Some ramblings on "free" zLinux..... z/VM is inexpensive relative to z/OS. I see z/VM as becoming more strategic in large zSeries sites between Linux on zSeries and CCL as a 3745 alternative. If CCL is well received IBM may further invest in zSeries specific solutions to z/OS problems intended to be deployed side by side on Linux running in an LPAR or under z/VM. If they provided a turnkey installation of Think Blue or some distribution with support bundled in and configured to be easy to install and use for IBM supported applications it would reduce some of the costs and overhead. Leaving every site that wants it to independently acquire SuSE or Red Hat is silly especially for those that want to use it as an appliance OS to run CCL or future offerings.
z/VM is priced on value units. Dave Jones wrote a nice article recently The ABCs of z/VM pricing http://search390.techtarget.com/tip/1,289483,sid10_gci1085452,00.html Linux on zSeries is only free if you are just playing with it as a solo systems programmer or a really light weight proof of concept. For a real proof of concept which we ran this year we licensed z/VM and purchased IFL's. Trial copies of SuSE Linux, DB2 UDB, WebSphere all had to be arranged. Systems programming and application programming support time in excess of several hundred hours was invested. While valuable lessons were learned free it is not if you want to use it as more than a toy. Despite the fact we only used three guests during the proof of concept we ran it under z/VM because we wanted to evaluate how bringing z/VM into our shop would impact operations and support staff training needs and operational procedures. We knew that if we moved forward to production that LPAR would not be enough. I think Linux on zSeries is not a toy and it is worth spending money on but despite the fact that it is several years old many of us are still trying to find the right way to use it for production. I like the idea of being able to deploy applications on z/OS and instead of using "middle tier" Wintel or UNIX servers using Linux on the same zboxen. Now if vendors including Tivoli will just listen! Best Regards, Sam Knutson, GEICO Performance and Availability Management mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (office) 301.986.3574 Dreams are free, but you get soaked on the connect time. -----Original Message----- >z/VM isn't cheap. It depends on your definition of cheap. I was at the z9 109 RoadShow in Toronto this past Tuesday, and IBM told us that z/VM cost $25,000; an IFL cost $125,000 and zLINUX was free. -teD ==================== This email/fax message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution of this email/fax is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please destroy all paper and electronic copies of the original message. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
