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If you’re responsible for business processes or the applications that support business processes, you probably can understand the difficulty of maintaining existing applications while integrating new processes into your IT infrastructure. And you may at least be thinking about Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) as a means to help manage these issues. The modern mainframe – the IBM System z10 – can be an integral part of a modern IT infrastructure, building on the well-known security and reliability of the mainframe to provide performance, flexibility and economic advantages to offer an extraordinary foundation for almost any business and to become a hub for SOA.
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You might be asking where the mainframe fits in a service oriented architecture. The answer is: precisely where it has always been, as the transaction backbone for business critical applications. IBM has continued to develop the IBM System z10 to offer high transaction performance, reliability and security while adding new flexibility, connectivity and economic advantages to help you keep your SOA running while lowering total cost of ownership.
The System z10 may provide the ideal foundation for SOA. Beginning with its solid performance for transaction-oriented processes, IBM has added software and storage support critical for SOA. IBM has added specialty processors to the System z10 portfolio to offload new workloads such as Linux and Java and help you save money on software costs. The latest specialty engine, the zIIP Data–serving Specialty Engine, offers lower cost capacity for eligible DB2 workloads that are the staple of SOA.
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In order to function in an SOA, the mainframe has to be able to communicate with diverse applications and support modern, flexible development platforms. The basic transaction infrastructure is built for high–volume transaction processing. With the option of Customer Information Control System (CICS) – the basis for the majority of mainframe applications today – or WebSphere Application Server – the premier web services-based application server – you can choose the platform you need to deliver robust SOA services quickly.
And if you already have extensive applications on your mainframe, IBM offers a range of solutions for reusing and extending legacy applications throughout the enterprise. CICS Transaction Gateway can provide connectivity between existing applications and Web-services platforms. Combined with a range of WebSphere offerings, System z10 and CICS can help give you the tools you need to transform your mainframe applications into an SOA environment.
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According to an Arcati research report, the mainframe offers an increasingly attractive solution for SOA. While some might find this inconceivable, the fundamental advantages of the mainframe platform – reliability, consistent performance and security – are key needs for an SOA infrastructure. When combined with recent advances in System z10 technology, the mainframe can become the platform of choice.
When you add the capability to run a System z10 at 90% utilization rates – as opposed to typical 10% rates on Intel–based servers or 30-50% on Unix servers – the mainframe offers the capabilities and Total Cost of Ownership attributes that you need as the foundation for your SOA infrastructure.
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