System z and z/OS unique Characteristics

Many people still associate mainframes with obsolete technology. Surprisingly, the opposite is true. Mainframes feature many hardware, software, and system integration technologies, that are either not at all, or only in an elementary form, available on other server platforms. On the other hand, we know of no advanced server features which are not available on mainframes. This paper lists some 40 advanced mainframe technologies. There is a short description of each item together with a literature reference for more information

Forschungs- und Entwicklungsprojekte: Virtuelle Maschinen: zSeries- und S/390-Partitionierung

Der gleichzeitige Betrieb mehrerer Gast-Betriebssysteme auf einem einzigen physischen Rechner unter einem Host-Betriebssystem ist eine leistungsfähige moderne Entwicklung. Bekannte Beispiele sind VMware für die IA32-Architektur sowie das Betriebssystem z/VM und die PR/SM-LPAR Einrichtungen der zSeries-Architektur. Die Nutzung eines Betriebssystems als Gast bedingt einen Leistungsverlust. Die als Partitionierung bezeichnete Zuordnung von Systemressourcen zu den einzelnen Gast-Betriebssysteme ist schwierig, wenn eine dynamische Anpassung an sich ändernde Lastprofile erforderlich ist. Diese Probleme lassen sich mittels Erweiterungen der Hardwarearchitektur adressieren, sowie durch Softwarestrukturen, welche diese Erweiterungen nutzen. Die Erweiterungen der Hardwarearchitektur gehen über das hinaus, was auf heutigen Rechnerarchitekturen wie IA32 oder Mips verfügbar ist. Der vorliegende Beitrag erläutert den optimalen Betrieb von Gast-Betriebssystemen und die begleitenden Partitionierungsmöglichkeiten auf der zSeries-Plattform und beschreibt die zusätzlichen Hardware und Software-Einrichtungen, welche dies ermöglichen.The capability to run multiple guest operating systems simultaneously on a single hardware platform is a powerful feature in a modern computer system.Well-known examples are VMware for the IA32-architecture and the z/VM operating system and the PR/SM-LPAR facilities of the zSeries architecture. Running an operating system as a guest results in a performance degradation. Partitioning of system resources and assigning them to individual guests may be difficult, if a dynamic adaptation to an ever changing load profile is required. Extensions of the hardware architecture and their exploitation by software permit to address these problems. Such extensions have not been available on existing architectures like IA32 or Mips. The following paper discusses the operation of guest operating systems and associated partitioning capabilities available in zSeries systems and describes supporting hardware and software facilities

High Availability and Scalability of Mainframe Environments using System z and z/OS as example

Mainframe computers are the backbone of industrial and commercial computing, hosting the most relevant and critical data of businesses. One of the most important mainframe environments is IBM System z with the operating system z/OS. This book introduces mainframe technology of System z and z/OS with respect to high availability and scalability. It highlights their presence on different levels within the hardware and software stack to satisfy the needs for large IT organizations

Анализ перспективных подходов к решению задач комплексного модели-рования технологий самоуправляемых вычислений в критических приложениях

Leading manufacturers of computer systems and technologies realize the importance of adaptive control and self-organization in information infrastructure of the XXI century. New adaptive technologies were already called “natural” and “organic” (Organic IT). Analysis of modern evolution tendencies for information system and technologies are discussed in the paper. Conception and methods of integrated modeling of self-organization computing technologies in critical applications are presented.В современных условиях ведущие производители компьютерных технологий и систем осознают необходимость и важность проблем создания и внедрения в XXI веке концепции адаптивного управления и самоорганизации в информационную сферу. Указанные информационные технологии XXI века уже получили определение «естественные», «органичные» (Organic IT). В статье анализируются основные тенденции развития информационных технологий и систем. Приводится пример реализации концепций и методов комплексного моделирования технологий самоуправляемых вычислений в критических приложениях

Intelligent Resource Director Intelligent Resource Director (IRD), a feature of

the IBM eServer zSeries TM processors and the z/OS TM operating system, manages multiple heterogeneous workloads with various business priorities toward achieving their goals. It establishes a more synergistic relationship with the Workload Manager (WLM) component of z/OS and the zSeries hardware, and augments the adjustments that WLM makes to local sysplex members by managing the set of logical partitions on a particular central processing complex (CPC) that are part of the same sysplex, known as a logically partitioned (LPAR) cluster. This paper describes the three primary areas that IRD manages: LPAR CPU management, channel subsystem priority queueing (CSSPQ), and dynamic channel path management (DCM)