The entry-level system is configured with 8GB of useable memory capable of 26 MIPS (millions of instructions per second.
Brad Day, an analyst at , said IBM is competing with big-iron alternatives, including its own System P, as well as users who want to take advantage of specialty processing engines available on the mainframe, such as the zAAP, which is aimed at Java workloads. The system may also serve as an upgrade path for mainframe users who don't need to larger system.