Linux on the Mainframe

JOHN EILERT led the team responsible for the Integrated Facility for Linux and retired from the IBM lab in Poughkeepsie, NY, after 30 years of experience with mainframes. MARIA EISENHAENDLER,a technical writer at the IBM lab in Boeblingen, Germany, has been producing documentation for Linux on the mainframe since its inception. DOROTHEA MATTHAEUS plans technical documentation at the IBM lab in Boeblingen, Germany, where she focuses on mainframe and Linux. INGOLF SALMfocuses on IBM middleware design for Linux on the mainframe and Linux distributions at the IBM lab in Boeblingen, Germany. He has over 20 years of experience in IBM OS architecture and design.

Linux in the Emerging On Demand World.


The Future of e-business: e-business On Demand.


The Importance of Open Standards to an On Demand Business.


On Demand, Open Source and Linux.


Linux and the On Demand Business.


Preface.


Terminology used in this book.


Disclaimer.


Acknowledgements.
I. LINUX ON THE MAINFRAME—AN INTRODUCTION.

1. Introducing Linux.


Benefits of the Linux Operating System. The Role of the Open Source Community. The Role of Distributions. Linux Structure. IBM and Linux. Summary.

2. Introducing the Mainframe.


The Mainframe's Birth. General Purpose Computer Architecture. Distinguishing Features of the Mainframe. From Real to Virtual. Summary.

3. Introducing Linux on the Mainframe.


Why Linux Fits the Mainframe. What was Done to fit Linux onto the Mainframe. How Linux Fits the Mainframe. Six Reasons to Run Linux on the Mainframe. Summary.

II. PLANNING FOR LINUX.

4. Overview of What You Can Do With Linux on the Mainframe.


Horizontal and Vertical Growth. ISPCompany and Its New Business Application. StoreCompany and Its Business Application. Summary.

5. Sample Projects.


Building A Team. Choosing the Right Linux Project. Summary.

6. Total Cost of Ownership—The Challenge.


Total Cost of Ownership Factors. The Mainframe and the TCO Equation. Linux and the TCO Equation. ISPCompany: TCO Considerations. StoreCompany: TCO Considerations. Summary.

III. IS LINUX ON THE MAINFRAME FOR ME?

7. The Value of Virtualization.


What Is z/VM? How Linux Can Run On z/VM. What Does z/VM Provide? What Is Logical Partitioning? Why Run Linux on z/VM? Summary.

8. Security Considerations.


The Role of Security Policy. Risk Assessment. Before Opening the Doors: Hardening. Opening the Doors. Preventing Attacks. Keeping Up to Date on Security Issues. Summary.

9. Setting Up Linux on the Mainframe.


Distribution Considerations. Running Linux on the Mainframe. Creating Images. Purpose of Linux Images. Setting Up For Availability. Setting Up For Secure and Efficient I/O. Summary.

10. Communicating in a Virtual Environment.


Communication Methods Under z/VM. Scenario: Networking in a Virtual Environment. Virtual Failover Solutions. Communicating With the Outside World. Summary.

11. Achieving Higher Availability.


What Is High Availability? The zSeries Hardware Availability. Redundancy and Single Points of Failure. High Availability for the ISPCompany Example. High Availability for the StoreCompany Oak Example. A Quick Look at the Future. Summary.

IV. MAKING THE MOST OF LINUX ON THE MAINFRAME.

12. Systems Management.


Controlling the Cost of Systems Administration. Systems Management Disciplines. Policies. Procedures. Using Tools. Using a Framework. Summary.

13. Availability Management.


Availability Policy. Health Monitoring. Automation. Change Management. Key Factors to Consider in Availability. Summary.

14. Data Management.


Keeping Data on the Mainframe. Introduction to Backup and Restore. Quota. Data, Policies and Tools. Database Management. Performance Tuning and Capacity Planning. Summary.

15. Performance and Capacity Planning.


Day-to-Day Performance. Relative Capacity and Capacity Planning. Summary.

16. System Administrator Tasks.


Expanding the System Administrator's Role in Your Organization. Change Management. Tasks That Are Unique to Linux on the Mainframe. Tools Policies. Becoming Familiar with the Mainframe. Summary.

V. RUNNING APPLICATIONS.

17. Deploying Linux Servers


Where Can You Find Applications For Linux on the Mainframe? Simple Server Hardware Consolidation. Summary.

18. Porting Applications to Linux on the Mainframe.


What You Can Gain By Porting an Application to Linux on the Mainframe. Before You Decide to Port. What Effort to Expect. What You Need. Where to Get More Information. Summary.

19. Building Integrated Server Environments.


Inter-Image Communications. Example for an Integrated Environment. Connectors to Back-End Systems. Consolidating a 3-Tier Environment. Enriching Your Mainframe Environment with New Applications. Summary.

VI. REFERENCE.

20. Linux-on-the-Mainframe Reference.


Linux Distributions for the Mainframe. Overview of Linux Directory Structure. Exploiting Mainframe Processor Architecture. Linux-on-the-Mainframe Device Drivers.

21. Mainframe Reference.


The Mainframe Architecture. Mainframe Registers. The Program Status Word. Integrated Facility for Linux (IFL).

22. Debugging and Dump Analysis.


What Information You Need. Debugging Under z/VM. General Linux Debugging Facilities. Linux Kernel Debugging Tools. Linux System Dump Tools.

23. Security Reference.


Security Certification. General Security Considerations. z/VM Tools.

24. Communications Reference.


zSeries Virtual Connections. An Example of Server Consolidation Based on Linux.

25. Systems Management Tools.


Availability Management Tools. Data Management Tools. Security Management Tools. Performance and Capacity Planning Tools. System Administrator Tools. Tools Web Sites.

26. Performance Reference.


Tuning Linux Guests Under VM. When to Use Kernel Patches. Performance Tools.

27. Examples for Applications.
VII. APPENDICES.

Appendix A. ISPCompany.


Corporate Profile of ISPCompany. Offerings. Description of Environment. Example New Client.

Appendix B. StoreCompany.


Corporate Profile of StoreCompany. Description of Environment. Programming Model and Middleware Platform. Project 1: Firewall and Proxy Server. Project 2: Web Application Server. Project 3: OaK Project.

Glossary.
Further Reading.
Bibliography.
Books.
IBM Redbooks.
IBM Articles and Papers.
Other IBM Publications.
Other Articles and Papers.
Index.