IBM Power System E980 Technical Specifications & Datasheet

Model Identifier: 9080-M9S

Architecture: IBM POWER9 Processor-based Modular High-End Enterprise Server

Building Block Structure: 1 System Control Unit (SCU) + 1 to 4 System Nodes

System Architecture Overview

Component	Specification Details
System Building Blocks	1 System Control Unit (2U) + 1 to 4 System Nodes (4U each)
Processor Architecture	IBM POWER9 technology (built for data-intensive enterprise workloads)
Maximum Processor Cores	Up to 192 cores (across 4 system nodes)
Maximum System Memory	Up to 64 TB DDR4 DRAM
Max Virtual Machines (LPARs)	Up to 1,000 LPARs per system
Virtualization Technology	Integrated enterprise-class IBM PowerVM

Processor & Performance Specifications

• Processor Options per Node: Each system node contains four processor sockets supporting:

  • 6-core 3.58 – 3.90 GHz typical (max)

  • 8-core 3.90 – 4.00 GHz typical (max)

  • 10-core 3.70 – 3.90 GHz typical (max)

  • 11-core 3.58 – 3.90 GHz typical (max)

  • 12-core 3.55 – 3.90 GHz typical (max)

• Cache Structure: 512 KB L2 cache and 10 MB L3 cache per processor core.

• Capacity Upgrade on Demand (CUoD): Granular core activations starting as low as 8 cores up to 100% system capacity, incrementing one core at a time.

Memory Subsystem

• Memory Architecture: Custom DIMM (CDIMM) DDR4 technology operating at 1600 MHz.

• Slots per Node: 32 CDIMM slots per system node (128 total across 4 nodes).

• Maximum Capacity per Node: 16 TB (using 2,048 GB CDIMMs).

• Supported CDIMM Capacity Features:

  • 128 GB Feature (#EF20)

  • 256 GB Feature (#EF21)

  • 512 GB Feature (#EF22)

  • 1,024 GB Feature (#EF23)

  • 2,048 GB Feature (#EF24)

• Activation Requirements: Minimum 50% initial memory activation required.

Storage & I/O Expansion

• System Node Native PCIe Slots: 8 PCIe Gen4 x16 slots per system node (up to 32 slots total across 4 nodes).

• PCIe Expansion Drawers:

  • Supports 19-inch PCIe 4U I/O Expansion Drawers (#EMX0).

  • Up to 4 expansion drawers per system node (up to 192 total PCIe Gen3 slots).

• Internal Boot Storage: 4 x NVMe U.2 drive bays per system node dedicated for system boot.

• External SAS Disk Support: Connects directly to EXP24SX SFF SAS drawers supporting over 4,000 attached SAS drives/SSDs.

System Management & Resilience (RAS)

• System Control Unit (SCU): Housing redundant Flexible Service Processors (FSP), system VPD, Operator Panel, and USB DVD drive connections.

• Clocking & Power: Dual redundant system clocking within each node.

• High Availability Features: First-Failure Data Capture (FFDC), processor instruction retry, memory ECC with Chipkill, dynamic deallocation of faulty components.

Electrical & Environmental Specifications (per Node)

Parameter	Operational Rating
AC Rated Voltage	200–208 V AC / 220–240 V AC at 50/60 Hz (Single Phase)
Power Supply Units	4 x C14 power supply units per node (minimum 2 active for operation)
Max Power Consumption	4,130 Watts per system node
Max Thermal Output	14,095 BTU/hr per system node
Operating Temperature	Recommended: 18.0°C – 27.0°C (64.4°F – 80.6°F) Allowable: 5.0°C – 40.0°C (41.0°F – 104.0°F)

Operating System Compatibility

• IBM AIX: AIX 7.1, AIX 7.2, or later

• IBM i: IBM i 7.3, IBM i 7.4, or later

• Linux:

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL 7.5 / 8.0 or later)

  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES 12 / 15 or later)

  • Canonical Ubuntu Server