SEATTLE, Aug. 17, 2015
/PRNewswire/ -- (LINUXCON NORTH
AMERICA) -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a
significant expansion of the mainframe's strategy of embracing open
source-based technologies and open-source communities to provide
clients with the most secure[1], highest performance
capabilities for an era where mainframes increasingly anchor
corporate analytics and hybrid clouds.
The company is betting big on open source in the enterprise:
- Unveiling the most secure Linux servers in the industry – The
company is introducing two Linux mainframe servers – called
LinuxONE – that are the industry's most powerful[2] and
secure enterprise servers designed for the new application economy
and hybrid cloud era.
- Deepening open source software enablement – IBM will enable
open source and industry tools and software including Apache Spark,
Node.js, MongoDB, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Chef and Docker on z Systems
to provide clients with choice and flexibility for hybrid cloud
deployments. SUSE, which provides Linux distribution for the
mainframe, will now support KVM, giving clients a new hypervisor
option. Canonical and IBM also announced plans to create an Ubuntu
distribution for LinuxONE and z Systems. The collaboration with
Canonical brings Ubuntu's scale-out and cloud expertise to the IBM
z Systems platform, further expanding its reach and support.
- Contributing the single largest amount of mainframe code to
open source community – The code, designed to fuel digital
transformation, includes technology from IBM's mainframe to help
enterprises identify issues and help prevent failures before they
happen, help improve performance across platforms and enable better
integration with the broader network and cloud.
"Fifteen years ago IBM surprised the industry by putting Linux
on the mainframe, and today more than a third of IBM mainframe
clients are running Linux," said Tom
Rosamilia, senior vice president, IBM Systems. "We are
deepening our commitment to the open source community by combining
the best of the open world with the most advanced system in the
world in order to help clients embrace new mobile and hybrid cloud
workloads. 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."
LinuxONE – Industry's Most Advanced Enterprise-Grade Linux
Platform
IBM is launching LinuxONE, a new portfolio of hardware, software
and services solutions, providing two distinct Linux systems for
large enterprises and mid-size businesses. LinuxONE Emperor, based
on the IBM z13, is the world's most advanced Linux system with the
fastest processor in the industry.
The system is capable of analyzing transactions in "real time"
and can be used to help prevent fraud as it is occurring. The
system can scale up to 8,000 virtual machines or hundreds of
thousands of containers – currently the most of any single Linux
system. LinuxONE Rockhopper, an entry into the portfolio, is
designed for clients and emerging markets seeking the speed,
security and availability of the mainframe but in a smaller
package.
IBM's LinuxONE systems, available starting today, are the most
secure Linux systems with advanced encryption features built into
both the hardware and software to help keep customer data and
transactions confidential and secure. Protected-key, available on
LinuxONE, provides significantly enhanced security over clear-key
technology and offers up-to 28X improved performance over standard
secure-key
technology[3].
Company Enables New Open Software and Industry Tools for
Mainframe
Significantly broadening options for enterprises, IBM has
enabled key open source and industry software for LinuxONE and IBM
z Systems, including Apache Spark, Node.js, MongoDB, MariaDB,
PostgreSQL, Chef and Docker. These technologies work seamlessly on
the mainframe just as they do with other platforms, with compelling
performance advantages while requiring no special skills.
IBM helped pioneer virtualization on the mainframe and is now
offering more choices for virtualization by enabling the new
LinuxONE systems to be provisioned as a virtual machine through the
open standards-based KVM hypervisor, just like any Linux server.
SUSE, a leading distributor of Linux, will provide initial support
for KVM for the mainframe.
Canonical and IBM also 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.
IBM Joins New Linux Foundation Project as Demand Grows for
Mainframe in Open Source Community
Enabling greater access in the developer community, IBM's
contribution of mainframe technologies is the largest single
contribution of mainframe code from IBM to the open source
community. A key part of the mainframe code contributions are IT
predictive analytics that constantly monitor for unusual system
behavior and help prevent issues from turning into failures. The
code can be used by developers to build similar sense and respond
resiliency capabilities on other systems.
The contributions will help fuel the new "Open Mainframe
Project," formed by the Linux Foundation, the nonprofit
organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux and
collaborative development. In collaboration with the Linux
Foundation, IBM will support the Open Mainframe Project, a
collaboration of nearly a dozen organizations across academia,
government and corporate sectors to advance development and
adoption of Linux on the mainframe.
"Linux on the mainframe has reached a critical mass such that
vendors, users and academia need a neutral forum where they can
work together to advance Linux tools and technologies and increase
enterprise innovation," said Jim
Zemlin, the Linux Foundation executive director. "The
Open Mainframe Project is a direct response to the demands of Linux
users and the supporting open source ecosystem to address unique
features and requirements built into mainframes for security,
availability and performance."
