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IBM AIX

Unix operating system from IBM

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 23, 2026
Entity authorityQ269856 ↗
Source-derived summary

AIX (pronounced ay-eye-EKS) is a series of proprietary Unix operating systems developed and sold by IBM since 1986. The name stands for "Advanced Interactive eXecutive". Current versions are designed to work with Power ISA based server and workstation computers such as IBM's Power line.

Background

Originally released for the IBM RT PC RISC workstation in 1986, AIX has supported a wide range of hardware platforms, including the IBM RS/6000 series and later Power and PowerPC-based systems, IBM System i, System/370 mainframes, PS/2 personal computers, and the Apple Network Server. Currently, it is supported on IBM Power Systems alongside IBM i and Linux.

AIX is based on UNIX System V with 4.3BSD-compatible extensions. It is certified to the UNIX 03 and UNIX V7 specifications of the Single UNIX Specification, beginning with AIX versions 5.3 and 7.2 TL5, respectively. Older versions were certified to the UNIX 95 and UNIX 98 specifications.

AIX was the first operating system to implement a journaling file system. IBM has continuously enhanced the software with features such as processor, disk, and network virtualization, dynamic hardware resource allocation (including fractional processor units), and reliability engineering concepts derived from its mainframe designs.

Editorial summary

“IBM AIX” enters the record as unix operating system from IBM. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Unix, operating and system can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1986—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1986-02. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Unix, operating and system.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“IBM AIX” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Unix, operating and system provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q269856. None of the 3 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1986.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “IBM AIX”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow IBM AIX primary sources, IBM AIX archive and Unix research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “IBM AIX”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “IBM AIX” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.