IBM Hyperconverged Systems

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FAQ
Questions (click to jump to the answers)
Go To Market ....................................................................................................................................................... 2
What is the value proposition of the solution? ............................................................................................... 3
What are the use cases and focus areas for this solution? ............................................................................. 3
Why now? ........................................................................................................................................................ 3
What are the IBM powered by Nutanix servers based on? ............................................................................ 4
What are our go-to-market plans? .................................................................................................................. 4
Who gets paid in IBM? ..................................................................................................................................... 4
Why would Nutanix sellers want to work with IBM? ...................................................................................... 4
How is Nutanix licensing priced? ..................................................................................................................... 4
Does a Nutanix seller get paid less for selling on Power vs X86? .................................................................... 4
Does the IBM Power | Nutanix partnership impact the IBM and Cisco Alliance, specifically the “Meet in
the Channel” VersaStack offering? .................................................................................................................. 4
Will IBM Storage Systems enter the Hyperconverged segment with its own offering? ................................. 5
Workloads ............................................................................................................................................................ 5
What are the target workloads?...................................................................................................................... 5
What Linux distros are supported? ................................................................................................................. 5
Is there a list of ISV's certified to run their applications on a Nutanix/Power environment? - ...................... 5
Can the Nutanix software stack run on any power server? ............................................................................ 6
Do we have some references on what sort of applications that clients are running on IBM Hyperconverged
Systems powered by Nutanix? ........................................................................................................................ 6
Configurations...................................................................................................................................................... 6
What are the minimum and maximum number of nodes required for a cluster? ......................................... 6
Can you put Power and x86 nodes in the same cluster? ................................................................................ 6

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 Why are our machines built using only the SSD storage versus a mix of SSD + HDD drives? ......................... 7
What are the hypervisors supported on Power? ............................................................................................ 7
Is VMware supported on x86? ......................................................................................................................... 7
Nutanix offers conversion from VMWare to AHV. How can we move an VM from VMWare or AHV running
on x86 to Power in this offering? .................................................................................................................... 7
What is the roadmap to support VMWare and Hyper-V? ............................................................................... 7
What kind of network connections are required to tie the nodes together? ................................................ 7
Nutanix talks a lot about their mobility fabric, where you can seamlessly switch between Public cloud and
Private cloud allowing you to take virtual machines (VMs) and move or burst them to the public cloud and
back. Can we do this with Power? ................................................................................................................... 7
What is function of EC16? If we want to use VM, do we need configure? ..................................................... 8
In the e-config tool, CentOS and Ubuntu are listed as “Primary OS”. Are they the Host OS or is AHV? ........ 8
What software is required to build an IBM CS Series cluster? Do I need to add other software besides
"5639-NP3 : IBM Hyperconverged system"? ................................................................................................... 8
Price / Performance ............................................................................................................................................. 8
Do we have any performance proof points for Power+Nutanix versus x86+Nutanix?................................... 8
Why do the IBM Hyperconverged Systems powered by Nutanix appliances (CS821 and CS822) seem higher
priced than the Minsky servers? ..................................................................................................................... 8
How is Nutanix licensed (per server, core, processor, thread)? ..................................................................... 8
How does the IBM CS Series solution compare to an x86 Nutanix solution, in terms of price performance?
......................................................................................................................................................................... 9
What is the performance overhead/impact of Nutanix running on Power? Is it any better or worse versus
the x86 based servers? .................................................................................................................................... 9
Can a customer purchase a Pay-as-you-go option like Amazon? Can we leverage Nutanix Pay-as-you-go
option? ............................................................................................................................................................. 9
Support ................................................................................................................................................................ 9
Does IBM offer any sizing guidance for clients? How do we access that help? .............................................. 9
Are there any service offerings for setup? .................................................................................................... 10
How do we get a POC? .................................................................................................................................. 10
Who will do first line support? ...................................................................................................................... 10

Go To Market

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What is the value proposition of the solution?
This IBM and Nutanix joint initiative will allow IBM Power Systems to be run in a seamless and compatible
way within a datacenter. Bringing the value add of POWER-based infrastructure under the Nutanix cloud
management software allows the compute and data intensive AIX & Linux workloads for which POWER was
designed to be run on a hyperconverged private cloud. This collaboration has delivered a hyperconverged
solution that marries Nutanix’s one-click software simplicity with the unmatched performance of the IBM
Power Systems POWER architecture.

What are the use cases and focus areas for this solution?
The initial use case for this offering were for workloads leveraging the growing Linux on Power ecosystem.
First focus was the open source operational and NoSQL datastores as well as analytics workloads. The
addition of the Nutanix software provides a new hyperconverged deployment model for clients which brings
simplicity to the deployment and management of their on-premises private cloud.

