IBM System z

A trio of IBM zEnterprise mainframe computers. From left to right: EC12, BC12, Bladecenter Extension.
An IBM zEnterprise EC12 with the cover removed. The interior is lit to better see the various internal parts.

IBM System z (officially "IBM z Systems")[1] is a family name used by IBM for all of its mainframe computers. In 2000, IBM renamed the existing System/390 to IBM eServer zSeries with the e depicted in IBM's red trademarked symbol, but because no specific machine names were changed for System/390, the zSeries name in common use refers only to the z900 and z990 generations of mainframes. In April 2006, with another generation of products, the official family was changed to IBM System z, which now includes both older IBM eServer zSeries models, the IBM System z9 models, the IBM System z10 models, and the newer IBM zEnterprise models.[2]

Architecture

The zSeries, System z and zEnterprise families were named for their availability – z stands for zero downtime. The systems are built with spare components capable of hot failovers to ensure continuous operations.[3]

The System z family maintains full backward compatibility. In effect, current systems are the direct, lineal descendants of System/360, announced in 1964, and the System/370 from the 1970s. Many applications written for these systems can still run unmodified on the newest System z over five decades later.[4]

Virtualization

Virtualization is required by default on IBM z Systems. First layer virtualization is provided by the Processor Resource and System Manager (PR/SM) to deploy one or more Logical Partitions (LPARs). Each LPAR supports a variety of operating systems. A hypervisor called z/VM can also be run as the second layer virtualization in LPARs to create as many virtual machines (VMs) as there are resources assigned to the LPARs to support them. The first layer of z System virtualization (PR/SM) allows a z machine to run a limited number of LPARs (up to 80 on the IBM z13). These can be considered virtual "bare metal" servers because PR/SM allows CPUs to be dedicated to individual LPARs. z/VM LPARs allocated within PR/SM LPARs can run a very large number of virtual machines as long as there are adequate CPU, memory, and I/O resources configured with the system for the desired performance, capacity, and throughput.

z Systems' PR/SM and hardware attributes allow compute resources to be dynamically changed to meet workload demands. CPU and memory resources can be non-disruptively added to the system and dynamically assigned, recognized, and used by LPARs. I/O resources such as IP and SAN ports can also be added dynamically. They are virtualized and shared across all LPARs. The hardware component that provides this capability is called the Channel Subsystem. Each LPAR can be configured to either "see" or "not see" the virtualized I/O ports to establish desired "shareness" or isolation. This virtualization capability allows significant reduction in I/O resources because of its ability to share them and drive up utilization.

PR/SM on z Systems has earned Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL) 5+ security certification,[5] and z/VM has earned Common Criteria EAL4+ certification.[6]

The KVM hypervisor from Linux has also been ported.[7]

List of models (reverse chronological order)

Since the move away from the System/390 name, a number of System z models have been released. These can be grouped into families with similar architectural characteristics.

IBM System z13

IBM zEnterprise System

The IBM zEnterprise System (zEnterprise), announced in July 2010, with the z196 model, is designed to offer both mainframe and distributed server technologies in an integrated system. The zEnterprise System consists of three components.[10] First is a System z server. Second is the IBM zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension (zBX). Last is the management layer, IBM zEnterprise Unified Resource Manager (zManager), which provides a single management view of zEnterprise resources. The zEnterprise is designed to extend mainframe capabilities – management efficiency, dynamic resource allocation, serviceability – to other systems and workloads running on AIX on POWER7, and Microsoft Windows or Linux on x86.[11]

The zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension (zBX) is an infrastructure component that hosts both general purpose blade servers and appliance-like workload optimizers which can all be managed as if they were a single mainframe. The zBX supports a private high speed internal network that connects it to the central processing complex, which reduces the need for networking hardware and provides inherently high security.

The IBM zEnterprise Unified Resource Manager integrates the System z and zBX resources as a single virtualized system and provides unified and integrated management across the zEnterprise System. It can identify system bottlenecks or failures among disparate systems and if a failure occurs it can dynamically reallocate system resources to prevent or reduce application problems. The Unified Resource Manager provides energy monitoring and management, resource management, increased security, virtual networking, and information management from a single user interface.

Highlights of the original zEnterprise z196 include:

The newest zEnterprise, the EC12, was announced in August 2012, and included:

On April 8, 2014, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the System/360 mainframe, IBM announced[12] the release of its first converged infrastructure solution based on mainframe technology. Dubbed the IBM Enterprise Cloud System,[13] this new offering combines IBM mainframe hardware, software, and storage into a single system and is designed to compete with competitive offerings from VCE, HP, and Oracle. According to IBM, it is the most scalable Linux server available with support for up to 6,000[14] virtual machines in a single-footprint.

In June 2014, IBM announced[15] it had shipped its first Enterprise Cloud System to Vissensa, a UK-based managed service provider.

