IBM this week bolstered its Power processor-based server portfolio with new systems based on an enhanced version of the chip, including one that uses a quad-core module.

"The key message here is you can scale up, scale out, or scale within, and the p5 processor gives you all those options," says Jeff Howard, program director for p5 product marketing at IBM.

IBM is introducing six new p5-based servers, four of which will use the new p5+ technology. The p5+ is 37% smaller in die size than the existing p5 generation of processors, uses less energy to operate, and has enhanced memory control, Howard says.

The new p5 systems are available with AIX 5L Unix, Red Hat Linux, or Novell SuSE Linux operating systems.

The p5-550Q is an eight-way server that uses two quad-core modules, with each processor core operating at 1.5 GHz. The new quad-core module is the same size as the previous-generation p5 dual-core module, allowing systems to be designed with double the density in the same space, Howard says.

The p5-550 is a four-way server that uses two dual-core modules, with each processor core operating at 1.9 GHz. The p5-520 is a two-way server that uses two dual-core modules, with each processor core operating at 1.9 GHz. The p5-505 is a 1U rack server that uses 1.5- or 1.65-GHz processors in one or two-way configuration.

The p5-575 is designed for supercomputing applications and is a 16-way server that offers a more than 50% performance improvement over the previous-generation eight-way version of the system.

IBM also is introducing the IntelliStation Power 285, the firsts p5+-based workstation.

The new systems come with an integrated virtualization manager, a wizard-driven and browser-based user interface that reduces the complexity and time to set up and configure multiple partition environments. All the systems will be available beginning Oct. 14.