Linux distributions for POWER6 and POWER7 Linux on Power systems

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Use this topic to find the Linux® distributions optimized for servers POWER7+, POWER7®, and POWER6® Power Systems servers running Linux.

In the following tables, Linux distributions optimized are those that include a platform-enabled compiler and libraries tuned for the processor. Linux distributions are the minimum operating system versions that are supported for the processor.

Note: The recommended Linux distribution for a particular server is always the latest level distribution that is optimized for the server. The listed distributions are the operating system versions that are supported for the specific hardware. For information about the product lifecycles for the Linux distributions, refer to the distribution's support site:

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server: Novell Support Product Support Lifecycle (https://support.novell.com/lifecycle/)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux: Red Hat Enterprise Linux Life Cycle (https://access.redhat.com/site/support/policy/updates/errata/)

Note: The code names in the table below will NOT be published in external documentation. They are noted for review only, and will be stripped out in build before publishing.

Table 1. Linux distributions for POWER7+ processor-based servers
IBM® POWER7+ processor-based servers	Linux distributions optimized for POWER7+ processor-based servers		Other Linux distributions
Jupiter IOC+ 8202-E4D (IBM Power® 720 Express®) 8205-E6D (IBM Power 740 Express)	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, any subsequent updates Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.4, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP2, any subsequent service packs
Juno IOC+ 8231-E1D (IBM Power 710 Express) 8231-E2D (IBM Power 730 Express) 8268-E1D (IBM Power 710 Express)
Juno IOC+-L 8246-L1D (IBM PowerLinux 7R1) 8246-L1T (IBM PowerLinux 7R1) 8246-L2D (IBM PowerLinux 7R2) 8246-L2T (IBM PowerLinux 7R2) Notes: This system runs Linux only; it does not run other operating systems such as AIX® and IBM i. See the additional note following the POWER7 table for information about supported Ethernet devices.
Thorad-L 8248-L4T (IBM PowerLinux 7R4) Note: This system runs Linux only; it does not run other operating systems such as AIX and IBM i.
Thorad+ 8408-E8D (IBM Power 750) 9109-RMD (IBM Power 760)
Saturn IOC+ 9117-MMD (IBM Power 770) 9179-MHD (IBM Power 780)	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, any subsequent updates Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.3, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP2, any subsequent service packs	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.9, any subsequent updates
Firebird+ 7895-23x (IBM Flex System® p260 Compute Node)			Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.9, any subsequent updates
Firebird+ 7895-42X (IBM Flex System p460 Compute Node)	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, any subsequent updates Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.4, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP2, any subsequent service packs
TransAm 2S 7954-24X (IBM Flex System p270 Compute Node)

Table 2. Linux distributions for POWER7 processor-based servers
IBM POWER7 processor-based servers	Linux distributions optimized for POWER7 processor-based servers		Other Linux distributions
Jupiter IOC 8202-E4C (IBM Power 720 Express) 8205-E6C (IBM Power 740 Express)	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.1, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP1, any subsequent service packs	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.7, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP4, any subsequent service packs
Jupiter 8202-E4B (IBM Power 720 Express) 8205-E6B (IBM Power 740 Express)	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP1, any subsequent service packs	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP3, any subsequent service packs
Juno IOC 8231-E1C (IBM Power 710 Express) 8231-E2C (IBM Power 730 Express)	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.1, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP1, any subsequent service packs	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.7, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP4, any subsequent service packs
Juno 8231-E2B (IBM Power 710 Express and IBM Power 730 Express)	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP1, any subsequent service packs	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP3, any subsequent service packs
Atlas 8233-E8B (IBM Power 750 Express) 8236-E8C (IBM Power 755)	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, any subsequent updates		Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5, any subsequent updates
Juno IOC-L 8246-L1C (IBM PowerLinux 7R1) 8246-L1S (IBM PowerLinux 7R1) Notes: This system runs Linux only; it does not run other operating systems such as AIX and IBM i. See the additional note following the POWER7 table for information about supported Ethernet devices.	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.2, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP2, any subsequent service packs	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.8, any subsequent updates
Juno IOC-L 8246-L2C (IBM PowerLinux 7R2) 8246-L2S (IBM PowerLinux 7R2) Notes: This system runs Linux only; it does not run other operating systems such as AIX and IBM i. See the additional note following the POWER7 table for information about supported Ethernet devices.	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.1, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP1, any subsequent service packs	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.7, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP4, any subsequent service packs
Saturn IOC 9117-MMC (IBM Power 770) 9179-MHC (IBM Power 780)	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.1, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP1, any subsequent service packs	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.7, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP4, any subsequent service packs
Saturn 9117-MMB (IBM Power 770) 9179-MHB (IBM Power 780)	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP1, any subsequent service packs	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP3, any subsequent service packs
Titan 9119-FHB (IBM Power 795)	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, any subsequent updates		Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5, any subsequent updates
Firebird-L 1457-7FL (IBM Flex System p24L Compute Node) Note: This system runs Linux only; it does not run other operating systems such as AIX and IBM i.	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.2, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP2, any subsequent service packs	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.7, any subsequent updates
Firebird 7895-22X (IBM Flex System p260 Compute Node) 7895-42X (IBM Flex System p460 Compute Node)	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.2, any subsequent updates		Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.7, any subsequent updates
Falcon 7891-73X (IBM BladeCenter PS703) 7891-74X (IBM BladeCenter PS704)	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP1, any subsequent service packs	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.6, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP4, any subsequent service packs
Eagle 8406-70Y (IBM BladeCenter PS700) 8406-71Y (IBM BladeCenter PS701 and IBM BladeCenter PS702)	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP1, any subsequent service packs	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP3, any subsequent service packs

Note: For IBM PowerLinux 7R2, only the PCIe LP 2-Port 1GbE TX adapter (feature code EL2M / 5281) is supported as the Ethernet device for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP1 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.1 or 5.7. PCIe2 LP 4-port 1GbE Adapter (feature code EL11 / 5260 / 5899) is not supported for these distributions.

In general, I/O adapters might require a later level Linux distribution than the minimum required by the server. Refer to the documentation for the adapter in the IBM POWER7 Information for details.

Table 3. Linux distributions for POWER6 processor-based servers
IBM POWER6 processor-based servers	Linux distributions optimized for POWER6 processor-based servers		Other Linux distributions
8203-E4A (IBM Power 520 Express) 8204-E8A (IBM Power 550 Express) 9407-M15 (IBM Power 520 Express) 9408-M25 (IBM Power 520 Express) 9409-M50 (IBM Power 550 Express) 9117-MMA (IBM Power 570)	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, any subsequent updates Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.1, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, any subsequent service packs SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP2, any subsequent service packs	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.5, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP1
9119-FHA (IBM Power 595) 9125-F2A (IBM Power 575)	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, any subsequent updates Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.1, any subsequent updates	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, any subsequent service packs SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP2, any subsequent service packs	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.6, any subsequent updates
7778-23X (IBM BladeCenter JS23 and IBM BladeCenter JS43) 7998-60X (IBM BladeCenter JS12) 7998-61X (IBM BladeCenter JS22)			Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.6, any subsequent updates

For POWER5 processor-based servers, the following distributions are supported:

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP2 (and subsequent service packs)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 (and subsequent service packs)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.1 (and subsequent updates)

Later versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux are not supported for POWER5.

For more information and a side-by-side comparison of the various systems available with many of their key specifications and information about supported Linux versions, see the Facts and Features and I/O Features reports at http://www.ibm.com/systems/p/hardware/reports/factsfeatures.html.

See the following distribution web sites for detailed information about the distributions: