Sampling Techdocs - June-August 2011

Here we are with some new documents from TechDocs I recently came across or found while browsing through the latest publications.

• Presentation : Why Websphere Application Server for z/OS
  Starting point of this presentation is : "Websphere is Websphere" no matter what platform you run it on. But is that really so ? No, not at all. Websphere Application Server for z/OS is very aware and is using the underlying platform to a considerable extent. So, there might be a couple of reasons why you would specifically want to use WAS for z/OS . . . So, read on, here they are.
  
  
• Presentation : z114 Hardware Management Console 2.11.1
  "The 2.11.1 Traditional Hardware Management Console (HMC) is new with the z114 Server. This presentation covers the enhanced features and functions of the 2.11.1 Traditional HMC which is available at Driver 93 for both the z196 and the new z114".
  
  
• Technical document : DS8000 EasyTier Implementation Guide
  This is a DS8000 EasyTier Implementation Guide Using DSCLI with examples. Subjects discussed are Easy Tier Overview, Easy Tier implementation using DSCLI, DS8000 Logical configuration, Data Relocation with Easy Tier Automatic Mode and with Easy Tier Manual Mode.
  

• Flash : IBM zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension Top of Rack Switch (TOR)
  New technology usually comes along with lots of new terminology as well. Well, it's not different with the zBX and here you'll find two documents explaining everything about the Top of Rack Switch and the connectivity with the mainframe.
  

• FAQ : Frequently asked questions from IBM and Oracle customers about Linux on IBM System z
  Nice FAQ that "answers a few common questions about Oracle products running on IBM System z running Linux. This document was jointly written by IBM and Oracle". Subjects are Oracle product availability on the System z platform, Oracle Grid and IBM System z and Technical Support.

• Referral pages :
  I'm concluding with some classics that keep getting updated every once in a while.
  First there's 'Withdrawal of z/OS Function Beginning with z/OS Release 5 Through Current z/OS Release'. "This flash lists those items IBM has announced intention for removal in a specific z/OS release. These items have already been announced in previous IBM z/OS announcement letters. Consideration should be given to this list when planning your migration to a z/OS release".
  The second is the 'IBM System z I/O Feature Reference Table'. This table provides information about System z I/O features and the specific machine types on which they are supported. It is grouped by card type / function: OSA, FICON, Parallel Sysplex, Cryptography, ESCON, and I/O Support.
  The last one is the 'IBM Mainframe Life Cycle History' : System z mainframe hardware product marketing and service life cycle history since 1994.
  

Well that's it for now. As I always say : just check them out !

Short takes

I'd scribbled down a couple of ideas for a post, but I think I'll just combine them in one of my 'Short Takes'. It's about IBM announcement links, my colleague at IDUG, a z/VSE Live Virtual Class, Raid 5 and 6 are doomed and a zEnterprise FAQ. Here we go.

• First of all you might have noticed that the IBM announcement page (Offering Information) has somehow undergone a facelift. Nothing that spectacular, but I also noticed that along with this, all my links in previous posts to IBM announcements are no longer valid. Apparently it's a 'ShowDoc.jsp' that has been replaced by 'ShowDoc.wss' in the link. Damn. Damn. Damn. So, any link to an announcement you click on will be invalid. Fortunately I always include the announcement number. But that's a small comfort. So I might be in for some massive updates. Furthermore, many links in the latest newsletter that was sent out last week will no longer work either.
  

• I'm proud to tell you that my colleague from RealDolmen Frederik Engelen will be presenting at the EMEA IDUG conference next November in Prague. Subject is 'A DBA's guide to using TSA' (Tivoli System Automation). He's presenting in room Stella on November 16 from 8.30 am to 9.30 am. Abstract of the presentation : "Tightly integrating DB2 with Tivoli System Automation software, IBM added automatic failover capabilities to the trusted HADR database clustering technology. After a quick refresh on HADR, this session will go more in-depth on the inner workings of TSA and its interaction with DB2 to provide you with what you need to know before introducing this in your environment" If you go and see him, give him my regards !

• I'm a bit too late with this one, but there was a Z/VSE Live Virtual Class today on 'z/VSE V4.3 Support of four-digit device addresses'. You can find all information about z/VSE Live Virtual Classes over here. And of course there will be a replay of this virutal class.

• Something completely different : check out this interesting blog post from The Storage Buddhist : '3 TB drives signal the end of RAID 5 / RAID 6'. This has everything to do with the growing size of drives, the growing time to rebuild disks and the conclusion is quite simple : " Either way, the days of RAID5 are just about over and the days of RAID6 are numbered also". Just take a look at it, it leaves me puzzled about this. It's really about making future choices.

• I've written about FAQs before and I think the zEnterprise FAQ is a very nice one. If some one's asking me a question about zEnterprise I always know the answer immediately. Hey, I'm a presales guy, it's my job. Just kidding. So, if you have a question about zEnterprise that's not directly up your alley, this FAQ is the place to go. Or you can ask me of course !
  

IBM Announcement : some more tape related withdrawals

Today, IBM had another two announcements on withdrawal from marketing of certain tape related products.

From the first announcement 'Hardware withdrawal: IBM System Storage Tape and Media models and selected features - Some replacements available (ZG11-0248)' I mainly retain the witdrawal from marketing of the mainframe related TS1120 Tape Controller Model C06. This becomes effective November 25, 2011 as it's replaced by the recently announced C07 Model.

There's a second announcement focusing on the 3494 Tape Library : 'Hardware withdrawal: Selected features for IBM TotalStorage 3494 Tape Library - No replacements available (ZG11-0264)'. These withdrawals become effective February 24, 2012. As you might expect, no replacements. And to be honest, I assumed most of these features were already withdrawn from marketing. So, they are now.

RealDolmen System z e-zine N° 18

The 18th issue of our RealDolmen System z Newsletter is being sent out today. For the moment only the Dutch version is available. Due to some (holiday) delays the French Version will arrive a bit later.

If you don't receive our system z e-zine yet, you can subscribe over here. If you have subscribed, but for some reason no longer receive it, please let me know.

The main topics of this issue are the z114, the latest storage annoucements and some words on the cooperation between RealDolmen and Sogeti.

As usual there are also some hints, tips, links, an overview of recent announcements, EOS dates of software and operating systems and an agenda for mainly Belgian events.

Enjoy the reading !

IBM Announcement : Withdrawal of the 3953 Library Manager

I guess the title of the announcement says it all : 'Hardware withdrawal: IBM TotalStorage 3953 Library Manager Model L05, select features for IBM TotalStorage 3953 Tape Frame, and select features for IBM Virtualization Engines TS7510, TS7520, and TS7530 - Some replacements available (ZG11-0221)'.

Time goes fast, so I'll try to reconstruct some of the history behind this. The IBM 3494 Tape Library had its built-in library managament functions. When the TS3500 (3584) was introduced for the mainframe at around 2005, it didn't have these library functions. So IBM introduced the 3953 Library Manager with its own frame in which also tape controllers could be built in. It was also used to connect to the TS7700 Virtualization engine. By 2009, the TS7700 could have its own library management functions and did no longer need the 3953. Now, a couple of weeks ago IBM introduced the new 3592 C07 Tape Controller that also has its own library management functionality. So . . . exit the 3953 Library Manager.

This became effective August 9, 2011.

IBM Announcement : System z selected products withdrawals

Effective September 30, 2012, October 31, 2012, November 12, 2012, December 31, 2012, April 30, 2013, and September 30, 2013, IBM will discontinue program services for a whole range of software products : 'Software withdrawal and support discontinuance: IBM System z selected products (ZP11-0341)'.

You should really take a look at this list because one can better be prepared. They will of course also pop up on our System z Newsletter. By the way, the new System z newsletter is coming out next week.

Those that drew my attention were z/OS 1.11 and z/OSMF 1.11 (September 30, 2012), CICS VSE 2.3 (October 31, 2012), IMS 10.1 (November 12, 2012) and z/VSE 4.2.2 (October 31, 2012).

