Enterprise IT vendor IBM today announced the launch of its latest Linux servers under LinuxONE series for both large enterprises and mid-size companies.
Clients will have enough choice since IBM will enable open source and industry tools and software including Apache Spark, Node.js, MongoDB, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Chef andDocker on z Systems.
IBM is trying to ride on its successful journey with Linux partnership. More than a third of IBM mainframe clients are running Linux.
Tom Rosamilia, senior vice president, IBM Systems, said: “Building on the success of Linux on the mainframe, we continue to push the limits beyond the capabilities of commodity servers that are not designed for security and performance at extreme scale.”
IBM is offering LinuxONE Emperor for large enterprises and LinuxONE Rockhopper for mid-size businesses.
LinuxONE Emperor, based on the IBM z13, can scale up to 8,000 virtual machines or hundreds of thousands of containers – currently the most of any single Linux system. LinuxONE Rockhopper is an entry-level server.
IBM in a statement said LinuxONE offers up-to 28X improved performance over standard secure-key technology.
The company said it is providing enough access to the mainframe to support innovations in the open source community. IBM is creating the LinuxONE Developer Cloud to provide open access to the development community.
Marist College and Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies plan to host clouds that provide access to a virtual IBM LinuxONE at no cost.
As part of the program, IBM will create a special cloud for independent software providers (ISVs) hosted at IBM sites in Dallas, Beijing and Boeblingen, Germany, that provide application vendors access and a free trial to LinuxONE resources to port, test and benchmark new applications for the LinuxONE and z Systems platform.
IBM shared two important client details.
ADP, a cloud-based provider of human resource services for more than 630,000 businesses, uses Linux on z Systems to help process payroll, benefits and other key employee services for more than 36 million people worldwide.
“Linux on z Systems gives us the ability to manage large amounts of data and transactions with speed and security while ensuring our system is always available even when demand spikes. The Linux environment also gives us options for exploring new open-source software and tools that may enhance our IT operations,” said Greg Levine, SVP Infrastructure & Operations for ADP.
SinfoniaRx, a health-care company originally developed by researchers and faculty at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy, uses Linux on z Systems.
“We serve more than 5 million patients who often have 10 to 15 prescriptions from multiple doctors and pharmacies. By using Linux on IBM z Systems, we have the processing speed we need to quickly analyze a complex list of prescriptions and gain insights for improving patient treatment and outcomes,” said Kevin Barber, CIO of SinfoniaRx.
Meanwhile, Canonical and IBM announced an initiative to encourage the growth of Ubuntu Linux on z Systems. Canonical plans to distribute Ubuntu for LinuxONE and z Systems, adding a third Linux distribution. SUSE and Red Hat already support distribution. Canonical also plans to support KVM for the mainframe.
Baburajan K
[email protected]
