aster.cloud aster.cloud
  • /
  • Platforms
    • Public Cloud
    • On-Premise
    • Hybrid Cloud
    • Data
  • Architecture
    • Design
    • Solutions
    • Enterprise
  • Engineering
    • Automation
    • Software Engineering
    • Project Management
    • DevOps
  • Programming
    • Learning
  • Tools
  • About
  • /
  • Platforms
    • Public Cloud
    • On-Premise
    • Hybrid Cloud
    • Data
  • Architecture
    • Design
    • Solutions
    • Enterprise
  • Engineering
    • Automation
    • Software Engineering
    • Project Management
    • DevOps
  • Programming
    • Learning
  • Tools
  • About
aster.cloud aster.cloud
  • /
  • Platforms
    • Public Cloud
    • On-Premise
    • Hybrid Cloud
    • Data
  • Architecture
    • Design
    • Solutions
    • Enterprise
  • Engineering
    • Automation
    • Software Engineering
    • Project Management
    • DevOps
  • Programming
    • Learning
  • Tools
  • About
  • Software
  • Tech

How Linux Came To The Mainframe

  • root
  • November 4, 2019
  • 3 minute read

Linux’s emergence on the mainframe is indebted to the external developer community working with IBM.

Despite my 15 years of experience in the Linux infrastructure space, if you had asked me a year ago what a mainframe was, I’d be hard-pressed to give a satisfying technical answer. I was surprised to learn that the entire time I’d been toiling away on x86 machines in various systems administration roles, Linux was running on the s390x architecture for mainframes. In fact, 2019 marks 20 years of IBM’s involvement in Linux on the mainframe, with purely community efforts predating that by a year.


Partner with aster.cloud
for your next big idea.
Let us know here.



From our partners:

CITI.IO :: Business. Institutions. Society. Global Political Economy.
CYBERPOGO.COM :: For the Arts, Sciences, and Technology.
DADAHACKS.COM :: Parenting For The Rest Of Us.
ZEDISTA.COM :: Entertainment. Sports. Culture. Escape.
TAKUMAKU.COM :: For The Hearth And Home.
ASTER.CLOUD :: From The Cloud And Beyond.
LIWAIWAI.COM :: Intelligence, Inside and Outside.
GLOBALCLOUDPLATFORMS.COM :: For The World's Computing Needs.
FIREGULAMAN.COM :: For The Fire In The Belly Of The Coder.
ASTERCASTER.COM :: Supra Astra. Beyond The Stars.
BARTDAY.COM :: Prosperity For Everyone.

What is a mainframe?

You can think of a mainframe as a big, enterprise-grade server. Everything from the custom s390x CPUs to memory and power, coupled with external storage arrays, is highly redundant and even built to survive earthquakes (check out the z13 Earthquake Shake Test on YouTube). Built-in hardware-based encryption allows for end-to-end encryption of your data without taking general processing power away from your workloads. Essentially, if you want your workloads and data to be safe and secure, it still makes sense to invest in a mainframe.

The traditional mainframe operating system is z/OS, which has a long history and still gets regular releases to add functionality, security, and stability. The Open Mainframe Project hosts a collection of open source projects, largely built around z/OS, to further modernize the platform. This includes Zowe, which brings modern API, shell, automation, and scripting tooling to the mainframe. Systems administrators who are looking at mainframes now have a modern, familiar toolset to work with. Add support for Linux in the mix? Suddenly you have an incredibly powerful addition to infrastructure, and it supports all the tools you’re familiar with.

Read More  Electron Switch May Get Us Closer To Quantum Computers

The origins of Linux on the mainframe

To get a real picture of how Linux got to the mainframe, I’ll take you back in time. The first IBM mainframe, the IBM System/360, was introduced in 1964. Before this, computers were purpose-built for specific clients and industries. The S/360 was built to be a multi-purpose computer, able to cover a variety of computing needs across industries. Fast-forward to 1972, and we have what’s really a pivotal moment in modern computing: the introduction of VM/370.

VM stands for the same thing it means today, virtual machine, and this was the first virtualization technology for the mainframe. Time-sharing on the mainframe had been an idea in whitepapers dating back to the 1950s, but VM/370 brought that to another level. If you’re interested in why this was revolutionary and the technical history of the components and teams that made this happen, read Melinda Varian’s fascinating article VM and the VM Community: Past, Present, and Future.

As a long-time open source enthusiast, I found one of the most interesting things about the development of the VM was how community-driven it was. People from various universities and companies outside IBM were driving the efforts and giving their feedback to IBM to push development forward. While learning about the history, I identified key people inside IBM—I would call them the first developer advocates—who went out of their way to support external developers on the platform and advocate for their needs internally to drive change at IBM.