IBM Announcement : DS8000 withdrawals

My next few posts will cover the announcements that were issued during my holiday.

I'll start with a DS8000 announcements with some withdrawals : 'Hardware withdrawal: IBM System Storage DS8000 series select processor memory and microcode features - No replacements available (ZG11-0209)'.

Summarizing all processor memory for the DS8100 and DS8300 models is withdrawn from marketing, effective November 18, 2011.
Next to that 'Microcode Bundle Family - Release 5.1 Bundle Family' is WDFM for the DS8700 and 'DS8000 Licensed Machine Code - DS8000 LMC R6.0' is WDFM for the DS8800. This is effective October 3, 2011.

Replacements : None.

The History of CICS

So I'm back and I'm starting off with a short post on the history of CICS. You can find a brief survey of all CICS releases and some interesting side information over here. I was seven when CICS was first introduced in 1968. Oddly enough CICS was "not expected to last more than a few years". Support, originally in Palo Alto, was moved to Hursley in 1976 in exchange for PL/I. The first version I got to work with was, if I remember correctly, CICS/VS 1.6 dating from 1983. The most current version is CICS Transaction Server (CICS TS) V4.2.

As I always say, just check it out !

(*) Picture comes from a blog post at The Master Terminal.

z114 Introduction Video

Well, this is my last post before leaving on holiday. It's an introductory movie on the z114. When I come back in a couple of weeks and my memory is completely erased, this might be a good entry point for me (and I guess some of you too) to get started again.

Have a nice holiday . . . and now it's time for me to press that very last button :

New IBM System Storage Tape Controller 3592 Model C07

Just a couple of months ago, IBM announced a new TS1140 Tape Drive with a native data rate performance of 250MB/sec and matching uncompressed 4 TB tapes. Unfortunately, at the time, this was only announced for open systems.
Now the mainframe is catching up : 'New IBM System Storage Tape Controller 3592 Model C07 enhances performance and connectivity (ZG11-0211)'.

"Tape Controller Model C07 has up to four 4-Gbps FICON attachments. The Tape Controller Model C07 offers four 8-Gbps Fibre Channel adapters for attaching 3592 Tape Drives, and up to 16 of the IBM 3592 Tape Drives can be attached to a single Tape Controller Model C07. The controller can be installed in an IBM 3952 Tape Frame Model F05, IBM TS3500 (3584) Tape Library frames, and stand-alone racks".

The 3952 Tape Drives that are mentioned are not only the TS1140 but also the TS1130 and TS1120 Tape Drives. "An available fibre channel switch feature is required to attach more than four 3592 Tape Drives to the Tape Controller Model C07 (...) The switch may be ordered as a feature on the controller or the customer may supply the switch". The controller also still requires a TS3000 System Console.

The new thing however about this controller is that it comes with library management fuctionality. This means that you no longer need a separate 3953-L05 Library Manager. "For high availability, the first two Model C07 controllers that are connected to a common TS3500 logical library will both have the library management feature. This will allow library activity to continue during code loads and outages on any single controller".

Planned Availability Date : September 9, 2011

Hardware withdrawal : z10 EC and z10 BC

Next to the announcement of the z114 there were still some other announcements too. I'll try and cover some of them in the next few days that stand between now and my holiday. First there's the announcement that z10 EC and z10 BC will be withdrawn from marketing : 'Hardware withdrawal: IBM System z10 EC, IBM System z10 BC, and a selected IBM zEnterprise 196 feature - Replacements availabe (ZG11-0116)'.

We've seen the same with the z9 last year and we've also seen that (to my knowledge) for the first time 'withdrawn from marketing' really meant what it said. We haven't done any upgrades after June 30, 2010. This used to be somewhat different in the past.

Now, it happens in two phases. As of June 30, 2012 any upgrades towards a z10 EC or a z10 BC will no longer be possible. Nor will you be able to do any model conversions or hardware MES features. Roughly speaking this means that any upgrade which involves hardware changes will no longer be possible.