The availability of IBM Cloud Private on IBM Hyperconverged Systems further extends client value with the
addition of PaaS/CaaS service capabilities to the IaaS layer Nutanix provides and the ICP application catalog,
allowing clients to thoroughly modernize the way they manage both their infrastructure and application
environments.

As of May 8, 2018 support for the AIX 7.2 operating system has been added to allow clients to further
simplify their datacenters by managing their Power and x86 environments from a single pane of glass.

The roadmap for this joint initiative will include additional workloads optimized for both AIX & Linux on
Power and additional hardware configurations optimized for those workloads. The intended workloads
include:

• Cloud Native Workloads, including full stack open source middleware and open source databases,
and analytics
• Mission-critical workloads, such as databases, large scale data warehouses, web infrastructure, and
mainstream enterprise apps
• Next generation cognitive workloads, including big data, machine learning and AI

Why now?
The hyperconverged market emerged in 2015 and is on a rapid growth trajectory. IDC estimates the HCI
market to grow at a 64% CAGR to $4.8B by 2019. Gartner estimates that by 2020, 20% of mission critical
applications currently running on traditional 3-tier architecture systems will be running on hyperconverged
platform. This growth, however, was initially with a limited set of workloads such as VDI. Workloads that
require strong compute and data throughput, such as cognitive workloads, that IBM Power specializes in,
were underserved. The performance of POWER and the one-click simplicity of Nutanix offers the
hyperconverged market more options and expands the set of workloads that can be deployed via a
hyperconverged private cloud.

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What are the IBM powered by Nutanix servers based on?
The offering is based on the 1U S821LC and 2U S822LC.

What are our go-to-market plans?

The system is to be sold through the IBM Power Systems direct sellers and the IBM Power Systems business
partner channel. Nutanix will provide sales support to IBM for qualified leads that are provided to Nutanix.
Neither Nutanix nor its partners will sell this offering in the market. IBM Storage Specialists will not be
compensated for the sale of the offerings resulting from this initiative, as it includes no IBM Storage System
Products (hardware or software) at this time.

Who gets paid in IBM?

IBM CS Series will count for all ISP, ASP and Cognitive Sellers, and is part of the XaaS Incentive in S&D

Why would Nutanix sellers want to work with IBM?

They have a significant "software only" portion of their compensation plans which can only be retired by
selling a non-Nutanix branded/OEM version of the product. They will be compensated for the Nutanix
software portion of the sale.

How is Nutanix licensing priced?

Priced per server. Nutanix software is included in the price of the IBM Hyperconverged Systems powered by
Nutanix (CS821 and CS822)

Does a Nutanix seller get paid less for selling on Power vs X86?
Nutanix software is priced per server and Power requires fewer servers to do the same performance. BUT
the partnership with IBM is to move Nutanix into new customers and workloads, leading to net new revenue
opportunities for Nutanix. Nutanix is excited and actively engaging sellers in the field to grow their market
share (as well as ours).

Does the IBM Power | Nutanix partnership impact the IBM and Cisco Alliance, specifically the
“Meet in the Channel” VersaStack offering?
No. The converged market is an $11B market today. IBM's Storage Systems’ partnership with Cisco UCS is
designed to bring leadership to clients in the market for independently scalable storage + networking +
compute. For these clients, the VersaStack solution with integrated IBM Storage Systems hardware and
software is the right offering. Additionally, IBM and Cisco have recently announced support for Cisco
CloudCenter to manage and run a hybrid cloud by leveraging the movement of data and workloads from on-
premises to the IBM Cloud. IBM and Cisco will continue to drive the VersaStack solution and grow its use

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cases to address converged implementations and strategic markets. VersaStack is primarily deployed in
environments where VMware and Windows are predominant, utilizing SAN attached storage, and it is tightly
integrated with Cisco networking technology. The IBM Hyperconverged Systems powered by Nutanix
offering is targeted for KVM and AIX/Linux environments and utilizes software-defined internal server
storage.

Will IBM Storage Systems enter the Hyperconverged segment with its own offering?
No. IBM Storage Systems has an extensive and highly competitive storage portfolio for VMware and virtual
environments. The IBM Storwize, XIV, FlashSystem, and the joint IBM & Cisco solution, VersaStack, provide
customers with flexibility, data efficiency, ease of use and enterprise resiliency.

Workloads

What are the target workloads?

Scale-out NoSQL/open source Linux workloads like EDB PostgresSQL, MongoDB, ScyllaDB, Tibero, and Redis
Labs are a great fit and for which IBM CS Series delivers unparalleled performance and TCO. Additionally,
key IBM database and middleware offerings like Websphere Application Server and Db2 are supported on
both Linux and AIX with similar price/performance value. Furthermore, the addition of IBM Cloud Private
enhances the ease of deployment for a host of supported workloads through the ICP application catalog,
extending client value even further. More information on key open source and enterprise applications can
be found here ==> Targeted Workloads

What Linux distros are supported?

