In January 2014, IBM announced the sale of its x86 server business to Lenovo for $2.3 billion, in a sale completed October 1, 2014.[1][2]
History
Starting out with the PS/2 Server, then the IBM PC Server, rebranded Netfinity, then eServer xSeries and finally System x, these servers are distinguished by being based on off-the-shelfx86CPUs; IBM positioned them as their "low end" or "entry" offering compared to their POWER and Mainframe products.
Previously IBM servers based on AMDOpteron CPUs did not share the xSeries brand; instead they fell directly under the eServer umbrella. However, later[when?] AMD Opteron-based servers did fall under the System x brand.[citation needed]
1998–2001 server line; Not to be confused with a software IBM product with a similar name, NetFinity (notice the capital F).
Netfinity range
IBM Netfinity 1000
IBM Netfinity 3000, 3500
IBM Netfinity 4000R, 4500R
IBM Netfinity 5000, 5100, 5500, 5500-M10, 5500-M20, 5600
IBM Netfinity 6000R
IBM Netfinity 7000, 7000-M10, 7100, 7600
IBM Netfinity 8500R
Numbering scheme
The numbering scheme started off similar to that of the IBM PC Servers, but additional ranges were added, like the entry-level 1000 model later on. Models ending with an R, are rack-mount.
KVM cabling scheme
Some Netfinity servers used IBM's C2T cabling scheme for Keyboard/Video/Mouse.
IBM eServer was a marketing effort to put all of the diverse IBM server platforms under one header. The AS/400 became the IBM eServer iSeries, the RS/6000 became the IBM eServer pSeries, the S/390 mainframe became the IBM eServer zSeries and the Intel processor based IBM Netfinity servers became the IBM eServer xSeries.
For marketing reasons the AMD processor based e325, e326 and e326m and the BladeCenter which supports non-Intel processor products were not branded xSeries, but were instead placed directly under the eServer brand. The xSeries brand was limited to only Intel-based server products.
From a numbering perspective the AMD servers did fit into the xSeries range, under the similar x335 and x336 Intel processor products. These numbers were not re-used in the xSeries range to prevent confusion.
IBM eServer xSeries
A pair of a IBM rackmount x86 servers (System x3650 and eServer xSeries 346)
While most servers used Intel x86 (IA32) processors, the x380, x382, x450 and x455 used the Intel Itanium (IA64) processor.
It is an unusual form-factor in that you have two columns of 19" rack servers side-by-side in a single rack. This rack, unlike traditional racks, however was very shallow which is where the space saving came from for large installations. As such it only supports specially designed shallow servers. It was typically deployed in combination with a Rear Door Heat Exchanger (RDHx) to cool the exhaust heat with water.
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