Linux on z Systems

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Linux on z Systems (formerly Linux on System z , also zLinux , z / Linux ) is a port from Linux to the IBM mainframe platform z Systems and LinuxONE. This implementation is characterized by its 64-bit architecture . Linux versions for the older S / 390 hardware architecture with 31-bit addressing are referred to as Linux390 or Linux for S / 390 .

history

The porting of z / Linux was initially carried out in two independent projects from 1998. The Bigfoot Linux project initiated by Linas Vepstas and the one from Marist College ( Poughkeepsie , NY) as Linux on VM port . Both projects were later discontinued.

On December 18, 1999, IBM published the self-developed adaptations of the source code for the Linux kernel based on version 2.2.13. Changes for other important Linux packages, such as Glibc or Bootloader , are also made available. The porting can run directly on the S / 390 hardware as well as in an LPAR or as a virtual machine under z / VM .

Today a number of non-commercial (e.g. Debian , CentOS ) and commercial Linux distributions (e.g. Red Hat Enterprise Linux , Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server , ubuntu 16.04 LTS) are available for System z.

hardware

z / Linux runs on the IBM System z hardware in one or more LPARs or as a virtual machine under z / VM . The 31-bit variant, which was still written for S / 390 hardware, can also run on S / 390 hardware without LPAR virtualization. The LPAR hypervisor can no longer be switched off on machines with the 64-bit capable ESAME architecture.

To reduce the software license costs of other operating systems used in the same system, IBM developed a special processor Integrated Facility for Linux , on which only the Linux and z / VM operating systems can be run.

The HiperSockets are an additional specialty . They allow several servers to communicate with one another within the same computer without having to resort to an external, physical network.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Mark Post: Linux for S / 390 - History, 2001
  2. ↑ Linux / 390 - Notes and Observations . Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  3. ↑ Description of the IFL at the manufacturer
  4. ↑ HiperSockets Implementation Guide . (PDF; 1.5 MB) IBM Redbook