{
  "name": "IBM Power Generation Graph Dataset (Power7-Power11)",
  "description": "Structured, cross-generation comparison dataset tracking announcement dates, cores, memory architecture, performance, IBM i OS support ceiling, energy efficiency, and lifecycle/support status across five IBM Power generations: Power7, Power8, Power9, Power10, and Power11.",
  "sources": [
    "https://www.ibm.com/products/power",
    "https://powersystemsadvisors.com/guides/ibm-power-end-of-life",
    "https://serviceexpress.com/resources/ibm-power-comparison-power8-power9-power10-power11/",
    "https://www.itjungle.com/2024/12/02/power11-takes-memory-bandwidth-up-to-well-eleven/",
    "https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/planning-upgrade-ibm-i-76-hardware"
  ],
  "updated_at": "2026-08-15",
  "table": {
    "caption": "IBM Power generation graph: Power7 through Power11",
    "headers": ["Generation", "Announced", "Cores (per socket, typical range)", "Memory Architecture", "IBM i OS Ceiling", "Relative Performance Signal", "Energy / Efficiency Signal", "Lifecycle Status (as of 2026)"],
    "rows": [
      ["Power7", "February 8, 2010 (POWER7+ refresh 2013-2014)", "Up to 8 cores/socket (entry-mid); up to 8-core modules scaling to 32 sockets on the largest system (795)", "DDR3", "IBM i 7.3 (7.4 requires Power8+)", "Entry 4-core rated near 44,600 CPW; scales substantially higher on 8-core and multi-socket configurations", "Baseline generation for this comparison; no publicly comparable rPerf/Watt figure gathered", "Hardware support ended 2019 (Power7) / 2020 (POWER7+); IBM i 7.3 standard support ended Sept 2023, Service Extension through Sept 2028"],
      ["Power8", "April 2014 (initial); refreshed through 2016-2017", "Up to 12 cores/socket (SMT8)", "DDR3 / DDR4", "IBM i 7.4 (7.5 requires Power9+)", "12-core Power8 configuration: approximately 3,679 rPerf at approximately 16,600W", "Baseline reference point for Power9/Power10 efficiency comparisons", "Every current model past its own IBM end-of-support date (Oct 2023 - Jul 2025 by model); IBM i 7.4 standard support ends Sept 30, 2026"],
      ["Power9", "December 2017 (initial); scale-out and enterprise models through 2018", "Up to 12 cores/socket (SMT8) or 24 cores/socket (SMT4)", "DDR4", "IBM i 7.5 (final release; 7.6 requires Power10+)", "12-core Power9 configuration: approximately 5,081 rPerf at approximately 16,520W", "Roughly 1.38x the rPerf/Watt of the comparable Power8 configuration", "Mature installed base; still within IBM's supported hardware window as of 2026 on current models"],
      ["Power10", "September 2021 (initial); scale-out and enterprise models through 2022", "Up to 15 cores/socket (SMT8) or 30 cores/socket (SMT4)", "DDR4 (entry/scale-out); DDR5 memory buffer architecture on enterprise tier", "IBM i 7.4, 7.5, and 7.6 (7.6 requires firmware FW1060 or later)", "15-core Power10 configuration: approximately 7,998 rPerf at approximately 17,320W; over 100% CPW gain vs. comparable Power8/Power9 configurations", "Approximately 2.06x the rPerf/Watt of Power8 and 1.48x the rPerf/Watt of Power9", "Actively sold and supported by IBM alongside Power11 as of 2026"],
      ["Power11", "July 2025", "Higher core counts than Power10 at entry and mid-range tiers; up to 45% more capacity vs. comparable Power10 configurations", "DDR5 (3.2 GHz, up to 1,200 GB/sec bandwidth per socket)", "IBM i 7.5 and 7.6", "Up to 55% better core performance than comparable Power9 configurations; 25.5% more memory bandwidth and 28% more usable memory than comparable Power10 configurations", "IBM's current most energy-efficient generation; specific rPerf/Watt figure not yet independently gathered for this dataset", "IBM's current shipping generation as of 2026"]
    ],
    "note": "Figures are generation-level, drawn from IBM's own published briefings and independent industry benchmarking where cited, and represent typical or maximum configurations within each generation rather than any single specific model. Where an exact figure was not independently confirmed for this dataset, that is stated plainly rather than estimated.",
    "footnote": "CPW (Commercial Processing Workload) and rPerf (relative performance) are IBM's own sizing metrics and are not directly interchangeable; both are shown where available to preserve source fidelity. See each generation's own AS400System.com site for that generation's full model-level catalog."
  },
  "efficiency_notes": [
    "The single largest jump in this dataset is Power7 to Power8: it is the only step that also changes the underlying memory architecture generation (DDR3 to DDR3/DDR4) while resetting the IBM i ceiling from 7.3 to 7.4.",
    "IBM i 7.6, the current release, only runs on Power10 (FW1060+) or Power11 -- three of the five generations in this table (Power7, Power8, Power9) cannot run it at all.",
    "Per-core performance growth compounds across generations rather than adding linearly -- see our sizing guide for why this means most Power7 workloads need far fewer cores on a Power11 replacement than the core count alone would suggest.",
    "Power10's efficiency gain (2.06x rPerf/Watt vs Power8) is itself a meaningful data center power and cooling consideration for any multi-generation consolidation project, independent of raw performance headroom."
  ]
}