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The IBM RS/6000 was unveiled in 1990 as a replacement for the RT/PC line of machines.
The RISC System / 6000, as its name partly implies, was the branding for IBMs server and workstation  machines that were based on the POWER line of RISC processors running AIX, a UNIX based operating system. The initial high-end server offerings ran on POWER and POWER2 CPUs however workstations and low-end servers typically came with RS64 PowerPC chips which were similar to those that appeared in Macs at the time. In 2001 after the development of POWER4 processors, the RS64 powered versions were discontinued due to the technological superiority of the POWER design. The fact that IBM was able to squeeze in not only dual-core, but also quad-dies in a single package (8 processors) ensured that the RS/6000s future was to be with POWER processors. It is interesting to note that as of this writing, consumer level dual and quad-core processors (combining multiple CPUs in a single socket) are relatively new. Intel and AMDs 8-way chips are still "on the horizon" but IBM has been successfully deploying this technology in the enterprise sector for nearly a decade. Just like IBMs AS/400 platform, the RS/6000 has seen numerous re-brandings since its original launch. In 2000 its name was changed to pSeries, four years later to p5, 2005 it became System p5 and is currently being sold under the System p name. In 1996 it was a supercomputer based on multiple RS/6000s nicknamed "Deep Blue" that bested world champion Mr. Garry Kasperov in a highly publicized game of chess. IBM RS6000 (pSeries) homepage |