It enabled 32-bit x86 Linux binaries to run unmodified on the Power ISA-based hardware.
IBM used this feature to migrate x86 Linux servers to the PowerVM virtualized environment; it was supported on all POWER5 and POWER6 hardware as well as BladeCenter JS21 and JS22 systems.
In contrast to regular emulators only the instructions are translated, not the entire system, thus making it fast and flexible.
Lx86 was based on the QuickTransit dynamic translator from Transitive, the same that Apple uses for its Rosetta emulation layer that enables Mac OS X to run unmodified PowerPC binaries on their Intel-based Macintoshes.
All versions and releases of the Lx86 product were withdrawn from marketing in September 2011, with support discontinued in April 2013.