerNV scale-out) variants.
- Power10 delivers up to 15 SMT8 cores or 30 SMT4 cores per module, configurable via firmware.
IBM engineers note improved IPC due to increased execution slices, better branch prediction, and microarchitectural tuning.
4. Performance per Watt and Efficiency
A Power10 E1080 (15-core) system at approximately 17,320 watts delivers around 7,998 rPerf, compared to Power9’s ~5,081 rPerf at similar power. That’s a significant efficiency gain—ranging from 1.5× to 2.6×, depending on configuration and workload.
Enhancements like fused prefix instructions and smarter power gating contribute to per-core throughput improvements of 25–30%.
5. Memory, I/O, and Encryption
Power10 introduces Open Memory Interface (OMI) and PowerAXON, which offer:
- Unified support for DDR4/5, GDDR6, and persistent memory
- Up to 2 PB coherent memory clusters
- Up to 1 TB/s bandwidth on certain I/O buses
Each core includes four AES engines, enabling transparent memory encryption with no performance hit. The platform is also equipped for post-quantum and homomorphic encryption workloads.
6. Real-World Enterprise Case Studies
A Latin American financial institution reported a 30% overall performance gain and 25% faster batch job execution after migrating to Power10. Zero downtime was achieved via logical partition (LPAR) orchestration. Multiple enterprise customers echo this efficiency—typically reducing hardware footprint and power usage without compromising throughput.
7. Total Cost of Ownership & Licensing
While Power10 hardware may carry a higher per-unit cost, the total cost of ownership drops in real deployments due to:
- Higher consolidation ratios
- Lower energy and cooling expenses
- Fewer software licenses required due to reduced core counts
Software migration (especially for AIX and IBM i) may require new contracts or license upgrades, depending on customer entitlements.
8. Migration Considerations: Power9 → Power10
- Benchmark workload characteristics, especially I/O and encryption impact
- Plan LPAR-to-core mapping with SMT8 baseline in mind
- Review PCIe 5.0 compatibility and memory DIMM specs
- Prepare firmware and OS updates to support new security features
- Stage migrations with non-production workloads first
9. Final Takeaways for IT Decision-Makers
- Power10 offers substantial performance and security upgrades over Power9
- Best results are seen when paired with containerized or encrypted workloads
- Enterprises can reduce TCO through smarter consolidation and license strategies
- Migration planning is essential, but well-supported by IBM documentation and partners