IBM Power 750 8233-E8B 2x 8C Power7 3.0GHz DDR3 8x 2.5 4U

IBM Power 750 Express (Type 8233-E8B) Technical Specifications

The IBM Power 750 Express (8233-E8B) is a 4-socket, 4U rack-mount server powered by 45nm POWER7 processors. Engineered for enterprise database workloads, consolidation, and high-concurrency transaction processing, the 8233-E8B scales from 6 to 32 cores across up to 4 processor cards, supporting up to 512 GB of physical DDR3 memory (expandable up to 1 TB virtually via Active Memory Expansion) and advanced PowerVM virtualization.

System Summary & Architecture Specifications

Specification Category	Configuration / Feature Details
Machine Type / Model	IBM Power Systems 8233-E8B
Processor Architecture	64-bit IBM POWER7 Processors (45nm technology)
Form Factor	4U Rack-mount drawer (fits standard 19-inch rack)
Processor Sockets / Cards	1 to 4 Processor Cards (Up to 4 sockets)
Core Configurations	16-core, 24-core, or 32-core configurations across 4 cards
Clock Frequencies	3.0 GHz, 3.3 GHz, 3.55 GHz, or 3.7 GHz (varies by core density)
Cache Architecture	L1: 32KB I / 32KB D per core L2: 250KB per core L3: 32MB eDRAM per processor card (up to 128MB total)
Memory Architecture	DDR3 ECC Registered Memory running at 1066 MHz
Max Physical RAM	Up to 512 GB DDR3 (32x DDR3 DIMM slots total, 8 slots per processor card)
Virtual Memory Max	Up to 1 TB effective RAM using Active Memory Expansion (AME)
Internal Drive Bays	Up to 8x SFF (2.5″) SAS HDD/SSD bays
Media Bays	1x Slimline DVD-RAM bay; 1x Tape drive bay option
Virtualization Support	PowerVM Express, Standard, or Enterprise (LPAR, Micro-Partitions, LPM)

Detailed Subsystem Architecture

1. Processor & On-Chip Acceleration

• Process Technology: 45nm SOI (Silicon-on-Insulator) CMOS process.

• Processor Card Feature Options:

  • 6-core 3.3 GHz POWER7 Card (Feature Code #8334 / #EPC2)

  • 8-core 3.0 GHz POWER7 Card (Feature Code #8335 / #EPC1)

  • 8-core 3.55 GHz POWER7 Card (Feature Code #8336 / #EPC3)

  • 4-core 3.7 GHz POWER7 Card (Feature Code #8332)

• Interconnect Architecture: W-Y-Z point-to-point buses connecting processor cards within the single-node 4-socket topology.

• Energy Management: IBM EnergyScale technology supporting power capping, thermal measurement, and dynamic power saving.

2. Memory Subsystem

• DIMM Slots: 8 DDR3 DIMM slots per processor card (4 sockets = 32 slots max).

• Memory Feature Sizes: 8 GB (2x4GB), 16 GB (2x8GB), and 32 GB (2x16GB) 1066 MHz feature modules.

• Active Memory Maintenance: Chipkill ECC protection and memory scrubbing to isolate single- and multi-bit errors.

• Active Memory Expansion (AME): Hardware-assisted data compression via processor cycles, delivering up to 100% memory expansion for larger database buffers and higher partition density.

3. I/O Expansion & Networking

• Chassis Slots:

  • 5x Low-Profile PCIe Gen2 x8 expansion slots.

  • 1x GX+ / GX++ slot for 12X I/O loop expansion loops.

• Integrated Virtual Ethernet (IVE) Options:

  • Quad-port 1 GbE Integrated Virtual Ethernet Adapter (#5628 / #5899).

  • Dual-port 10 GbE SFP+ + Dual-port 1 GbE Integrated Virtual Ethernet Adapter (#5624).

• External I/O Drawers:

  • PCIe 12X I/O Drawers (#5802 with 18 SFF bays / #5877 without drive bays) providing up to 10 additional PCIe slots per drawer.

4. Storage Controller & Drive Bays

• Internal Backplane: 8x SFF 2.5″ Hot-swap SAS drive bays.

• Controller: Integrated dual 6 Gbps SAS controllers on the system board with optional dual-controller split-backplane configuration and 175 MB write-cache RAID options.

• Storage Compatibility: 10K/15K RPM SFF SAS Enterprise Hard Drives and High-Performance Enterprise SAS SSDs.

5. Operating System Compatibility

• IBM AIX: AIX 5.3 (TL11 or later), AIX 6.1 (TL4 or later), AIX 7.1.

• IBM i: IBM i 6.1.1 or IBM i 7.1 (TR1 or later).

• Linux on Power: Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL 5.4 / 6.0 or later), SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES 10 SP3 / SLES 11 or later).

6. Physical, Electrical & Environmental Specifications

• Chassis Dimensions:

  • Height: 173 mm (6.81 in / 4 EIA Units)

  • Width: 440 mm (17.3 in)

  • Depth: 730 mm (28.7 in)

  • Weight: 48.7 kg (107.4 lbs) fully populated

• Power Subsystem:

  • Up to 2 x Hot-plug, redundant 1950 Watt AC Power Supplies.

  • Operating Voltage: 200 – 240 V AC at 47 – 63 Hz.

  • Thermal Output: Up to 6,655 BTU/hr.

• Operating Temperature Range: 5°C to 35°C (41°F to 95°F).