IBM Provides Access to LinuxONE Developer Cloud at No
Cost
With today's announcement, IBM is also providing unprecedented
access to the mainframe to foster innovations by developers in the
open source community. IBM is creating the LinuxONE Developer Cloud
to provide open access to the development community. The cloud acts
as a virtual R&D engine for the creation, testing and piloting
of emerging applications including testing linkages to engagement
systems, mobile applications and hybrid cloud applications.
Marist College and Syracuse University's School of Information
Studies plan to host clouds that provide developers access to a
virtual IBM LinuxONE at no cost. As part of the program, IBM also
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.
New financing models for the LinuxONE portfolio provide
flexibility in pricing and resources that allows enterprises to pay
for what they use and scale up quickly when their business grows.
The new LinuxONE systems are available today.
For more information on the IBM LinuxONE Systems Portfolio,
visit http://www.ibm.com/linuxone and follow the conversation at
#IBMz, #LinuxONE and #LinuxCon
Note to journalists and bloggers: You can view and
download b-roll video footage on TheNewsMarket by clicking here:
www.thenewsmarket.com/ibm-bets-big-on-linux-on-the-mainframe. The
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click here: ibm.biz/linuxONEimages.
Contact: Joe Guy Collier
IBM
1-248-990-4707
jgcollie@us.ibm.com
QUOTES
ADP
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.
"ADP is running some of the most critical and sensitive
operations for our customers – no one wants to miss a paycheck.
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." –
Greg Levine SVP Infrastructure &
Operations for ADP
SinfoníaRx
SinfoníaRx, a health-care company
originally developed by researchers and faculty at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy, has been
using Linux on z Systems for almost three years. SinfoníaRx helps
providers and their patients better manage care by looking at a
patient's full list of prescriptions to identify safety issues,
gaps in care and better treatment options.
"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. We also have an IT
environment that's both flexible for developing applications and
capable of scaling up without interruption as we add more
patients." – Kevin Barber,
SinfoníaRx CIO.
SUSE
"Open source is about choice for customers, in
software, hardware infrastructure, support and services. SUSE
continues to innovate with IBM on new solutions and initiatives
including LinuxONE, KVM for IBM z Systems and the Open Mainframe
Project to expand enterprise horizons and multiply opportunities.
Extending and adapting the open source ecosystem can only help
clients succeed." – Michael
Miller, SUSE vice president of global alliances and
marketing.
Canonical
"The largest enterprises in the world count
on Ubuntu as their platform for scale-out applications, private and
public clouds. With the expansion of Ubuntu support to IBM z
Systems and LinuxONE, IBM mainframe customers will benefit from
Ubuntu's ecosystem of scale-out and cloud solutions. IBM and
Canonical teaming to bring Ubuntu to z Systems allows customers to
leverage the speed and security of z Systems, and the open-source
software and tools of Ubuntu, to enhance the IT operations for a
new universe of customers." – Jane
Silber, CEO of Canonical
MariaDB
"As the one default database platform for
leading Linux distributors, including Red Hat and SUSE, MariaDB is
excited to support IBM LinuxONE. With Linux on IBM z growing at
twice the rate of the Linux market overall, there is clear customer
demand for open source solutions on IBM's highly scalable and
secure platform. These qualities align perfectly with MariaDB's
true open source model, which leverages Community innovations to
provide best-in-class scalability, improved performance, and
security, for on---premise, hybrid and cloud applications." –
Patrik Sallner, CEO of MariaDB
MongoDB
"We are committed to make MongoDB available on
all major platforms and are excited to add support for IBM z
Systems' enterprise grade Linux and LinuxONE platform. This
announcement is a leap forward for customers who want to deploy
modern, mission-critical applications built with MongoDB and take
advantage of the performance, scalability and security of IBM's
mainframe hardware products." – Eliot Horowitz CTO &
Founder, MongoDB
Chef
"We're experiencing rapid and accelerating
adoption of Chef within the enterprise, making integration with IBM
z Systems an important feature for our platform. We're excited to
collaborate with IBM on their support for open source technology
and to ensure an awesome Chef and IBM user experience for years to
come." – Matt Ray, Director of
Partner Integration, Chef
2ndQuadrant
"2ndQuadrant is excited by combining the
world's most advanced open source database, PostgreSQL, with the
world's most efficient, trusted and secure server, the IBM z13. The
results of up to 2X throughput performance far exceed our goal, and
we are pleased to partner with IBM for supporting IBM's customers."
– Simon Riggs, CTO & Founder,
PostgreSQL Development at 2ndQuadrant
[1] Based on Common Criteria EAL5+ security rating
for z Systems mainframe, U.S. National Vulnerability Database,
Solitaire CX Study and ITIC Study.
[2] Based on IBM tests that showed LinuxONE can perform
30 billion RESTful web interactions/day with Dockerized Node.js and
MongoDB, driving over 470K database read and writes per second.
[3] Based on IBM tests of the LinuxONE system compared
to standard secure-key
technology.
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SOURCE IBM