Glossary
IBM Power 12 Glossary
Terminology for IBM Power hardware, AI acceleration silicon, and the engineering concepts behind IBM's next Power generation.
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- Chiplet Architecture — A processor design approach that splits what was once a single monolithic chip into multiple smaller, interconnected silicon dies (chiplets), often on different manufacturing processes.
- CPW (Commercial Processing Workload) — The IBM i capacity measure buyers will need before any claimed Power 12 performance comparison can be treated as real.
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- IBM i 8.1 (IBM i Next) — The projected next major IBM i operating system release after 7.6, independently projected for 2028 ... the same window analysts expect for Power 12.
- IBM Power — The server family Power 12 would join if IBM announces it, distinct from the IBM i, AIX, and Linux operating systems that run on current models.
- iSeries — An older IBM server name that should not be mistaken for a current model or a future Power 12 product name.
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- Open Memory Interface (OMI) — IBM's proprietary high-speed serial memory interconnect, replacing direct DDR signaling, already used in Power 10 and Power 11's DDR5 DDIMM memory.
- OpenPOWER Foundation — The IBM-founded (2013), now community-governed foundation that licenses the Power Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) royalty-free to outside implementers.
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- Power 10 — IBM's prior-generation Power processor family (S1014, S1022, S1022s, S1024, E1050, E1080), launched in 2021, two generations behind the expected Power 12.
- Power 11 — IBM's current, shipping Power processor and server generation, first announced July 2025 and expanded with the entry S1112 in July 2026.
- Power 12 — The unofficial, widely used placeholder name for IBM's Power processor and server generation expected after Power 11. IBM has not confirmed this name, a release date, or any specifications.
- Power 9 — IBM's Power generation before Power 10, still common in AS/400 and IBM i environments that are now comparing Power 11 refresh options.
- Power ISA — The reduced instruction set computer (RISC) architecture underlying every IBM Power processor generation, developed under OpenPOWER Foundation governance.
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- RAS (Reliability, Availability, Serviceability) — The engineering discipline, central to every IBM Power generation, of designing hardware that minimizes downtime and data loss for mission-critical enterprise workloads.
- rPerf (Relative Performance) — The AIX and Linux capacity measure needed before a Power 12 performance claim can support a real sizing decision.