IBM Posts Impressive SAP Benchmark with IBM i

IBM i continues to power SAP installations around the world, but admittedly the workhorse operating system on POWER-based servers doesn't scream and shout often enough to keep up the mindshare that the dynamic duo -- IBM i on Power Systems -- deserves. In fact, when IBM i is used to deliver SAP's enterprise goodness, it can handle all the vagaries of SAP with snappy performance . . . and do it at enviable price points.
Here's two relatively new case in points:

1. New SAP BW Benchmark

SAP just posted a new benchmark for 500 million records running SAP BW Enhanced Mixed Load (BW EML). The OS was IBM i 7.1, using DB2 for i 7.1 with SAP NetWeaver 7.30. And the hardware: IBM Power System 750 Express Server with 4 processors, 32 cores, 128 threads, a 4.06 GHz POWER7+ processor, 32 KB(D) + 32 KB(I) L1 cache and 256 KB L2 cache per core, 10 MB L3 cache per core, and 512 GB main memory.

 

With this configuration, IBM achieved 66,900 ad-hoc navigation steps per hour. 

 

This compares quite favorably -- if not exceeds -- a year-older SAP HANA set up that utilizes two x86-based HP servers, one for the database and one for application, running SUSE Linux. What's interesting here is how the dual-server setup compares to the single-server Power 750 -- and how the pricing and management efforts might shake out using the two different methods to deliver SAP solutions. (Incidentally, the dual x86 server setup ran against a billion records.)

2. The Cost/Benefit Case for SAP Business All-in-One Deployments on IBM i and Power Systems

Meanwhile, back to the cost and benefits of IBM i with SAP . . . an International Technology Group white paper takes a closer look at the architecture of an IBM i-based system and applies it to SAP and the cost to manage a deployment over three years. Basically, no surprise here for IBM i aficionados: While x86-based systems often start out cheaper, over three years the cost of the x86-based system gets dangerously close to twice as much as the IBM i on Power setup.

 

What's crazy to see is that the IBM i-based hardware & maintenance cost is less, the software licensing is less, the software support is less, the facilities cost is less, and of course, the personnel costs are far less -- ITG breaks it all out . . . and then goes quite a bit farther. 

 

If you want to understand the benefits of IBM i on Power -- even if you're not considering SAP -- the ITG white paper isn't a bad place to start. And if you are looking at SAP and IBM i . . . again, put the white paper on your must-read list.