Linux on IBM System z - Advantages

Operational efficiency

Linux on System z benefits from the virtualization technology, built into every System z server, which offers world-class virtualization for the business and result in operational efficiency. The virtualization allows you to create and manage discrete virtual processors, communications, storage and I/O devices in a single System z server. These resources can be dynamically shared or reconfigured, helping to simplify the demands placed upon your IT staff. The z/VM Single System Image feature, available with z/VM 6.2, allows to cluster up to four z/VM instances together, manageable as a single z/VM system, therefore simplifying systems management.

The System z servers also offer software virtualization through z/VM. With z/VM’s extreme virtualization capabilities, up to thousands of distributed servers can be virtualized on a single System z server with a single point of control. z/VM also improves business agility, allowing you to create and deploy virtual Linux servers in minutes rather than days. This can help accelerate your time to market. Consider also the potential gains in software licensing, because the pricing model for many distributed software products is linked to the number of processors or processor cores.

Energy efficiency

The System z virtualization technologies—hardware and software—deliver extreme virtualization capabilities that allow easy consolidation or deploy new workloads onto a single, compact and secure System z server. The modular design, efficient dense packaging, high efficiency power supplies, resource sharing and leading virtualization all assist System z’s enablement of energy efficient computing.

Service management

Linux on System z is based on the advanced System z service management tools and features, which are designed to provide the proper amount of resource to the most important applications when needed. With z/VM 6.2, servicing the z/VM software components of a Single System Image cluster is simplified by using a single service stream for all cluster members. Sharing service resources allows service to be rolled out to each member of the z/VM cluster on individual schedules avoiding an outage for the entire cluster. To name another example, the VM Resource Manager lets users assign performance goals to help ensure that your business effectively meets demands for service even during unexpected peaks.

Big jobs get the muscle they need, and small jobs only what they need, keeping utilization and availability high. Virtualization software gives you a single point of system management control, helping to minimize errors and, by extension, effort and costs. Innovative self-configuring, self-healing, self-optimizing and self-protecting features built into every System z server help keep your system running at peak performance with a minimum of human intervention.

Business integration

Linux, built on open standards, provides the flexibility to make it easier for multiple applications and middleware to work together. This simplified integration makes it possible deploy new solutions more quickly, and process transactions and data more efficiently. The leading-edge System z technology is designed to provide high-speed connections among heterogeneous applications in the same server. By reducing the need for an external network, costs and complexity are reduced, and since all of the communication takes place within the System z server, security is improved as well. The z/VM Single System Image feature enables to service and administer multiple z/VM instances as if they are one integrated system, extending the pool of resources that can be managed and providing greater performance and efficiency for each Linux workload.

Additional integration capabilities of System z are based on support for open standards, such as the Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), J2EE, Web services and Web 2.0. These are leading-edge technologies can provide extremely high speed, security-rich connections between applications in the same physical server.

Resiliency

Linux on System z inherits the outstanding business resilience of the System z environment. Business resilience can be considered the ability of an enterprise to continue to function effectively in the face of natural and man-made problems and disasters affecting its IT. Resiliency technologies are deeply embedded into System z design.

The System z product line is designed to offer layer upon layer of fault tolerance and error-checking features. If a failure occurs, the redundancy that is built into the platform shifts the work from failing components to healthy ones to prevent the application and user service from being interrupted. In addition, failed components may be non-disruptively removed and replaced while applications are active, reducing risk of downtime.

With the IBM z/VM Single System Image feature, available with the z/VM 6.2 virtualization software, a running Linux virtual machine can be relocated nondisruptively from one member system to any other, a process known as Live Guest Relocation. This provides application continuity across planned z/VM and hardware outages and flexible workload balancing that allows work to be moved to available system resources.

The System z resiliency extends beyond hardware to support applications, resulting in an integrated environment where hardware, firmware, operating systems, and middleware work together to provide application and data availability and resiliency.

Security

Originally designed to be shared by thousands of users, the System z has security built into nearly every level of the computer - from the processor level, to the operating system to the application level. This design helps protect System z from malware, viruses and threats from insiders.

System z security features can help you to meet regulatory reporting needs with confidence. These include encryption solutions to help secure data from theft or compromise, access control management and extensive auditing features - with the simplicity of centralized management.

System z security is one of the many reasons why the world's top banks and retailers rely on System z to help secure sensitive business transactions.