Great summary, Robert ... I've been involved with z/Linux POC's for well over 10 years and if they died, it was almost always due to vendor products not being certified/supported on z (s390). This is what made it a 'one off' - having to find a different solution for the z platform. IBM has offered programs to help with this, including access to z - but vendors have to make choices about where they spend their time/energy to get the most from their investments too.
Scott Rohling On Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 6:16 AM, Nix, Robert P. <nix.rob...@mayo.edu> wrote: > ³Once it¹s up, linux is linux²Š > > Right up until you want to install some piece of software. Unless you have > the source, then linux is x86, or linux is arm, or linux is z. > > This is the main issue we ran into in getting acceptance of Linux on z > here, and which ultimately led to its death. Far too many of the things > that people wanted to install were from vendors who supplied the binary > packages, not the source. Our policy for a long time was ³Linux on z > first, until you prove you can¹t go there². Unfortunately, better than 50% > of the projects easily proved that they couldn¹t go there. SO, after a > long period of frustration, management came to the conclusion that Linux > on z was not a viable platform, and we were directed to convert the > remaining images to x86 and shut down zVM. > > There needs to be wider acceptance within the software vendor community > for Linux on z (and / or Linux on ARM, Linux on PPC, Š, Linux on things > beyond x86). The problem is that the vendors can go to HP, or Best Buy, > and buy an x86, but they have to work to get an ARM or a PPC, or a Z. Most > aren¹t willing to make the effort to collect these platforms, and aren¹t > willing to invest in a Z system at all simply to test their product. > > So yes, Linux runs on anything, from a postage stamp sized ARM system to > the mighty Z. But in the case of Linux on Z, unless cost effective, small > scale development boxes become available (basically a commodity style > machine that could run a small load with a modest amount of disk, but > using the Z instruction set and configuration), I don¹t see how a large > scale wide range acceptance will occur. We tried it. We frustrated > management, and were ³punished² for it, being "banished" to the Windows > group for 5 years, where the x86 mantra was ingrained into us. > > As long as there¹s a huge price gap between the largest x86 based server > and the smallest Z system, software vendors won¹t take the leap. And > without software, a computer is just a brick. > -- > Robert P. Nix | Sr IT Systems Engineer | Data Center Infrastructure > Services > > Mayo Clinic | 200 First Street SW | Rochester, MN 55905 > 507-284-0844 | nix.rob...@mayo.edu > "quando omni flunkus moritati" > > > > > On 3/17/16, 6:50 PM, "Linux on 390 Port on behalf of Rick Troth" > <LINUX-390@VM.MARIST.EDU on behalf of r...@casita.net> wrote: > > >On 03/14/2016 11:29 AM, Ambros, Thomas wrote: > >> To start to contest the perception that Linux on system Z is a > >>'one-off', where would one find out for themselves roughly how many > >>shops in North America are running production implementations of Linux > >>on system Z and what proportion of all zSeries sites that might be? > > > >Might help to instead contest the perception that a "one-off" is somehow > >bad. > >Linux runs on z and it runs on PCs and it runs on ... > > > > * ARM (your smart phone), not necessarily Android > > * PPC (IBM RS/6000 or even older Apple servers) > > * MIPS (your home router and other embedded devices) > > * Itanium > > * HP PA-RISC > > * SPARC > > * Alpha > > * M68K > > > > > > ... and at least a dozen other architectures I've never seen or heard > >of before. Most of these are "one-offs", unless you're invested. So > >perception is all about perspective. (Forgive my tone if it sounds > >snippy. Am trying to leverage your verbiage, not pick on it.) > > > >Might help to instead contest the perception that Linux on z is somehow > >not Linux. Most of the list, not being PC hardware, are quirky to boot. > >But once they're up, Linux is Linux. > > > >The advantage of z hardware is significant. But I figger you already > >know those bullet points. > > > >You are not alone in the fight to get your shop to warm up to zLinux. > >Hang in there! > > > >-- R; <>< > > > > > > > > > >---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >For LINUX-390 subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, > >send email to lists...@vm.marist.edu with the message: INFO LINUX-390 or > >visit > >http://www.marist.edu/htbin/wlvindex?LINUX-390 > >---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >For more information on Linux on System z, visit > >http://wiki.linuxvm.org/ > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For LINUX-390 subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, > send email to lists...@vm.marist.edu with the message: INFO LINUX-390 or > visit > http://www.marist.edu/htbin/wlvindex?LINUX-390 > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For more information on Linux on System z, visit > http://wiki.linuxvm.org/ > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For LINUX-390 subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@vm.marist.edu with the message: INFO LINUX-390 or visit http://www.marist.edu/htbin/wlvindex?LINUX-390 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information on Linux on System z, visit http://wiki.linuxvm.org/