CentOS, Ubuntu, Suse, Debian, Fedora, & RHEL*. One specific support case that is notable is Red Hat. Red
Hat does not view AHV as a certified hypervisor. This is true for both POWER architecture and x86
architecture. That being said, many clients do run Red Hat on x86 based Nutanix private clouds today.
Support however requires re-creation of the issue on a Red Hat certified stack in order to enlist Red Hat’s
assistance with problem resolution. Again, it is important to note that this is not a POWER specific challenge
but exists on x86 as well. For this reason, however, IBM does not sell Red Hat directly on the IBM
Hyperconverged Systems powered by Nutanix. The client can both Ubuntu or SLES directly from IBM.

Is there a list of ISV's certified to run their applications on a Nutanix/Power environment? -

There are thousands of open source applications that run with Ubuntu & Suse. Examples of supported
software are:

• Relational database management systems like PostgresSQL & MariaDB

• NoSQL Databases like MongoDB, Redis, and Cassandra
• Big Data and Analytics (Hadoop and Spark) – Hortonworks is on the roadmap
• Web serving and web applications like NGINX and Wordpress
• Cloud software like Docker, Chef and Puppet

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In addition, there are enterprise applications supported on either Linux or AIX today such as:

• Relational database management systems for transactional workloads like IBM Db2, EnterpriseDB
(EDB), and Tibero
• NoSQL databases like MongoDB, Neo4j, SycllaDB, and RedisLabs
• In-memory columnar databases for high performance analytics like Db2 with BLU Acceleration
• Analytics tools like Cognos and SPSS
• Web Serving from Websphere Application Server

There is also a roadmap of other ISVs so check back in this FAQ for more details regularly.

Can the Nutanix software stack run on any power server?

These are locked and loaded appliances. SW is tied to HW. Available on the specific CS 8005 MTMs only
and will not be offered on anything else at this time. At some point the Nutanix Community Edition will be
available for Power but the timing has not been defined yet.

Do we have some references on what sort of applications that clients are running on IBM
Hyperconverged Systems powered by Nutanix?
Sales teams are finding success worldwide, particularly with our Modern Data Platform solutions on IBM
Hyperconverged Systems powered by Nutanix. MongoDB, MySQL, and PostgreSQL have all been deployed
with excellent results by clients like GuideWell/Florida Blue in North America, Es Publico in Spain, and CIB
Fintech in China. While only GuideWell Health is a public reference, more information can be found on
these wins in our Systems ISVs Win Wire Community (IBM Only Link)

Also, Nutanix does have some x86 based references on https://www.nutanix.com/solutions/

Configurations

What are the minimum and maximum number of nodes required for a cluster?
Three is the minimum number of nodes in the cluster. This is the same for x86 hardware vendors. The
maximum is also on parity with x86 as it is unlimited using AHV. There is no technical limitation to the size of
a cluster; however, the conversation that should be had with the customer should revolve around fault
domain size. Usually the fault domain should be reasonable (between 32 and 64 nodes). Practical network
design comes into play also if you start creating a cluster that traverses several racks and consequently ToR
switches.

Can you put Power and x86 nodes in the same cluster?
No, Power and x86 nodes cannot be mixed in the same cluster. However, you can run x86 and Power nodes
in separate clusters and use Prism Central to manage across those clusters. This is a key part of our value
proposition with regard to our compatibility and ease of integration with Nutanix x86 environments. Note a

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customer cannot mix different x86 vendors in the same cluster (i.e. Dell and Lenovo cannot mix in the same
cluster).

Why are our machines built using only the SSD storage versus a mix of SSD + HDD drives?
For our chosen workloads, performance is the key consideration. Note that HP’s Simplivity line of
hyperconverged appliances are also all-flash configurations.

What are the hypervisors supported on Power?

Nutanix AHV (Acropolis Hyper Visor) built over a foundational KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) with
differentiating features.

Is VMware supported on x86?

Yes, but the strategic direction for Nutanix is AHV. They market cost saving to customer by moving from
VMWare to no-cost AHV. The savings for offloading legacy virtualization costs alone can be tremendous at
scale.

Nutanix offers conversion from VMWare to AHV. How can we move an VM from VMWare or
AHV running on x86 to Power in this offering?
Although Nutanix does allow for hypervisor conversion within an x86 cluster, it is not possible to move an
instance from x86 over to Power using the Nutanix build in conversion tools. For clients that want to migrate
an application from x86 to run on Power in order to take advantage of the higher performance, they would
first create a new instance on the Power cluster and then install the application (and associated programs
like databases, etc.) and then move the database or other data over to the AHV instance running on Power.
They can then delete the old instance running under x86.

What is the roadmap to support VMWare and Hyper-V?

There is no roadmap. AHV provides a cost-effective option and is the strategic direction for Nutanix.