"Field install features and conversions that are delivered solely through a modification to the machine's Licensed Internal Code (LIC) will continue to be available until June 30, 2013" meaning that everything which is in the machine will be able to be activated during the next year. E.g. you will be able to add a zIIP to a z10 EC E12 if there are still engines available in that book, you will no longer be able to add a book. After June 30. 2013 nothing will pass any more.

One point of attention : Capacity on Demand offerings will be usable until their expiration date. Something to check when you're planning to use a z10 after June 2013.

IBM announces the new zEnterprise 114 or z114

General Introduction

Just went to see Prince last Sunday at the North Sea Jazz Festival. Those who only know Purple Rain will call him a dinosaur, but he's no one trick pony, he's still making really good music. He's not just a singer or guitar player either, he's a real multi-instrumentalist, some say he plays 26 different instruments. Oh, and some will argue he's expensive, and yes, I paid 100 EURO for one ticket. But I'd rather go to see one really good artist who's worth every cent than 5 would-be artists for nearly the same price. You know where I'm heading at : I'm just making a pretty lousy intro comparing the qualities of this artist with the qualities of the mainframe. And not doing justice to either of them.

Just to tell you, here it is : the new IBM zEnterprise 114 with the following announcement : 'IBM zEnterprise 114 - Freedom by design (ZG11-0207)'

You know by now how the naming is done. It's just as the z196 still the first generation and it has 14 engines at its disposal. I'll first give you the more traditional stuff and then show you the internals with some new hardware components. There's also a new software pricing mechanism and some other pricing news. In the meantime some of the new things are also announced for the z196's GA2 : 'IBM zEnterprise 196 enhancements deliver faster access to data (ZG11-0193). In particular, I'm thinking about the new zBX enhancements.

Here's a good overview of the new functionalities of the z114. Just click on the image to get a larger, mor readable version in a new window.

Click on image for larger version in new window

Technical specifications

The z114 gets machine type 2818. Just like its, can we say BC, predecessors it's also a one frame, air-cooled machine. It's a little bit smaller footprint and it comes, just like the z196, with overhead or top-exit I/O cabling. New is that it now also has top exit power cabling.

At first sight, it's perhaps a bit surprising to see two models appearing again : the M05 and the M10. But this is mainly due to the new CPC drawers which I'll be discussing a bit further. These drawers each have 7 PUs. The M05 has one drawer (7 PUs) and the M10 has two drawers (14 PUs). Each model has 2 SAPs leaving the M05 with 5 and the M10 with 10 configurable PUs. Hey, why 10 on the M10 and not 14 - 2 = 12 ? Well, the M10 has 2 dedicated spares. This is new for a BC machine. The M05 acts as all its predecessor using non-designated PUs as spares. Both models can have up to 5 traditional CPs ranging from A01 to Z05 giving us 130 capacity settings.

Click on image for larger version in new window

You know what PCI stands for in the graph.
Other engines can be defined as specialty engines. Here's an overview of the possibilities.

Click on image for larger version in new window

The memory ranges from 8 GB up to 120 GB for the M05 and 248 GB of usable memory for the M10. Just like on the z196 the new RAIM memory is introduced. The small 4GB increments we saw in the lower ranges for the z10 BC are no longer available on the z114.

Upgrades are possible from any z9 BC or z10 BC. You can also (disruptively) upgrade from an M05 to an M10. Only the M10 allows an upgrade to the larger z196 and then again only to an air-cooled model.

The processor now reaches 3.8GHz and the out-of-order core execution has also become available on the BC machines now.

Under the covers
Here you see an 'under the covers' illustration of a z114 Model M10.

Let me concentrate on the two most distinctive technical elements of this z114 : the new CPC drawer and the very new PCIe I/O drawers.

CPC Drawers
You know the CPC drawer was introduced with the z10 BC which had 12 configurable PUs. Now I think IBM made a few modifications in order to make the low end mainframes as affordable as possible. One of those was to split this one drawer into two smaller drawers each with 7 PUs.

