Author: JT Smith
provider
of Linux distributions for enterprise and Internet infrastructure,
today
announced the release of its z/Linux 6.5 for IBM zSeries servers.
Re-hosting enterprise middle-tier applications on z/Linux running under
z/VM
(Virtual Machine) combines the uptime of Linux with the unified
management,
monitoring and control inherent in z/VM that far exceeds any operating
environment found on distributed systems. Even the largest enterprises
can
exploit the superior reliability that results, while also reaping
tremendous
cost savings from consolidating from dozens of servers to one machine.
“Our customers increasingly demand flexible industrial-strength
infrastructures upon which to run their businesses – Turbolinux z/Linux
6.5
on IBM eServer zSeries computers provides all this and more,” said
Ly-Huong
Pham, CEO of Turbolinux. “Leveraging z/VM, the mainframe can be
partitioned
into hundreds of ‘virtual servers,’ each running an application
independently. Businesses can exploit an architecture designed for
high-availability to reduce costs without sacrificing server autonomy –
gaining an edge in a competitive marketplace.”
Mainframe Power And 24 x 7 Support
IBM and Turbolinux recognize that customers wanting to run Linux on the
mainframe need both VM and Linux skills. “We wanted to ease the
concerns of
Linux and z/VM administrators,” said Hervey Allen, systems engineer at
Turbolinux. “A company wanting to adopt Linux for its mainframe or,
conversely, wanting to consolidate client/servers onto an S/390 or
zSeries
machine, can rely on Turbolinux’s integrated VM and Linux support.
Through
a strategic partnership with Sytek Services, a premier VM consulting
firm,
Turbolinux is able to provide 24 x 7 support from a single point of
contact
and responsibility. And we offer more than just find/fix support –
including hands-on systems and performance assurance as well as update
and
application counseling.”
z/Linux includes much more than a Linux distribution. The Services
Delivery
Option (SDO) offers a custom z/Linux installation on VM distributed via
tape. Customers receive a fully-loaded tape that is easily copied to
their
own z/VM environment for immediate use. This instant deployment means
that
Linux administrators need not learn VM and that VM systems programmers
are
not forced to learn Linux to get the z/Linux environment functioning
quickly. In addition, Turbolinux will provide full support and the SDO
to
S/390 users who have installed different Linux distributions, such as
SuSE.
Simple, Complete, Manageable and Production-Ready
With a unified console for all administrative tasks, systems
administrators
are able to deploy, monitor, and manage all Linux images from a single
screen. Configuring and deploying each completely new Linux
environment to
run under VM requires a few simple commands, taking a few minutes to
create,
allowing administrators to create new servers on-demand and deploy on
the
fly without the need to purchase and configure new hardware.
z/Linux running under z/VM reduces the skills and time required for
tuning,
because any of the resources allocated to a virtual machine, like CPU
cycles, can be changed on the fly. Plus, the huge headache of software
distribution and versioning is solved. Only one copy of each
application is
required, supporting 100 or more ‘virtual servers’.
VM is a production-ready operating system, having been available for
over 30
years. Customers can confidently host Linux applications knowing that
it is
a safe and secure environment.
Economies of Scale
The total cost of ownership for a traditional server farm with 3500 –
7500
discrete systems is approximately $1500 per square foot, per month and
requires 20,000 square feet in order to house all the equipment. But,
a
server farm running z/Linux on an S/390 can house up to thousands of
systems
in just 400 square feet. Compared to a distributed solution, the
initial
investment can be as little as one-tenth, with ongoing costs as little
as
one-third.
Applications Available Today
There is a wealth of applications available for the S/390 mainframe and
most
customers will find that all their current middle tier applications can
be
re-hosted to Linux with minimal effort.
About Turbolinux, Inc.
Founded in 1992, Turbolinux develops Linux-based software solutions for
Internet and enterprise computing infrastructure, including reliable,
available and scalable operating systems for workstations and servers
and
software clustering solutions for computing traffic management and
peer-to-peer distributed computing. Backed by more than $95 million in
investments from some of the world’s leading technology companies,
including
Compaq, Dell, Fujitsu, Hitachi, IBM, Intel, NEC, Novell, Oracle, SGI
and
Toshiba, Turbolinux is headquartered near San Francisco with offices
around
the world. For more information, visit the Turbolinux Web site at
http://www.turbolinux.com.
Turbolinux is a registered trademark of Turbolinux, Inc. Linux is a
registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other registered trademarks
belong to their respective holders.
