Special Features:
IBM, PARTNERS BRING GRIDS TO
LINUX ON THE MAINFRAME
IBM announced several significant developments that highlight the rapid
emergence of Grid Computing as a compelling choice for enterprises running
Linux on the IBM eServer zSeries mainframe.
The company was joined by Linux software provider SuSE Linux and the
industry's leading grid software providers in announcing that:
The Globus Toolkit is now available for Linux on the IBM eServer zSeries.
The
Globus Toolkit for Linux on zSeries can be obtained from SuSE Linux as part of
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8, powered by UnitedLinux (www.SuSE.com) or for
download at www.globus.org.
Grid middleware provider DataSynapse announced availability of its award-
winning LiveCluster 3G for Linux on the eServer zSeries. LiveCluster is
designed to solve compute- and data-intensive bottlenecks and scalability
constraints by harnessing the power of servers, clusters and desktops anywhere
on a network. LiveCluster allows applications running on zSeries to
participate in the LiveCluster workload prioritization environment. The
porting of DataSynapse's LiveCluster to support Linux for zSeries servers
enables the platform to behave as an application server that delivers optimal
load balancing, resource efficiency and high availability.
Grid software provider Platform Computing announced availability of three
of
its products for Linux on the zSeries mainframe. These include Platform LSF,
which is designed to provide on-demand access to an organization's global
compute resources and balances workloads across the entire organization;
Platform JobScheduler, a software solution that accelerates batch processing
by integrating, automating and grid-enabling silos of applications, jobs and
process flows across distributed computing clusters; and Platform
MultiCluster, which allows enterprises to create a single, cohesive computing
environment with easy-to-manage resource sharing policies across
geographies.
"The availability of the Globus Toolkit for Linux on the IBM zSeries
mainframe
is another key milestone in the evolution of Grid Computing," said Globus
Project leader Dr. Ian Foster of the Argonne National Laboratory and the
University of Chicago. "Commercial adoption of Grid Computing will continue
to accelerate as companies like IBM and SuSE broaden their support for the
Globus Toolkit."
"With this announcement, IBM is enabling a powerful Linux platform to
participate in grids," said Holger Dryoff, general manager, Americas, SuSE
Linux. "By enabling the world's most stable platform as the control unit for
grid computing, there is the potential for a great leap in computing
power."
"The IBM mainframe's advanced workload management capabilities and high
availability have clear advantages when deploying Grid Computing
applications," said Rich Lechner, vice president, IBM Enterprise Servers. "As
enterprises make the move to grid, the resiliency, flexibility, and high-speed
throughput of the eServer zSeries can provide significant performance
advantages."
Mainframes On the Grid
The following is a brief list of the advanced capabilities provided by the
eServer zSeries for Grid Computing:
- Dynamic Server Provisioning
- The zSeries offers the ability to dynamically deploy and configure new
virtual grid servers in just minutes, allowing enterprises to tap additional
zSeries capacity to address new business opportunities.
- High Availability
- Housing critical grid scheduler and directory software in the high
availability eServer zSeries environment can increase the service levels of
commercial grids, while facilitating high-speed access to mission-critical
enterprise data and application resources.
- Virtualization
- IBM's industry leading virtualization technology, z/VM, supports the
creation of hundreds of virtual Linux servers on a single box, making it
particularly well suited for developing, testing, servicing, and deploying
Grid Computing applications and infrastructure.
- Server Consolidation
- Grid applications running on Linux on the zSeries can offer cost
advantages, particularly for customers seeking to speed return on their
investment by consolidating distributed servers on the eServer zSeries.
About IBM
IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of
leadership in helping businesses innovate. Drawing on resources from across
IBM and key Business Partners, IBM offers a wide range of services, solutions
and technologies that enable customers, large and small, to take full
advantage of the new era of e-business. For more information, visit
www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/zseries/announce/grid/ or www.ibm.com/grid.
|
