IBM introduces a mainframe for AI: The LinuxONE Emperor 5

When you think of mainframes, you probably think of spinning tape drives, reams of computer cards, and text-only, green-on-black 3270 terminals. IBM’s latest mainframe, the LinuxONE Emperor 5, is not your grandpa’s mainframe

The fifth generation of its flagship LinuxONE platform, the IBM LinuxONE Emperor 5, is engineered to deliver unprecedented levels of security, cost-efficiency, and AI acceleration for mission-critical enterprise workloads. Powered by the new IBM Telum II processor, the system is set to transform how organizations approach Linux, data, and AI in the hybrid cloud era.

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The Telum II is the heart of this 21st-century mainframe. Manufactured using Samsung’s 5 nm process technology, Telum II features eight high-performance cores running at 5.5GHz, a 40% increase in on-chip cache capacity (with virtual L3 and L4 caches expanded to 360MB and 2.88GB, respectively), and a dedicated, next-generation on-chip AI accelerator capable of up to 24 trillion operations per second (TOPS)-four times the compute power of its predecessor.

Looking ahead, for AI users who want the most, the new mainframe also supports the IBM Spyre Accelerator. It contains 32 AI accelerator cores that will share a similar architecture to the AI accelerator integrated into the Telum II chip. Multiple IBM Spyre Accelerators can be connected to the I/O Subsystem of IBM Z and IBM LinuxONE via PCIe. The Spyre is expected to start shipping in 2025’s last quarter. 

Of course, you need software to make all this work. The updated AI Toolkit for IBM LinuxONE, optimized for Telum II, streamlines developer productivity and AI deployment. A technology preview of Red Hat OpenShift AI and OpenShift Virtualization on LinuxONE 5 is now available, allowing clients to manage both traditional VMs and containerized workloads through a unified interface on OpenShift Container Platform.

The IBM LinuxONE 5 also comes with advanced security features tailored for the evolving threat landscape. The platform extends IBM’s end-to-end cybersecurity approach. For example, it comes with confidential computing. With this, even when your data is in memory, it’s encrypted. It also comes with NIST-standardized post-quantum cryptographic algorithms. 

On top of that, it comes with a cutting-edge hardware security module and support for confidential containers, integrated with Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform to ensure sensitive AI models and data remain protected, even in the face of harvest-now, decrypt-later attacks anticipated in the post-quantum era. Integration with IBM Vault Self-Managed further strengthens secrets management across hybrid environments.

With a focus on operational efficiency, IBM LinuxONE 5 enables organizations to consolidate workloads from multiple servers onto a single high-capacity system. This consolidation can reduce, IBM claims, the total cost of ownership by up to 44% over five years compared to x86 alternatives. The system is designed to deliver up to 99.999999% availability, supporting business continuity and risk reduction while addressing the demands of data-intensive, AI-enabled businesses.

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In short, as Tina Tarquinio, Chief Product Officer, IBM Z and LinuxONE, said, “With this launch, we’re delivering a platform that not only meets today’s security and efficiency challenges but is ready for the next wave of AI-driven innovation.” 

Oh last, but never least, the LinuxOne Emperor 5 will, like the name says, run Linux. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for LinuxOne, to be exact.