Telum II · 5.5 GHz · s390x architecture

IBM LinuxONE 5.

The high-performance server for AI, powered by Telum II. A 100 % Linux mainframe to consolidate x86 workloads with expensive licences — Oracle, SAP HANA, Db2 — without z/OS or proprietary software.

See the consolidation case How we deploy it
chipTelum II · Samsung 5 nm · 5.5 GHz
aiSpyre accelerator · 32 cores/unit · up to 48/system
engineup to 208 IFL · 64 TB RAM
osRHEL · SUSE · Ubuntu (s390x)
virtKVM · LXD
Before you sign anything

Where it fits and where it doesn't.

LinuxONE doesn't replace x86. It replaces certain x86 — the one costing you half an Oracle licence per core.

Fits
Consolidation with a point of view.
  • Per-core-licensed databases (Oracle, SAP HANA, Db2). Fewer cores = less licence. IBM certifies IFL partitioning for sub-capacity licensing.
  • Mission-critical workloads that no longer tolerate maintenance windows. Internal redundancy and recovery without stopping the system.
  • AI inference right where the data lives. The Telum II carries the accelerator on-chip; no need to push data to an external GPU.
  • Consolidation of dozens of Linux VMs with sustained profiles, where x86 runs tight on RAM or physical sockets.
Doesn't fit
Don't go here.
  • Stateless web servers scaling horizontally on cheap Kubernetes. x86 on cloud provisions faster and costs less.
  • GPU-intensive workloads like training large LLMs. Spyre is for inference, not for training Llama 70B from scratch.
  • Software that only compiles for x86_64 with no s390x support. Verify every dependency before signing.
  • Companies that won't recoup the consolidation. If your licence savings don't cover the CAPEX, don't buy it.
Silicon

Telum II and Spyre. What they actually do.

Telum II is the system processor. Designed by IBM, manufactured by Samsung on 5 nm, running at 5.5 GHz. The novelty isn't per-core bandwidth: the chip itself carries an on-die AI accelerator. Inference happens next to the data, without crossing the PCIe bus to an external GPU.

Spyre is the dedicated accelerator, optional, for when the on-chip one falls short. Each Spyre unit brings 32 cores meant for inference only. A LinuxONE 5 system takes up to 48 Spyre units — IBM publishes a capacity of 4.5 B inference operations per day.

The other on-die accelerators — Java, compression, cryptography — are the same ones IBM Z mainframes have carried for years. No surprises there. They work well.

Component
Detail
cpu
Telum II · Samsung 5 nm · 5.5 GHz
caches
10 L2 caches per chip · low-latency data processing unit
engines
Up to 208 physical/logical per system
memory
Up to 64 TB RAM
spyre
32 AI cores per unit · up to 48 units/system
inference
~4.5 B AI ops/day per system
accel
Java · compression · cryptography (per core)
os
RHEL · SUSE · Ubuntu (s390x)
virt
KVM · LXD
Consolidation

The only number your CFO cares about.

IBM's published cases put core reduction at ratios from 10:1 to 30:1 versus x86, depending on workload profile.

On well-tuned Oracle workloads, the average 5-year saving sits around 42.7 % of TCO — hardware, licences, energy and operations combined.

That figure comes from IBM published cases, not a promise from us. We reproduce it with the detail of your workload before you move anything. If it doesn't add up, it doesn't.

Ratios and % come from IBM LinuxONE 2024-2025 commercial material. We verify in the viability analysis. We neither promise nor exaggerate.

Who deploys it

Partners of IBM and Canonical. Both.

IBM Business Partner gives us hardware, channel and materials access. Canonical Technology Partner gives us the only commercially-supported distribution on s390x. The combination exists in very few places.

IBM Business Partner

Certified on IBM Z and LinuxONE.

Engineers certified on IBM Z, in-house labs for PoC and hands-on experience with Oracle → LinuxONE migrations.

We integrate AI in the system — without pushing data to the cloud, without external GPU bus — using the Telum II accelerator and the IBM stack tools.

Canonical Technology Partner

Ubuntu Server on s390x, in production.

Ubuntu optimisation for s390x architecture, LXD containers and Kubernetes tuned to the hardware.

Extended support with SIXE UP — security updates beyond the standard cycle, for environments where stopping isn't an option.

Why SIXE

15 years with architectures that can't be stopped.

+50
Linux projects on Power and IBM Z

ppc64le and s390x, deployed and in production.

IBM · Linux
Official certifications

Team certified on IBM technologies and the main enterprise Linux distributions.

15 years
High availability and mission-critical infrastructure

Migrations without downtime. Systems that have run for years without failing.

How we work

From analysis to working system. No surprises.

01

Viability analysis first.

We look at what workloads you have today, which Oracle or SAP licences you're paying, and how many VMs you consolidate. We come back with estimated savings and dependencies in a few days — before you sign any hardware.

02

Migration with zero downtime.

Coordination with IBM on the hardware rollout, replication of critical workloads, acceptance testing and cutover in controlled windows. Continuity first.

03

Licence optimisation.

IFL partitioning setup, workload profile tuning, and documentation so Oracle accepts sub-capacity licensing. That's where the savings actually materialise.

04

Proactive support.

Monitoring, resolution before the alert fires, scheduled updates. Combinable with SIXE UP for extended Ubuntu support.

05

Team training.

LinuxONE administration, KVM and LXD virtualisation, AI integration with watsonx. Delivered by the same engineers who deploy it. Linux catalogue.

Frequently asked questions

The questions we always get.

What is the difference between IBM LinuxONE 5 and a classic IBM Z mainframe?

LinuxONE 5 is the IBM Z line that runs Linux only (RHEL, SUSE or Ubuntu on the s390x architecture). It doesn't include z/OS, z/VSE or z/TPF. The hardware is the same Telum II at 5.5 GHz, with the same resilience and security capabilities, but the commercial model and licence cycle target pure Linux workloads.

Can I use LinuxONE 5 to reduce my Oracle licence bill?

Yes. IBM certifies IFL (Integrated Facility for Linux) partitioning as sub-capacity licensing recognised by Oracle. Consolidating per-core-licensed x86 workloads, physical core reduction can reach 10:1 to 30:1 depending on profile. Average 5-year savings sit around 42.7 % of TCO in IBM's published cases.

Is LinuxONE 5 good for training AI models?

Not for training large LLMs from scratch — GPU is the tool for that. LinuxONE 5 is designed for inference next to the data: the Telum II chip carries an on-die accelerator and the optional Spyre accelerator adds 32 inference cores per unit (up to 48 per system). Ideal for running already-trained models on data living in the same system.

Which Linux distributions does LinuxONE 5 officially support?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and Ubuntu Server, all built for the s390x architecture. Virtualisation on KVM, containers on LXD or Kubernetes.

When does buying an IBM LinuxONE 5 NOT make sense?

When your workloads are stateless web servers scaling horizontally on cheap Kubernetes. When you need to train large LLMs with GPU. When your software only compiles for x86_64 with no s390x support. Or when the licence savings don't cover the CAPEX.

How does LinuxONE relate to IBM Power?

Two different IBM architectures. IBM Power (ppc64le) for AIX, IBM i and Linux; LinuxONE (s390x) for Linux only. Power targets traditional enterprise workloads and application HA architectures; LinuxONE targets consolidation of dozens of Linux VMs and per-core-licensed databases.

Tell us the workload.
We send back numbers.

With the detail of your VMs, your Oracle or SAP licences and your maintenance window, we send you a proposal with hardware, migration and support split out. In a few days.

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