ZDNet: Tech Update: Enterprise Hardware / IBM announces Opteron support but lacks business rationale Although AMD's Opteron has not yet shipped, IBM will be one of the first major software vendors to announce support for the dual personality processor that will be able to run 32- or 64-bit operating systems and applications.
According to IBM spokesperson Sean Tetpon, IBM will showcase at LinuxWorld its DB2 database running on an Opteron-based system provided by a Newisys, a newcomer to an already crowded server market. The system will be running a 64-bit distribution of Linux provided by SuSE.
The decision to support Opteron is especially interesting in light of the fact that IBM's hardware division is turning a cold shoulder towards the AMD processor. It was my investigation into Opteron's chances for success that had me so captivated by IBM's decision to support it.