Denis Gdbler wrote:
Thats true, but recent lawsuits in the distributed area had no luck forcing users to run only specific work on bought (owned) hardware, e.g. you can do number crunching on graphic chips, which were initially only intended for graphics work. It would be interesting to see, if there is any way to force somebody to only use certified software on specific owned hardware? Another example that comes into mind is the uncertified use of OpenWRT on any router (DSL/Wireless) in the world. Linksys/Cisco has no way of preventing me from running this linux distribution on my own bought or rented router and make use of whatever the chips on the hardware may provide.
Yes. I believe it would be difficult nee illegal to tell someone they can't use their own property for any purpose they choose. Taking that to the next logical step, you could say that if a customer "accidentally" discovered (e.g., public domain) enabling code that would let them run arbitrary programs on a zAAP engine they own (not lease), they should be allowed to do so.
But, running programs and paying license fees for IBM software are two entirely different things. Most z/OS customers are essentially "renting" IBM software, paying month-to-month. Those customers accepted certain pricing terms regarding IBM-specified "eligible workloads".
IBM might not be able to legally prevent customers that own zAAPs from running arbitrary work on them. But, nothing says they are obligated to discount those "ineligible" MIPS when calculating the customer's monthly bill for z/OS and related software. In fact, without instrumentation to distinguish the "eligible" from "ineligible" zAAP (or zIIP) execution, IBM could be within their rights to consider it all ineligible. Imagine that... Your bill actually goes UP. Yikes!
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