"Migration" isn't really the word I'd use for moving Microsoft
Windows-based applications to the zBX. ("Moving" is a better word.) It's
fundamentally the same process as replacing an X86 server with another,
because that's what it is. Note that the new X86 environment on zBX is
virtualized, and it's also based on today's X86 cores rather than
yesterday's (or before yesterday's), so it's extremely likely you'll be
reducing core counts in making that move. You'll want to plan accordingly.
It's also a managed environment, so that could be new (in a good way).As for Solaris to Linux on z, that too is a very well traveled path. Some sample documentation: http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg247186.pdf http://www.ibm.com/systems/migratetoibm/oracle/solaristolinuxtoolkit.html If you're moving some standard piece(s) of middleware -- WebSphere Application Server, Oracle Database, etc. -- then it's unlikely to be a challenging exercise for the workload itself. You'll mainly be focused on the operational aspects, which are a bit different but only a bit. The toolkit (above) gets more relevant if you're moving custom C/C++ applications -- and those would need to be recompiled. Note that a phased approach is generally possible and a good idea. Or, in other words, do the easy things first since that'll demonstrate you've got the environment set up correctly and the operational aspects ironed out. Note that OpenSolaris for System z is still available "as is": http://distribution.sinenomine.net/opensolaris If you've got something particularly tricky to migrate then that could be part of your strategy as a stopgap. Yes, you can upgrade either a z114 or a z196 to include a zBX (one to four frames). I'm not sure I understand the "SYSPLEXed" question. Could you rephrase that? If you're asking what happens to the zBX in the extremely rare event its parent z114 (or z196) is offline (when does that ever happen?), the answer is "not much." It continues to run. As for the other major scenario, what most people do with zBX-based applications -- Microsoft Windows, in your case -- is they still use software-based clustering as/if available across two or more different physical blades in different chassis. That sort of availability engineering doesn't fundamentally change, although you do pick up some management and server/network pre-fabrication benefits that can contribute to better availability. But if you're running a single instance of an application and it falls over, there will be a service interruption as it is restarted -- no great surprise. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Timothy Sipples Resident Enterprise Architect (Based in Singapore) E-Mail: timothy.sipp...@us.ibm.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@bama.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
