I just bought an IBM Power9 — now what?

I bid on an auction on a whim and ended up with an IBM Power9 S914 server with 4x16GB RAM and 12 open slots. Below it is a TS4300 tape library that can hold 40 LTO cartridges, which works out to about 720TB if using 18TB tapes. I honestly have no idea where to start with it.

The top unit is an IBM HMC (7063-CR1), which can manage multiple servers. The setup also came with rails, cables, spare network cards, and a slide-out KVM with a screen and keyboard.

At home, I already have a full rack with unused Dell R620s, a Unifi UNAS-Pro with 7x20TB WD Red Pros for media, and a small Dell micro cluster for my homelab. I originally wanted a server to host some SaaS sites, but now I’m considering selling the IBM gear and getting a Dell R740 or R750 instead.

So, what exactly do I have here, what’s it worth, and what’s the best way to sell it if I decide to? Or what would you do with it if it were yours?

Tagged: LTO Tape

Data Recovery

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Jace Elric

Participant

October 16, 2025 at 9:32 am

You have an IBM Power9 S914 server with 64 GB of RAM, an HMC 7063-CR1, and a TS4300 tape library that holds 40 LTO cartridges. This is enterprise hardware intended for running AIX or Linux on POWER9 and managing large-scale tape backups, and it is very different from standard x86 servers like your Dells. Its resale value is roughly $3,000–$8,000 depending on the CPU, RAM, and whether tape drives are included. The most practical way to sell it is through IT resellers, enterprise auctions, or to universities and labs. Keeping it would provide a platform for learning POWER systems and enterprise backup workflows, but for a home lab focused on media or SaaS, selling it and using the proceeds for modern x86 servers is likely more useful.

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