IBM Slims Down z17 and LinuxONE 5 Mainframes, Now Available in Rack Versions

As has been the case for some time, about a year after the launch of the new generations of IBM mainframes, the more compact (and economical) versions are now available.

IBM has announced the launch of new compact and rack versions of its z17 mainframes as well as the new more compact platforms LinuxONE Rockhopper 5 and LinuxONE 5 Express, designed for deployment in co-location data centers.

IBM Launches New Compact Mainframes

It was back in April 2023 when IBM announced the new compact z16 mainframes and LinuxONE 4, followed by LinuxOne 4 Express in February 2024, designed for installation in a standard rack. Since then, the company has launched the new z17 range, which integrates numerous innovations, starting with accelerators for artificial intelligence.

However, the z17 mainframes are actually distributed across multiple rack cabinets, which limits their potential uses. For this reason, IBM has announced the new z17 single frame, which consists of a single rack cabinet, and the z17 rack mount, designed for installation within standard rack cabinets alongside other devices such as regular x86, POWER, or ARM servers.

IBM LinuxONE Rockhopper 5 is a mainframe equipped with Linux (instead of z/OS) and is available in both single frame and rack mount variants, while LinuxONE 5 Express is a reduced version that occupies half a rack.

In all cases, the hardware base is the same: configurations go up to 82 cores on Telus II CPUs and 18 TB of RAM distributed over two processor drawers. This represents a 20% increase in the number of cores and a 12% increase in the amount of RAM available compared to the previous series.

The new mainframes will be available from August 12, 2026. Prices are public only for the LinuxONE 5 Express, which will be offered starting at $165,000.