After seeing how well-received Linux partitioning was in its flagship eServer z900 mainframe, IBM is expanding the functionality beyond its enterprise-level customers to its midsize customer base.
Starting next month, Linux partitioning modules will be available for all iSeries servers (formerly the AS/400 server line), from 1-way to 24-way servers.
After seeing how well-received Linux partitioning was in its flagship eServer z900 mainframe, IBM is expanding the functionality beyond its enterprise-level customers to its midsize customer base.
IBM partnered with SuSE Linux and Turbo Linux to develop the offering. Now in public beta, the applications are expected to be generally available in August.
Pricing for these modules has not yet been set.
TurboLinux has been working with IBM’s eServer product line since October, when it first announced it would develop Linux support for IBM’s entire eServer line. SuSE Linux has had a product offering available since May.
Linux partitioning on iSeries “provides a way for customers to integrate OS/400 and Linux on the same machine” as well as to “integrate resources on the hardware level,” allowing the two operating systems to share tape drives and disks, Craig Johnson, Linux product marketing manager for iSeries told ServerWatch.
Although IBM’s servers have been partionable since 1999, those released prior to 2000 can be partitioned only for the OS/4000. Enterprises with iSeries servers from the 2000 product line or later will be able to partition a server into four virtual servers, running at least one OS/400 and up to three Linux servers.
Linux partitioning accomplishes two goals according to Johnson. It is a “way to increase IBM’s application portfolio on iSeries [while at the same time] meeting server consolidation demand.”
Linux partitioning is not the first option to be offered to iSeries customers. Java add-ons, NT server applications, and Unix runtime tools are some of the offerings currently available from third-party vendors, Johnson said.
In addition to its partnerships with SuSE and Turbo Linux, Johnson said IBM is working with Red Hat. No announcements are being made at this time however.
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Amy Newman is a B2B technology writer and editor with more than 15 years of experience following and analyzing IT infrastructure trends. She co-authored "Practical Virtualization Solutions: Virtualization from the Trenches," published by Prentice Hall Pearson Education in 2009.
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