Specific models from this family include:

IBM System z10

IBM System z10

The IBM System z10 servers supported more memory than previous generation systems and can have up to 64 central processors (CPs) per frame. The full speed z10 processor's uniprocessor performance was up to 62% faster than that of the z9 server, according to IBM's z10 announcement, and included these other features:

Specific models from this family include:

IBM System z9

IBM System z9

In July 2005, IBM announced a new family of servers – the System z9 family – with the IBM System z9 Enterprise Class (z9 EC) and the IBM System z9 Business Class (z9 BC) servers. The System z9 servers offered:

Specific models from this family include:


IBM zSeries family

An IBM zSeries 800 (foreground, left) running Linux

The zSeries family, which includes the z900, z800, z990 and z890, introduced IBM's newly designed 64-bit z/Architecture to the mainframe world. The new servers provide more than four times the performance of previous models. In its 64-bit mode the new CPU is freed from the 31-bit addressing constraints of its predecessors. Major features of the eServer zSeries family:

Specific models from this family included:

Previous models

Older S/390 IBM mainframe servers are not listed here since support for the last S/390 compatible version of z/OS (1.5) was dropped on March 31, 2007.[17]

Comparison to other servers

A direct comparison of System z servers with other computing platforms is technically difficult. In addition, IBM prohibits publishing of comparison results. For example, System z servers offload such functions as I/O processing, cryptography, memory control, and various service functions (such as hardware configuration management and error logging) to dedicated processors. These "extra" processors are in addition to the (up to) 141 cores per frame.[18] System z cores include extensive self checking of results, and if an error is detected the server retries the instruction. If the instruction still fails, the server shuts down the failing processor and shifts workload, "in flight," to a surviving spare processor. The IBM mainframe then "calls home" (automatically places a service call to IBM). An IBM service technician replaces the failed component with a replacement part (possibly even a new processor book, consisting of a group of processors). With System z9 servers, the technician installs the new book and removes the old one without interruption to running applications. (Note that mainframes have reported MTBF figures of 20–50 years).[19] Similar design redundancies exist in memory, I/O, power, cooling, and other subsystems. All these features exist at the hardware and microcode level, without special application programming. The same concepts can extend to coupled frames separated by up to 100 kilometers in a Geographically Dispersed Parallel Sysplex when z/OS is used. System z servers are used by IBM customers for business-critical installations in medium and large organizations which need very high availability, where scheduled and unscheduled downtime costs are high, and at traditional "mainframe shops" such as banks and insurance companies which already have mainframe applications at the center of their business processes. For such organizations which have to consider a very high price for system failures and service outages, System z machines may provide a lower total cost of ownership than other platforms, especially when running a variety of business-critical applications concurrently (so-called mixed workload). Overall, mainframes like System z are used in government, financial services, retail, manufacturing, and just about every other industry.

See also

References

  1. ↑ IBM Corporation, IBM Mainframes - z Systems, retrieved 2015-04-20
  2. ↑ IBM Corporation, IBM System z9 Enterprise Class Update (formerly System z9 109) Frequently Asked Questions (PDF), retrieved 2007-10-23
  3. ↑ Selecting System z operating environments: Linux or z/OS?
  4. ↑ "Mainframe strength: Continuing compatibility". z/OS basic skills information center. IBM. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  5. ↑ Bannan, Karen. "The zEnterprise EC12 Raises Enterprise Security While Boosting Analytics and Cloud Performance". IBM Systems Magazine. IBM. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "z/VM Security and Integrity Resources". IBM. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "IBM - KVM for IBM z Systems". IBM. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  8. ↑ IBM Unveils New Mainframe for Encrypted Hybrid Clouds
  9. ↑ IBM. "IBM Launches z13 Mainframe". IBM. IBM. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "Introducing the zEnterprise System". IBM zEnterprise System Technical Introduction. IBM. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  11. ↑ "IBM's mainframe-blade hybrid to do Windows". The Register. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  12. ↑ "IBM Brings New Cloud Offerings, Research Projects and Pricing Plans to the Mainframe". IBM News Room. IBM. 8 April 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-18.
  13. ↑ "IBM Enterprise Cloud System". IBM System z: Enterprise Cloud System. IBM. 8 April 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-18.
  14. ↑ "IBM Brings New Cloud Offerings, Research Projects and Pricing Plans to the Mainframe". Enterprise Systems Media. 10 April 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-18.
  15. ↑ Taft, Darryl (2014-06-27). "IBM Ships Its First Enterprise Cloud System to Vissensa". eWeek. Retrieved 2014-07-18.
  16. ↑ "System functions and features". IBM System z10 Business Class Technical Overview. IBM.
  17. ↑ End of Support for z/OS 1.4 and z/OS 1.5 is Approaching
  18. ↑ IBM. "The IBM z13". The IBM z13. IBM. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  19. ↑ "Mainframes in Perspective: The Slumbering Dinosaur Awakes" (PDF). Atos Origin. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
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