AS/400 9406 Power Requirements by Model
IBM published electrical and physical requirements for the 9406 machine types: rated voltage, phase, kVA, maximum watts and thermal output for the iSeries 270, 800, 810, 820, 825, 830, 840, 870 and 890.
When someone says AS400 and means a specific machine, the machine type is almost always 9406. That number is on the serial tag, and it is what IBM used across the AS/400, AS/400e, iSeries and System i years before the Power branding took over. This page collects IBM published electrical and physical requirements for the 9406 machine types that are still moved, resold, decommissioned and occasionally still running.
These are nameplate ratings. They exist so an electrician can size a circuit and a breaker and so a facilities planner can size cooling. They are not the load the machine puts on the room in normal operation.
IBM Electrical Ratings by 9406 Machine Type
Rated voltage, phase, maximum kVA, maximum power and maximum thermal output as published by IBM for each machine type.
| Machine type | Common name | Rated voltage and frequency | Phase | Maximum kVA | Maximum power | Maximum thermal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9406-270 | iSeries 270 | 100 - 127 / 200 - 240 V ac at 50 - 60 Hz | 1 | 0.421 | 400 W | 1,365 Btu/hr |
| 7104 | 270 expansion unit | 100 - 127 / 200 - 240 V ac at 50 - 60 Hz | 1 | 0.368 | 350 W | 1,194 Btu/hr |
| 9406-800 | iSeries 800 | 100 - 127 / 200 - 240 V ac at 50 - 60 Hz | 1 | 0.421 | 400 W | 1,365 Btu/hr |
| 9406-810 | iSeries 810 | 100 - 127 / 200 - 240 V ac at 50 - 60 Hz | 1 | 0.421 | 400 W | 1,365 Btu/hr |
| 9406-820 | iSeries 820 | 100 - 127 / 200 - 240 V ac at 50 - 60 Hz | 1 | Not published | 840 W | 2,867 Btu/hr |
| 9406-825 | iSeries 825 | 200 - 240 V ac at 50 - 60 Hz | 1 | 1.540 | 1,463 W | 4,993 Btu/hr |
| 9406-830 | iSeries 830 | 200 - 240 V ac at 50 - 60 Hz | 1 | 1.684 | 1,600 W | 5,461 Btu/hr |
| 9406-840 | iSeries 840 | 200 - 240 V ac at 50 - 60 Hz | 1 | 2.526 | 2,400 W | 8,191 Btu/hr |
| 9406-870 | iSeries 870 | 200 - 240 / 380 - 415 / 480 V ac at 50 - 60 Hz | 3 | 6.315 | 6,000 W | 20,478 Btu/hr |
| 9406-890, 24 core | iSeries 890 | 200 - 240 / 380 - 415 / 480 V ac at 50 - 60 Hz | 3 | 8.201 | 7,791 W | 26,591 Btu/hr |
| 9406-890, 32 core | iSeries 890 | 200 - 240 / 380 - 415 / 480 V ac at 50 - 60 Hz | 3 | 10.099 | 9,594 W | 32,744 Btu/hr |
Two things in this table decide most facility questions. The first is phase. Everything through the 9406-840 is single phase. The 9406-870 and 9406-890 require a three phase supply, which is the single biggest reason a room that held an 820 cannot simply take an 890. The second is the voltage floor. The 270, 800, 810 and 820 accept 100 to 127 V, so they can run on a standard outlet. From the 825 upward, 200 to 240 V is mandatory.
