IBM's Newest Mainframe Is All Linux

dcblogs writes "IBM has released a new mainframe server that doesn't include its z/OS operating system. This Enterprise Linux Server line supports Red Hat or Suse. The system is packaged with mainframe management and virtualization tools. The minimum processor configuration uses two specialty mainframe processors designed for Linux. IBM wants to go after large multicore x86 Linux servers and believes the $212,000 entry price can do it."

I guess...

[mhajicek]

I guess they need a blue penguin.

Year 2009 is the year of...

[Wingman 5]

...Linux on the mainframe!

Nooo!!! We will never have flying cars that way ;(

[sznupi]

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrFgRAcr0jg [youtube.com] )

Re:An in-house cloud.

[rgbscan]

Hmmm... Captive Cloud Computing? Has a nice marketing ring to it. I better hurry and trademark that!

x86 Linux Server...

[Anonymous Coward]

$212 sounds like a reasonable price for an x86 Linux server, at least as an entry level.

Just one question: What's a "000 entry price"?

Stocking stuffer

[ewg]

At $212,000, a great stocking-stuffer for the kernel hacker who has everything.

Re:Mainframe or Server?

[martin-boundary]

I thought phasing out the other OSes in favour of Linux was IBM's long term plan? Something about allowing their customers to target a single OS and letting them mix and match (IBM's) hardware.

Screensaver?

[kregg]

What screensavers come with it, can I add my own?

Re:I guess...

[Nefarious Wheel]

This is all okay with me, as long as they don't use JCL. Ayyy I hated that shit when learning assembler on the 360, but then again they never thought JCL and didn't have any books on it, which is probably why I hated it.

IEBGENR! CORGZ! (runs after IsIIII shouting DASD Acronyms). RACF!!

Ok, ok, it's your lawn.

Re:Screensaver?

[Randwulf]

I hear there are some great ones on Gnome-Look.

Re:Screensaver?

[ChipMonk]

Just make sure you don't get them from gnome-look.org. If you do, go over the source with a fine-tooth comb first.

I'd rather run Folding@Home, SETI@Home, and GIMPS in the background.

Re:I guess...

[gbarules2999]

I'm a PC, and Fedora 12 was my idea.

Re:An in-house cloud.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, please do hurry. Also, while you are at it - trademark "cloud seeding" (the process of giving out an eval server to get people to buy more for their captive cloud), "cloud burst" (what happens when your cloud runneth over), "every cloud has a silver lining" (profit!), "cloud cover" (your backup plan), and "cloud nines" (the number of 9's of reliability you have managed to achieve).

Re:Grammar

[palegray.net]

I like your idea, and think it would make an excellent topic for my next blog post. Once it's done I'll be sure to tweet the URL to you. Maybe I'll ask my boss to consider buying one of these IBM machines to host the blog; I'm certain my traffic is going to go through the roof!

Re:Grammar

[Alegery]

Postfix.

Re:Screensaver?

[Degrees]

So I was installing SuSE on our new z/OS mainframe (to a virtual machine guest to be specific), and the list of packages being installed was scrolling by: gstreamer.s390

And I'm thinking to myself "who, on God's Green Earth, had the job of porting audio to an EBCDIC based mainframe?" Talk about bizarro world....

But then I thought sure, it may not be used much; but when it does, it could launch 3,840 streams at 130 decibel. It's a Beowulf cluster of Rick Astley in a single box! And THAT is all worth it.

Re:That's cool and all...

[thePowerOfGrayskull]

No. Doesn't support enough RAM.

Re:Screensaver?

[kregg]

I don't mind contributing my PC resources to that, RickAstley@Home anyone?

Re:Mainframe or Server?

[Anonymous Coward]

That said, I bet the number of undergrad students studying CS intensive majors in the USA who have used zOS at all outside of work experience is countable

I would certainly hope so! If there are uncountably many CS majors in the USA the job market is going to be terrible in a few years.