IBM System x3650 Server

Since launching its Systems agenda last year IBM has delivered some very desirable server products to market that have clearly benefited from a complete redesign. The System x3650 is a prime example as this 2U rack system is endowed with a fine specification along with a number of unique features. It's aimed primarily at data centres with restricted floor space and its biggest competition undoubtedly comes from the ProLiant DL380 G5 which HP claims is the most popular 2U rack server in the world. In this exclusive review we see whether IBM has what it takes to offer a solid alternative.

Server installation gets off to a flying start as you boot the system with the bundled ServerGuide CD-ROM which takes you through hard disk and RAID setup, system partition creation, driver installation and loading your chosen OS. Director is IBM's standard management tool for all its servers, blade servers, workstations and laptops and requires an agent loaded locally for the system to be remotely managed. It can collect and store inventory data on the designated management system and will install its own copy of Apache Derby if an existing database isn't available. Director offers high levels of information about managed systems and uses a simple interface that's split into three panels. The servers are shown in the centre and you can run tasks such as inventory simply by dragging the relevant icon from the right panel and dropping it on the selected server.

Director has gone green as it's capable of running IBM's optional PowerExecutive component which allows power consumption and thermal loads to be remotely controlled. You can closely monitor power consumption on a per server basis and create power domains where power capping will cause all members to have processor performance throttled back in an effort to reduce heat output. Although not included here IBM's optional Remote Supervisor Adapter SlimLine II card provides remote browser access to the server regardless of its status. You can power the server up and down, reset it or remotely control it and monitor critical components. We admit to preferring HP's iLO2 feature as this is embedded in virtually all ProLiant servers and is more sophisticated but it's worth noting that IBM includes remote control whereas with HP it's an extra option.

Server design is good as even though IBM has packed plenty into the front panel there's still room for a large grill to allow an unobstructed air flow through the chassis. IBM matches HP in the storage department as the x3650 also has room for up to eight 2.5in. SFF hard disks. However, whereas the DL380 only supports the smaller SAS and SATA hard disks, the x3650 can handle six high capacity 15K 3.5in drives instead. However, we reckon it's better to take the SFF route as this gives you an extra bay at the front which accepts an internal tape drive - the DL380 doesn't have any facilities for this. The small pop-out panel above the front USB ports shows off IBM's light path diagnostics which provides a matrix of fifteen LEDs for an at-a-glance status display of all critical components.

The x3650 really does look well thought out and lifting the lid reveals some nifty internal design touches. For your money you get a fine pair of 2.66GHz 5355 quad-core Xeons which are located directly behind the front air grill and topped off with meaty passive heatsinks. To get a high memory support IBM has incorporated twelve DIMM sockets split into one group of eight and another group of four further back. Processors and memory are both covered in easily removable plastic ducts and general cooling is handled by no less than ten hot-swap fan modules. With this much air movement through the chassis you'd expect this server to be noisy but it's as quite as a zephyr.