IBM System x3350 review

All menus are easily accessed from the left side bar where you can run regular network discoveries, collect inventory data and view the status of selected systems. Virtual servers are now supported and a range of remote access features is provided so you can run file transfers and fire up remote control sessions using RDP or RealVNC.

Power management also gets a boost as the older PowerExecutive utility gets its marching orders and is replaced with the new Active Energy Manager plug-in for Systems Director. The x3350 doesn't support the power capping and saving features but the power monitoring allows you to view trend graphs of power usage and system temperatures over time.

The power management tools interact with the server's embedded baseboard management controller which is also used by the Systems Director to remotely power the server on and off or restart it. The x3350 also has room for IBM's optional Remote Supervisor Adapter SlimLine II card which offers remote browser access to the server and provides a similar feature set to HP's embedded iLO2 controller.

As an SMB single socket server, the x3350 is a little on the pricey side but it does deliver a good specification in a slim-line chassis that's low on power consumption. It offers plenty of redundancy and the new Systems Director management software easily rivals HP's Systems Insight Manager for features.

Author: Dave Mitchell