In that case the M05 can become cheaper due to less (unused) processors.

Connectivity
When you take a closer look at the 'under the covers' picture, you can see that we now have two kinds of I/O drawers. There's the 'traditional' I/O drawer that was introduced with the z10 BC, but now we also have a new PCIe I/O drawer. The connectivity starts with the new I/O Subsystem Internal Bus connectivity : this changes from InfiniBand to PCIe interconnectivity. The result is an increased throughput from 6 GBps to 8 GBps.

Let's now have a look on how the new PCIe I/O drawer differs from the first one. It is designed for improved power and bandwidth compared to the I/O drawer. First of all, if you're not familair with the PCIe standard, you might want to take a look at Wikipedia. In the meantime, here's the specs of the original I/O drawer.


And this is the new PCIe I/O drawer.

While all traditional cards are still held in the original I/O drawer, the PCIe I/O drawer introduces two types of new cards : the FICON Express8S card and the OSA-Express4S card. You might see that there are much more slots, but then again, the FICON Express8S card has only 2 CHPIDs. There's a long wave and a short wave card available. The connectors seem to remain the same. What IS impressive about this FICON card is the improved performance especially with a Large sequential Read/write mix.
Next to that there's also a new OSA-Express4S GbE and 10 GbE fiber for the PCIe I/O drawer. The 10GbE card has one port, the GbE card has two ports. Performance is similar to the OSA-Express3 cards. There's no new generation yet for the 1000BaseT card.

Here's a good overview of the current connectivity features.

Click on image for larger version in new window

By the way, this drawer is also available on the z196.

What Else ?
Here are some other items I'd like to discuss briefly in order to have a complete view of these announcements

STP
As was the case with the z196, the z114 will not connect to any External Timer either.

InfiniBand
In short, there are new 12x InfiniBand and 1x InfiniBand features (HCA3-O fanouts). The 12x InfiniBand provides increased service times when using 12x IFB3 protocol. 12x IFB3 service times are designed to be 40% faster than 12x IFB. The 1x InfiniBand provides increased port count. The number of ports increases from 2 to 4 with 16 CHPIDs across these 4 ports. This gives us the following overview for connectivity for coupling and I/O including existing and new features.


Operating Systems
z/OS

• V1.11, 1.12, 1.13 or higher
• V1.8, 1.9, 1.10 in Lifecycle Extension
• zBX Ensemble support: z/OS V1.10 or higher

Linux

• Red Hat RHEL 5
• Novell SUSE SLES 11

z/VM

• V5.4 and higher
  
• zBX Ensemble support: V6.1

z/VSE

• V4.2 and higher
  
• zBX Ensemble support V4.3 or higher

z196 GA2
Let me just summarize the most important functionalities that also become available on the z196.

• The new 32 slot PCIe based I/O drawer
• The new 8GB PCIe interconnects
• New form factor I/O adapters i.e FICON Express8S and OSA-Expres4S
  
• Improved PSIFB Coupling Link
• zBX-002 with ISAOPT, POWER7, DataPower XI50z and IBM System x Blades
• Improved time coordination for zBX components
• Cryptographic enhancements
  

zBX : zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension announcements

The zBX Model 002 also becomes available for the z114. If you want to review the functionalities of the zBX ànd of the Unified Resource Manager, I'd advise you to take a look at my post on the introduction of the z196. Up to now we had the IBM Smart Analytics Optimizer, the Websphere DataPower Integration Appliance XI50 for zEnterprise (XI50z) and the Power7 blades for the zBX.

We now see the introduction of the x86 blades. As is the case with the Power blades only specific types of x86 BladeCenters will be supported. The supported blade type is System x Machine Type 7873 (HX5). This is described in the following announcement : 'IBM zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension support for select IBM BladeCenter HX5 blades (ZG11-0200)' There will be a zBX integrated Hypervisor for IBM System x Blades. This is not VMWare but KVM. It is planned to support both Linux on System x and Windows (even) on the same blade. This will be 64-bit Linux on System x versions and 64-bit Windows versions. But, keep in mind, the Windows support is still a Statement of Direction, normally to be implemented during the fourth quarter of 2011.