Dimensions and Weight
Weight matters more than most planners expect on this generation. A 9406-870 or 9406-890 at 800 kg is a floor loading question and a freight question before it is an electrical question.
| Machine type | Width | Depth | Height | Maximum configuration weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9406-270 | 366 mm (14.5 in) | 728 mm (28.7 in) | 610 mm (24.0 in) | 52.7 kg (116 lb) |
| 9406-800 / 810 | 366 mm (14.5 in) | 610 mm (24.0 in) | 610 mm (24.0 in) | 52.7 kg (116 lb) |
| 9406-820 | 483 mm (19.0 in) | 728 mm (28.7 in) | 610 mm (24.0 in) | 96 kg (210 lb) |
| 9406-825 | Not published | Not published | 610 mm (24.0 in) | 110 kg (242 lb) |
| 9406-830 | 483 mm (19.0 in) | 1,080 mm (42.5 in) | 1,270 mm (50.0 in) | 400 kg (881.5 lb) |
| 9406-840 | 565 mm (22.3 in) | 1,320 mm (52.0 in) | 1,577 mm (62.0 in) | 397 kg (875 lb) |
| 9406-870 / 890 | 785 mm (30.9 in) | 1,494 mm (58.8 in) | 2,025 mm (79.7 in) | 800 kg (1,758 lb) |
Service clearance is separate from these figures. Plan front and rear access for every machine in this family, and confirm the route into the room, including door widths, lift capacity and floor tiles, before delivery is scheduled.
Operating Environment
IBM publishes the same broad operating envelope across this family. For the 9406-820 the documented range is 10 to 38 degrees C (50 to 100.4 degrees F), 8 to 80 percent relative humidity noncondensing, and a maximum altitude of 3,048 m (10,000 ft).
Those are survival limits, not targets. Running a legacy 9406 near the top of that temperature band shortens component life and gives no margin when cooling fails. Treat the upper figure as the point where a room has already gone wrong.
What the 9406 Numbers Look Like Against Current Hardware
This is the comparison that usually matters, because a 9406 question is often really a replacement question.
| Legacy machine | Rated maximum | Phase | Current equivalent | Rated maximum | Phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9406-270 / 800 / 810 | 400 W | 1 | Power 11 S1112 (9242-21B) | 550 W | 1 |
| 9406-820 | 840 W | 1 | Power 11 S1112 (9242-21B) | 550 W | 1 |
| 9406-825 | 1,463 W | 1 | Power 10 S1014 (9105-41B) | 1,075 W | 1 |
| 9406-830 | 1,600 W | 1 | Power 11 S1122 (9824-22A) | 2,600 W | 1 |
| 9406-840 | 2,400 W | 1 | Power 11 S1124 (9824-42A) | 2,950 W | 1 |
| 9406-870 | 6,000 W | 3 | Power 11 E1150 (9043-MRU) | 5,400 W | 1 |
| 9406-890, 32 core | 9,594 W | 3 | Power 11 E1180 (9080-HEU) | 4,850 W per node | 1 |
The pattern is not simply that new machines draw less. At the small end they do: a 9406-820 rated at 840 W is replaced by a Power 11 S1112 rated at 550 W, in a smaller chassis, on the same kind of circuit. At the top end the change is about phase and footprint rather than raw watts. A 9406-890 needed 9,594 W of three phase supply and a 800 kg cabinet. A Power 11 E1180 node is rated at 4,850 W on single phase in 5U, with far more capacity.
For the full current-generation figures see AS400 Power Requirements, which carries the Power 5 through Power 11 tables and the gap between rated and measured draw.
Machine Types This Page Does Not Cover
IBM published rated power and thermal tables for the machine types above. The earlier AS/400e machines ... the 9406-170, 9406-250, the 6xx and 7xx models and the Sxx models ... are not covered by an equivalent published rating table in the documentation that remains available.
For those machines the installation documentation lists power supply sizes rather than system ratings, and a power supply rating is not the same figure as a system rated maximum. Anyone planning a circuit, a UPS or a move for one of those models should work from that specific machine's own documentation or from a vendor who can match the serial and feature configuration. Publishing a number here that IBM did not publish for those models would not be safe to plan from.
Where to Go Next
If the question is current hardware, start with AS400 Power Requirements. If the question is which machine replaces a given 9406, see What Replaced AS400? and AS400 Model History. For the full machine-type table across every generation, use AS400 Power Requirements by Model.