 
Highlights
- Supports balanced server growth while providing enhanced security for e-business applications
- Helps ensure critical applications remain responsive and available even during periods of unpredictable demand
- Helps protect and leverage current investments as new technologies and applications are integrated
Extending your reach
When managing a business, every detail is important, particularly information technology. That's why more and more companies are running their mission-critical operations on a UNIX® operating system. With its proven scalability, reliability and manageability, UNIX is an excellent choice for building an IT infrastructure. There are a number of UNIX operating systems available, but only one leverages IBM experience in building the solutions that run businesses worldwide. And, only one UNIX operating system leads the industry in vision and delivery of advanced support for 64-bit platforms with an affinity for Linux®. That operating system is AIX 5L™.
Conforming to The Open Group UNIX 98 Base Brand industry standard, AIX is fully integrated to support 32- and 64-bit applications running concurrently, in their full range of scalability. It operates across the range of IBM eServer™ p5, IBM eServer™ pSeries®, IBM eServer™ i5 and IBM RS/6000® workstations, servers and massively parallel supercomputers. A datacenter utilizing AIX 5L is ideal for business applications that require very high throughput, quick response times and 24x7 availability.
AIX 5L Version 5.2 moves the AIX 5L operating system into the next stage of autonomic computing infrastructure. It provides innovative scalability technology while continuing to offer application affinity with Linux, tools that simplify systems management, and leadership security mapping between heterogeneous platforms. AIX 5L V5.2 also has new and improved functions for operational flexibility, workload management, system availability and system resource use in the datacenter.
Virtual servers
With the introduction of dynamic logical partitioning (LPAR) in AIX 5L Version 5.2, IBM delivers advanced flexibility and scalability to POWER4™ and POWER5™ processor-based systems.
LPAR makes it possible to run multiple, independent operating system images of AIX 5L and Linux on a single server. Logical partitions do not need to conform to the physical boundaries of the building blocks (collection of resources) used to build a system. LPAR adds more operational flexibility with finer granularity to select components from the entire pool of available system resources. A single processor, 256MB memory region, and an I/O adapter represent the minimum resources required for a partition.
Using dynamic LPAR, customers can create "virtual servers within a server" and dynamically add and remove processors, real memory and I/O slots from active partitions—each partition isolated from other partitions—each partition running its own instance of the AIX 5L V5.2 operating system—from within the partitioned environment and without the need to reboot. Clients can assign system resources where they are most needed, easily adjusting to changing system priorities and growth requirements while consolidating workloads into multiple partitions on a single server. And, they can accomplish these activities while maintaining operations, service and support at the desired level.
Operational efficiency and capacity planning
For even more flexibility, scalability and availability, AIX 5L Version 5.2 includes support for Capacity on Demand (CoD) for selected IBM eServer p5, pSeries and i5 systems.
CoD allows clients to install systems with more processors than are initially required, keeping those processors in reserve until business needs require their activation. With the CoD option, an encrypted key is used by the system administrator to activate additional processors. The newly activated processors can be dynamically assigned to partitions without system disruption.
System availability is enhanced by CoD. In the unlikely event that a processor reaches an error threshold, AIX 5L V5.2 transparently activates an available CoD processor and assigns it to replace the faulty processor until it is convenient for the client to schedule a repair activity. This function, called Dynamic Processor Sparing and available on selected pSeries models, is supported even in single-processor partitions and allows the system to continue running at the same processing capacity so performance and availability are not impacted.
Stay in control
AIX 5L Version 5.2 introduced enhancements that help clients ensure that critical applications meet user expectations even during periods of heavy, unpredictable demand. AIX 5L V5.2 Workload Manager (WLM) supports the automatic switching of system resource policies based on time of day that dynamically allow processor cycles, real memory and disk I/O to be divided between jobs. System administrators can translate business needs into policies that automatically recognize both job and scheduling priorities.
This capability is a valuable asset for business solution areas such as e-business, business intelligence, server consolidation and enterprise resource planning.
Administrators can easily access Workload Manager through the intuitive graphical interface of Web-based System Manager, via the System Management Interface Tool (SMIT) or by using AIX 5L commands. From the Web-based System Manager interface, administrators can register for notification of WLM-related events and can define actions to be taken in response to those events—which help reduce administrator workload and help maximize system utilization.
Cluster management
A clustered environment requires sophisticated coordination among nodes for quick synchronization and response coordination. AIX 5L is designed to support and optimize the management of clustered servers through the use of IBM Cluster Systems Management (CSM) for AIX 5L and Linux software. CSM provides a single point-of-control for installing, configuring, maintaining and updating selected pSeries and IBM eServer xSeries® servers. CSM for AIX 5L is included with AIX 5L Version 5.2 base media as an optionally installable and separately licensed product.
Linux affinity
AIX 5L affinity with Linux helps enable faster and less costly deployment of multi-platform, integrated solutions across AIX and Linux platforms. Many applications developed on and for Linux will run on AIX 5L with a simple recompilation of the source code. IBM provides at no cost, an AIX® Toolbox for Linux Applications which is a collection of Open Source and GNU software commonly found with Linux distributions. Because the applications run on AIX 5L, businesses can combine the flexibility of Linux with the advanced features of AIX 5L, including advanced workload management, sophisticated systems management tools, scalability and security.
Security
Certified under the Common Criteria at Common Access Protection Profile/Evaluation Assurance Level 4+, AIX 5L Version 5.2 makes integral use of strong, industry-standard security and directory technologies. It expands these technologies with integrated support for Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM), user-based PKI certificates, Enterprise Identity Mapping (EIM), BIND V9, SNMP V3, Mobile IPv6, Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) v1.1, OpenSSH v3.4, and new cryptographic library support for: AES (Rijndael), SEAL, Mars, Twofish and other algorithms. These features are in addition to continued support for IBM Network Authentication Server (NAS), IBM Directory Server 4.1 and ICSA Certified IPsec/VPN secure networking. Java™ security technology offerings include JAAS, JCE/JCE, JSSE, JGSS, and J-PKI.
AIX 5L Expansion Pack
The AIX 5L Expansion Pack extends the base operating system by providing an integrated directory server, encryption support, a browser to view online HTML publications, and an HTTP server to serve online publication pages and support Web-based System Manager.
Service and support to help keep businesses running
AIX 5L provides an environment that delivers a platform that lets you get the most out of today's applications while positioning your business for the future. And like all pSeries products, AIX 5L is backed by IBM's worldwide service and support.
For more information
For more information on AIX releases and upgrade benefits, contact your IBM representative or IBM Business Partner or visit the following Web sites:
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2004
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