Software pricing : the good news
For z114 customers
Parallel to the AWLC pricing for the z196, there's an announcement of a new AEWLC (Advanced Entry Workload License Charges) pricing metric : 'Advanced Entry Workload License Charges offers price/performance for the IBM zEnterprise z114 (ZP11-0311)'. So, no 'technology dividend' (lowering the MSU-Mips ratio) either but a real price reduction for the actual MSUs. Small ànd growing customers will benefit from this new pricing metric. It also introduces a new MSU Tier starting at +315 MSU instead of the highest +260 MSU Tier we know from EWLC pricing.
A brief remark for the z/VSE customers : MWLC products will also be made available on AEWLC pricing.

Software pricing : the not so good news
For EWLC customers on z9 BC and z10 BC
This one was already announced last week but of course it fits in over here. In addition to the announcement of the new pricing metric there was also an announcement about EWLC pricing : 'Price Changes in monthly Entry Workload License Charges (EWLC) on selected IBM System z Software Products(ZA11-1029)'. You might have noticed that there were already quite some pricing announcements last year. There was the yearly price modification announcement usually starting July 1, there were some announcements about increasing prices for back level versions of CICS, DB2 ... and here's this new one now announcing an additional 5% price increase for EWLC pricing that will take effect January 1, 2012. Should we call that a gentle push from IBM towards the new z114 ?

Other pricing considerations
Next to the software pricing initiatives, IBM really seems to do quite some efforts to lower the prices for the platform. First of all, they promise a reduction on the hardware maintenance. This actually has been the case for all last generations. Specialty engines will cost less and memory will even cost a lot less. Or, as the announcement says : "Significant reduction in maintenance, hardware, specialty engine, and memory pricing, making new workload deployment even more affordable"

Statements of Direction
The statements of direction (next to the one about Windows of course) are an interesting read. Also take a look at the recommendations for not running into trouble.

• z114 will be the very last server to support ESCON channels. It will not be possible to order new ESCON channels on follow-up models nor carry them forward during an upgrade of the z196 or the z114
  If you really still need them, you can have a look at the Opticatech products
• z114 will be the last server to support FICON Express4 channels
  Enterprises should migrate to FICON Express8S channels.
• z114 will be the last server to support OSA-Express2 features
  Enterprises should migrate to OSA-Express4S features.
• z114 will be the last server to offer ordering of ISC-3
  Enterprises should migrate to 12x InfiniBand or 1x InfiniBand LR coupling links.
• z114 will be the last server to offer ordering of the PSC feature.
• z114 will be the last server to support dial-up modems for use with the Remote Support Facility (RSF), and the External Time Source (ETS) option of Server Time Protocol (STP).

Documentation
Apparantly, it's still a bit early to come with full documentation, but this is what is already available for the moment.

Redbook : IBM zEnterprise 114 Technical Guide (still a draft for the moment)

Web :

• IBM General introduction page
• z114 page
• Introduction video at Youtube
• AEWLC software pricing page

Documents

• Data Sheet
• zEnterprise FAQ (July 2011 Edition)
• publications of manuals will be at Resource Link
  

Some key dates for the z114 and z196 GA2
July 12, 2011

• day of announcement
• first day orders
• Resource Link support available

September 9, 2011

• new builds for z114 M05 and M10 models
• upgrades from z9 BC or z10 BC
• GA2 level for new z196s or upgrades

September 26, 2011

• Manage Firmware System x Blade

4th Quarter 2011

• Microsoft Windows (64-bit only) for select IBM System x Blades in a zBX (SOD).
• And I find this one a bit odd : Unified Resource Manager support for System x Blades (SOD) !

December 31, 2011

• z114 Model M05 to M10 upgrades.

As usual, I could only touch upon the very highlights of this new system. There's much more to discover about it. So I'd say : stay tuned !

