Linux on the S/390 mainframe is fluttering from theory to
implementation, yet the take-up is still relatively low.
Love and marriage may go together like a horse and carriage, but
Linux and the IBM mainframe platform seemed until a year or so ago
to be a rather more unlikely combination. The doyen of centralised
computing running the darling of the Open Source community? Surely
some mistake.
For IBM however, Linux running on the zSeries (or S/390) platform,
helps it fulfil two major targets. It helps further the development
of the open source operating system, which Big Blue has committed
itself to spending $1bn to do; and it should help increase sales of
what is still the company's flagship product, the mainframe, by
making it more appealing to a wider audience.
So what exactly is so appealing about running Linux on the zSeries
platform? 'Linux on the mainframe is principally a consolidation
ploy,' said Richard Lechner, vice president of zSeries worldwide at
IBM.
'I was at the Gartner Symposium recently, and a lot of the IT
directors I spoke to there were very excited by server
consolidation,' said Mike Lucas, technology director for Compuware.
'A lot of organisations end up with Linux being brought in at
department level, and nobody admits to where it came from, but as
these applications become more important the organisation has to
put them somewhere.'
'We have over 500 customers who are piloting or in production with
Linux on zSeries,' said Lechner. 'In addition we are seeing a
substantial number of new customers who are buying the platform
specifically because of Linux."
Since users can run multiple "virtual" instances of Linux on a
single mainframe, it is possible to create literally thousands of
virtual machines on the platform. IBM believes this fits in well
with the second part of its strategy, with customers attracted by
the appeal of being able to consolidate vast numbers of
departmental servers running Linux on a single central
platform
Users can also choose to run Linux as a native operating system on
the S/390, by allocating it a logical - and physical - partition on
the platform, but it is the virtual approach that is proving more
popular Lechner claimed.
The latter approach uses IBM's VM (Virtual Machine) operating
system, which allocates virtualised resources of processor and
memory to each Linux instance. The Linux kernel treats these
resources as physical hardware. For zVM IBM has changed the pricing
to make it a one-time charge, so users do not have to pay more for
large numbers of instances on a single machine.
"In fact this has caused a rebirth of VM," said Lechner. IBM is
planning to bring the pricing of VM for its other servers in line
with the zSeries, he said.
On the hardware side Linux will run on zSeries machines, as well as
older models: the G5, the G6, and the Multiprise 3000. On the
zSeries IBM has added high performance HiperSockets, which allow
high-speed connectivity for TCP/IP traffic between partitions,
which it claims can increase performance by up to 80 per cent. IBM
has also enhanced integration between Linux and zOS.
IBM offers users the choice of Linux distribution from Red Hat,
SuSe and TurboLinux. "We have no intention of going into the Linux
distribution business ourselves," Lechner said. Nor will IBM
support other players. "These companies are the largest Linux
distributors so we see no reason to support others," he said.
Customer examples include Korean Airlines, which is consolidating
its crew scheduling system off a number of NT servers to a single
zSeries running Linux, and Reuters, which is posting its trading
applications to Linux.
"People are always asking is Linux ready for prime time use, so
this sort of move is very important for us," said Lechner. "There's
nothing more mission critical than a trading application for a
brokerage firm."
The ability to offer users access to their own virtual copies of
Linux is also underpinning one of IBM's major development efforts,
the Linux Community Development System (LCDS). Under this scheme,
Linux developers can access Linux running on a mainframe via the
internet, and use it to develop, port or test their own
applications. For the developers this gives them access to the sort
of hardware few could dream of affording, while IBM benefits by
identifying Big Iron with the Open Source movement. Lechner said
over 2,500 developers have so far taken advantage of the scheme.
If IBM is going to win customers to the platform today, however,
then it needs applications to be available now, not sometime in the
future. One of the first big commercial software vendors to offer
support for Linux on the mainframe was enterprise resource planning
software supplier SAP, which made its mySAP.com enterprise suite
available for the platform earlier this year.
Other suppliers to support the platform include Computer
Associates, Candle, and BEA Systems. Messaging software company
SendMail is also a prominent supporter of Linux on the S/390, while
other companies such as Oracle make a developer version of their
products available for the platform. Siebel Systems is currently
evaluating the platform.
But what's in it for IBM? Obvious benefits, apart from selling more
servers, include services and support revenue for IBM Global
Services, and increased sales of IBM's middleware products.
"IBM is investing significant money and pushing hard to make Linux
work," said Meta Group analyst Dale Kutnick. "Traditional vendors
like IBM, Intel and others will make money by using Linux to sell
more hardware and services."
Good position
However, longer term IBM believes it will
be in a good position through offering Linux on all its platforms.
"Linux allows you to play in the space from the mainframe right
down to pervasive devices," said Lechner.
"With IBM supporting Linux on all its platforms, it means you can
write an application and run it anywhere," agreed Lucas.
IBM is also going back to school to capture support for Linux.
"There are more people being trained on Linux in college than any
other platform," said Lechner. This explains one of IBM's
programmes of the last couple of years, namely its decision to
provide universities with access to zSeries machines running Linux.
The University of Warwick has benefited from this largesse.
In November, IBM extended its efforts to capture mindshare in the
developer community by announcing it would make $40m worth of its
software programming tools available to the public domain. The
company also announced it would be one of the founder members of an
organisation called Eclipse, along with Red Hat and SuSe, which
would help to create Linux applications for e-business and Web
services.
Overall, Lechner said he is confident of Linux's success on the
S/390 platform. "IBM customers' use of Linux is growing at a
triple-digit rate," he said. "In a tough economic environment that
we have today things like cost of ownership, and better control of
assets are at the top of peoples minds.