zLinux: RHEL on IBM mainframe

[Kenneth Holter]

I'm interested in how zLinux (i.e. Linux on z/VM) compares to, say, Vmware.
Do you know of any more or less objective documents not produced/sponsored
by IBM?


On 1/9/09, Shawn Wells <swells at redhat.com> wrote:
>
> Kenneth Holter wrote:
>
>> Hi.
>>
>>
>> Does anyone have experience with running RHEL on IBM mainframe? In
>> particular, I'm curious about what implications this has for the linux
>> system administration part of it, such as these:
>>
>>
> Hi Kenneth,
>
>   I'm the lead solutions architect for Linux on System z at Red Hat -- feel
> free to ping me offline.
>
>
>   - Whick package repositories are available?
>>
>>
> Pretty much all of them.  The largest difference is that there is not GFS
> or RHCS at this time.
>
>   - Are there any EPEL-like repos for zLinux?
>>
>>
> Yes.
>
>   - Can we use our Red Hat Satellite Server to manage packages for zLinux?
>>
>>
> Yes.  The largest catch is when you do provisioning -- you'll need to
> assign the virtual machine resources through z/VM, then upon your first IPL
> you can connect into satellite.
>
>   - Are there many tweak and issues I need to be aware of?
>>
>>
> Slight command differences, fdasd versus fdisk kind of things.  Memory
> management is also completely different -- a 64mb allocation of memory
> suites many peoples needs.
>
> We currently have quite a few RHEL servers based on x86 hardware, so I'm
>> basically interested in what kind of changes/adjustments I must implement
>> to add IBM mainframe to our list of hardware platforms. Please let me know
>> if there are other mailing lists that are more suitable for this topic.
>>
>>
>>
> If you have an option, run the RHN Satellite off the Mainframe.  When it's
> on the Z it can utilize hipersockets -- a network stack in memory -- for
> high throughput.  15-30 second provisioning can be achieved.  It will still
> manage distributed boxes in the same way.
>
> If looking at this from an economical standpoint, your consolidation ratio
> makes or breaks the business case.  RHEL for System z is offered on a
> per-IFL subscription basis with unlimited virtual machines.  At one customer
> they run ~55 virtual machines per IFL on a z9, but do note they're low-end
> web servers, DNS, ftp, etc.
>
> You'll need to decide how you want to virtualize your system -- z/VM or
> LPAR.  LPAR+RHEL is common criteria'd, sponsored by IBM.  I've found it
> easier to train a Linux staff member on z/VM than a z/VM person on Linux --
> but that's my own perception, talent of your team matters most.  IBM has a
> few training classes out there, but the one's I've seen are mostly
> install-lab type activities (versus detailed storage management, memory
> management, etc).
>
> Read into CMM1 -- it may yield you significant performance boosts.
> http://www.vm.ibm.com/perf/reports/zvm/html/530cmm.htm
>
> For a manual, you'll find the RHEL5 RedBook handy.
> linuxvm.org/Present/misc/virt-cookbook-RH5.pdf
>
> Linuxvm.org is a great resource for presentations,
> http://linuxvm.org/Present/index.html
>
> -Shawn
>
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