The new z114 mainframe : overview of the announcements

I've been writing an overview of the new z114, but I thought it might be a good idea to just start off with a list of announcements related to this one. But do come back today for my general overview of the z114.


Mainframe

IBM zEnterprise 114 - Freedom by design (ZG11-0207)

IBM zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension support for select IBM BladeCenter HX5 blades (ZG11-0200)

IBM zEnterprise 196 enhancements deliver faster access to data (ZG11-0193)

Advanced Entry Workload License Charges offers price/performance for the IBM zEnterprise z114 (ZP11-0311)

Special consideration for FICON Express and OSA-Express features on IBM System z (ZG11-0196)

Site preparation and installation support for IBM zEnterprise 114 (ZG11-0195)

Hardware withdrawal: IBM System z10 EC, IBM System z10 BC, and a selected IBM zEnterprise 196 feature - Replacements availabe (ZG11-0116)


Storage

IBM XIV Storage System Gen3 offers a new high-performance model 114 for machine types 2810 and 2812 (ZG11-0199)

IBM XIV Storage System Software Version 11.0.0 (5639-YYB) supports for new IBM XIV Gen3 hardware (ZP11-0310)

New IBM System Storage Tape Controller 3592 Model C07 enhances performance and connectivity (ZG11-0211)


Software : z/OS

IBM z/OS V1.13 delivers new availability, batch programming, and usability functions (ZP11-0313)

IBM z/OS Management Facility V1.13 delivers new function for simplified software deployment, disk storage management, and a more unified z/OS experience (ZP11-0303)

IBM SMP/E for z/OS, V3.6 provides new functions designed to support z/OSMF software deployment, and two new reporting capabilities (ZP11-0320)

Virtual Event : the next step in the evolution of zEnterprise hybrid computing

A couple of weeks ago the IBM Smarter Computing Blog mentioned this virtual event for July 12, 2011 entitled : 'Join us to experience freedom by design'.

The introduction goes as follows :

"Join us on July 12, 2011 for the next step in the evolution of zEnterprise hybrid computing - with a new entry point for clients of all sizes - designed to unleash new business innovation in your data center".

"A new entry point for clients of all sizes" : hmm, I wonder what that might be referring to ? If you think about recent topics in the IBM-Main list and a recent article at The Register and you connect the dots, perhaps you can figure it out yourselves. Am I insulting your intelligence now ?

The topics :

• Jean S. Bozman, Research VP at IDC Enterprise Servers, Reducing the Cost of Multi-tier Hybrid Computing
• David Marts, VP of Operations at Transzap, Inc, Strategies to Better Manage and Store Data with zEnterprise
• Tom Rosamilia, IBM General Manager of Power and z Systems Smarter Computing Perspective
• Greg Lotko, IBM VP for System z , The Evolution of zEnterprise Hybrid Computing

The event starts at 11am EDT, 3pm GMT or 5pm Brussels Time. You can register over here

EWLC price increase of up to 5%

In reference to my previous post, I first thought of paraphrasing the title for this announcement : 'They shoot mainframers, don't they ?' But I guess it wouldn't be very informative and I really wanted the message to get through.

So today IBM made this announcement : 'Price Changes in monthly Entry Workload License Charges (EWLC) on selected IBM System z Software Products(ZA11-1029)'. You know already enough when you see the well-known words 'Prince Change'. This is usually not very good news, to say the least. The text is very simple :

Today, IBM announces up to 5% increase in monthly Entry Workload License Charges (EWLC) on selected IBM System z software products .
Increased monthly charges on these Entry WLC products will be effective with the billing period that starts on or after January 1, 2012.

EWLC pricing is the variable MLC pricing on most BC machines nowadays. So I guess nearly every BC z/OS customer will be involved. It says "selected" software products, but I have no clue how many or how little products are involved. Worst case scenario : your EWLC pricing will go up by 5% starting on January 1, 2012.

I'm referring to the EMEA announcement but I guess this will be announced worldwide.