> Hercules does not support the IP stack so I can't see how z/VM under
> Hercules could be used in a production environment.

Modern versions do, at least as long as the various operating systems
continue to support LCS devices.

> I can't see the benefit of running
> Linux->Hercules->z/VM->zLinux.  am I
> missing something here?

There are a fair number of older sub-40 MIPS processors that would be
ideal candidates for a small box that is a) less expensive than a
Flex-ES or cFrame box, b) physically much smaller than the existing
hardware or that supports internal DASD. If that box was also capable of
the latest architectural features (64-bit, etc), then there's a fair
demand for such a beast.

Consider also that the smallest z890 plus external DASD and tape is
roughly 10-20x the physical size of a more powerful, more disk-rich
Intel box (50-100 sq ft for the z890+Shark+tape, vs 10-12RU for a 27 390
MIP 2 way intel box and a good size SCSI/SATA array), and consumes at
least 4-5x the power/cooling/etc.


> IBM must feel that if Hercules was to take off, it might hurt
> s/390 sales.
> On the other hand, anybody who wants to run on Intel without
> the extra RAS
> from the z-Series can do it without zVM (think Virtual-Linux)
> on an Intel.

Doesn't help you if you need to run VSE or small z/OS dev workloads, or
replace an existing VM system running on older hardware -- lots of
MP2000 and small MP3000 machines out there doing important stuff.

There is a testing issue -- Fundamental Software does a bunch of
verification stuff that allows IBM to assume that VM, VSE, z/OS, etc run
correctly w/o having to test everything multiple times. It's a
legitimate concern.

There have been repeated calls for a "hobbyist" class VM/VSE/z/OS
license to allow individuals to legitimately license the 390 operating
systems, similar to what DEC did with VMS and Tru64 (they allowed DECUS,
the DEC users group, to administer a hobbyist sublicensing program).
It'd be nice if WAVV or SHARE picked up such a role.

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