IBM Z mainframes get AI boost with new Telum II processor, Spyre accelerator

IBM is outfitting the next generation of its Z and LinuxONE mainframes with its latest Telum processor and a new accelerator aimed at boosting performance of AI and other data-intensive workloads.

The new processor, the IBM Telum II, has greater memory and cache capacity than the previous generation, and it integrates a new data processing unit (DPU) specialized for IO acceleration along with enhanced on-chip AI acceleration capabilities.

Developed using Samsung 5nm technology, Telum II has eight high-performance cores running at 5.5GHz, according to IBM. It includes a 40% increase in on-chip cache capacity with virtual L3 and virtual L4 growing to 360MB and 2.88GB, respectively.