What kind of network connections are required to tie the nodes together?
1GB for hardware management layer and 10GB for data

Nutanix talks a lot about their mobility fabric, where you can seamlessly switch between
Public cloud and Private cloud allowing you to take virtual machines (VMs) and move or
burst them to the public cloud and back. Can we do this with Power?
This is functionality of CALM. At this time, Power does not support this feature.

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What is function of EC16? If we want to use VM, do we need configure?
EC16 is Open Power firmware for Power non-virtualized configuration. These attributes allow Linux to be
used on bare metal without any virtualization. EC16 is not required to configure

In the e-config tool, CentOS and Ubuntu are listed as “Primary OS”. Are they the Host OS or
is AHV?
CentOS (labelled as "Customer supplied OS") and Ubuntu are the Guest OS'es and AHV is the Host OS.

What software is required to build an IBM CS Series cluster? Do I need to add other software
besides "5639-NP3 : IBM Hyperconverged system"?
When 5639-NP3 has been configured, AHV delivers high availability with minimal configuration and no
additional software purchase. When a node fails, VMs are automatically restarted on other nodes in the
cluster. AHV is included with IBM CS Series purchases with no additional licensing costs.

Price / Performance

Do we have any performance proof points for Power+Nutanix versus x86+Nutanix?

Yes, IBM Hyperconverged Systems powered by Nutanix has returned excellent test results with regard to
price/performance.

• For EDB: IBM CS is 1.77x better per core performance, and 2.24x better price performance.
• For MongoDB: IBM CS is 1.8x better per core performance, and 2.3x better price performance.
• For IBM Websphere/DB2: IBM CS is 1.3x better per core performance, and 1.68x better price
performance.

Why do the IBM Hyperconverged Systems powered by Nutanix appliances (CS821 and
CS822) seem higher priced than the Minsky servers?
The CS821 and CS822 include the Nutanix software. Prism, Prism Central, and AHV are all included in the
software functionality and are already priced in all configurations.

How is Nutanix licensed (per server, core, processor, thread)?

Nutanix SW is licensed per server and is included in the IBM Power based appliances (CS821 and CS822)

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How does the IBM CS Series solution compare to an x86 Nutanix solution, in terms of price
performance?
Power hardware performance has a significant performance advantage versus x86. IBM has shown these
performance advantages across multiple workloads (MongoDB, EnterpriseDB, WAS, etc.). The CS822
compared to a comparably configured x86 / Nutanix offering will provide 2X the price-performance. Our
market research show that we are generally at TCA parity or better vs. x86-based options of similar
configurations.

What is the performance overhead/impact of Nutanix running on Power? Is it any better or

worse versus the x86 based servers?
On parity with x86.

Can a customer purchase a Pay-as-you-go option like Amazon? Can we leverage Nutanix Pay-
as-you-go option?
Nutanix has ”go” which is their version of Amazon but IBM does not offer a pay-as-you-go model at this
time. Reminder that these appliances are sold by IBM and all pricing models are from IBM. That said,
hyperconverged models offer manageability that drives maximum utilization of the compute and storage,
and allows for easy additions of new compute, when needed. Hyperconverged is fundamentally “pay as you
go” by design.

Support

Does IBM offer any sizing guidance for clients? How do we access that help?
Yes, Please follow the steps below depending if you are an IBM Employee or Business Partner:

IBM Employees:
1. Go to the following registration site… https://partners.nutanix.com/?eid=register
2. Enter required info (with IBM domain) and click “Continue”
3. Select the closest IBM Power HQ location via pull down
4. Check the “Accept the Terms” box and click “Next Step”
5. Check your email – you will receive and email to go to https://my.nutanix.com to set up your password.
6. Go to Sizer and login directly at … https://sizer.nutanix.com

IBM Power Partners:

1. Go to Nutanix website to affiliate yourself as IBM Power Partner at
https://www.nutanix.com/partners/become-partner-oem/

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 2. Enter required info (with Corporate domain only)
3. Under Partner “Content Requested”, select IBM Power
4. Select “Yes” to “Agree to Terms and Conditions” and click “Submit”
5. If first time registering for your corporation, it may take up to 48 hours to receive approval email from
Nutanix. If already affiliated with Nutanix, access should be immediate
6. Go to Sizer and login directly at…https://sizer.nutanix.com

Are there any service offerings for setup?

Yes, there are! Please following the steps below:
1. Complete the sizing questionnaire at http://questnr.mybluemix.net/public/index.php
2. Engage the DTC team using the Technical Sales Request Generator form:
▪ IBM: http://w3.ibm.com/support/techline
▪ BP: http://www.ibm.com/partnerworld/techline

How do we get a POC?

IBM Client Centers are able to support POCs.

Who will do first line support?

Customers will call IBM directly for support.

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