IBM z15 – 8561

USED IBM z15 Mainframe (Type 8561)

The IBM z15 (8561) brings a massive design shift: it finally fits into a standard 19-inch rack footprint. This allows for easier deployment in modern data centers without sacrificing power.

Under the hood, it introduces “Data Privacy Passports” to encrypt data wherever it moves and “System Recovery Boost” to cut reboot and recovery times by 50%. This system is built to survive and thrive in an always-on global economy.

Available Configurations (Model T01)

The z15 scales via “Feature Max” capacity settings. Because the system uses a standard 19-inch rack width, it uses a multi-frame approach (1 to 4 frames) to house up to 5 CPC drawers.

• Feature Max34: 1 Drawer | Entry Enterprise | Up to 34 Configurable Engines (PUs)
• Feature Max71: 2 Drawers | Mid-Range Scale | Up to 71 Configurable Engines (PUs)
• Feature Max108: 3 Drawers | High Scale | Up to 108 Configurable Engines (PUs)
• Feature Max145: 4 Drawers | High Capacity | Up to 145 Configurable Engines (PUs)
• Feature Max190: 5 Drawers | Max Capacity | Up to 190 Configurable Engines (PUs)

Technical Specifications

• Processor: 5.2 GHz, 12-core chips (14nm FinFET technology).
• Memory (RAM): Supports up to 40TB of RAIM—the highest memory density of any server in its class, perfect for in-memory DB2 and real-time fraud detection.
• Form Factor: Standard 19-inch Rack Width (fits seamlessly into modern colocation rows).
• I/O Infrastructure: 12 PCIe Gen3 slots per I/O drawer with improved signal density.
• Engine Types Available:
  • CP: General-purpose transaction processing.
  • IFL: Integrated Facility for Linux (for Red Hat OpenShift/Container workloads).
  • zIIP: Java and XML offload engines.
  • ICF: Internal Coupling Facility.

Key Performance Features

• System Recovery Boost The z15 can “sprint” during startup and shutdown. It temporarily unlocks additional dark cores and runs sub-capacity engines at full speed to cut IPL (reboot) times by up to 50% and clear transaction backlogs faster after an outage.
• Data Privacy Passports This feature extends z15 encryption beyond the box. Trusted Data Objects (TDO) allow you to encrypt data on the mainframe and enforce privacy policies even as that data moves to x86 servers or the public cloud.
• On-Chip Compression IBM moved compression directly onto the processor chip (Integrated Accelerator for zEDC). This replaces the optional PCIe compression cards used in the z14, delivering massive data compression throughput by default with zero CPU penalty.

Purchase & Licensing

We stock fully validated z15 T01 systems. Whether you need a single-frame “Max34” for a dev environment or a fully scalable multi-frame setup for a private cloud, we can configure the hardware to match your MSU targets.