Fast-forward to 1994, and we reach another milestone that helped pave the way for Linux on the mainframe: experimental TCP/IP support in VMs. Mainframes have supported a series of network-type interfaces; TCP/IP was just one, but for the purposes of porting Linux to the mainframe, it was a key one.

Read More  Video Chat Apps Rise To Prominence Amid Pandemic

It was 1998 when a fellow named Linas Vepstas started the “Bigfoot” effort to see if he could get Linux running on a mainframe using a VM. I love this part of the history, partially because it goes back to the community driving development, but also because of his Why port Linux to the mainframe? page. His first four points really spoke to me as an infrastructure geek:

  • Stunt
  • To learn
  • Because it’s there
  • Because it’s knarly, duude!

Linas fleshes these points out—and reading them showed me immediately that I had found a kindred spirit. His list continues into more practical things: I/O, address spaces and access lists, VM, and the business model. But given how he orders his points, I think I know where his real motivations are.

 

Elizabeth K. Joseph

This article originally appeared in opensource.com


For enquiries, product placements, sponsorships, and collaborations, connect with us at [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you!

Our humans need coffee too! Your support is highly appreciated, thank you!

root

Related Topics
  • IBM
  • Linux
  • Mainframe
You May Also Like
View Post
  • Gears
  • Tech

Apple introduces the advanced new Apple Watch Series 9

  • September 12, 2023
View Post
  • Software
  • Technology

Series Of Events Will Highlight Generative AI Use Cases Powered By Open Source Software

  • September 6, 2023
Internet of Things
View Post
  • Software
  • Technology

OpenHW Group Announces Tape Out of RISC-V-Based CORE-V MCU Development Kit for IoT Built with Open-Source Hardware & Software

  • August 16, 2023
View Post
  • Software
  • Software Engineering

End-to-End Secure Evaluation of Code Generation Models

  • August 11, 2023
Autonomous systems need to be reliable, so NASA puts the code it develops through rigorous testing, like this Artemis I launch countdown training simulation, to avoid potential failures.
View Post
  • Software
  • Technology

NASA Software Catalog Offers Free Programs for Earth Science, More

  • August 10, 2023
White House
View Post
  • Software
  • Technology

Biden-⁠Harris Administration Launches Artificial Intelligence Cyber Challenge to Protect America’s Critical Software

  • August 9, 2023
View Post
  • Software
  • Software Engineering

Simplifying Creation Of Go Applications On Google Cloud

  • August 6, 2023
View Post
  • Computing
  • Software
  • Technology

The Open Source Licensing War Is Over

  • August 4, 2023

Stay Connected!
LATEST
  • 1
    Combining AI With A Trusted Data Approach On IBM Power To Fuel Business Outcomes
    • September 21, 2023
  • 2
    Start Your Ubuntu Confidential VM With Intel® TDX On Google Cloud
    • September 20, 2023
  • Microsoft and Adobe 3
    Microsoft And Adobe Partner To Deliver Cost Savings And Business Benefits
    • September 20, 2023
  • 4
    Huawei Connect 2023: Accelerating Intelligence For Shared Success
    • September 20, 2023
  • 5
    Huawei Releases Data Center 2030, Leading Innovation and Development of New Data Centers
    • September 20, 2023
  • Penguin 6
    How To Find And Fix Broken Packages On Linux
    • September 19, 2023
  • Volkswagen 7
    Volkswagen Races Toward Next-Gen Automotive Manufacturing Leadership With Google Cloud And T-Systems
    • September 19, 2023
  • 8
    VMware Scales Multi-Cloud Security With Workforce Identity Federation
    • September 18, 2023
  • Intel Innovation 9
    Intel Innovation 2023
    • September 15, 2023
  • Private 10
    A Comeback For Private Clouds
    • September 14, 2023
about
Hello World!

We are aster.cloud. We’re created by programmers for programmers.

Our site aims to provide guides, programming tips, reviews, and interesting materials for tech people and those who want to learn in general.

We would like to hear from you.

If you have any feedback, enquiries, or sponsorship request, kindly reach out to us at:

[email protected]
Most Popular
  • 1
    Microsoft And Oracle Expand Partnership To Deliver Oracle Database Services On Oracle Cloud Infrastructure In Microsoft Azure
    • September 14, 2023
  • 2
    Real-Time Ubuntu Is Now Available In AWS Marketplace
    • September 12, 2023
  • 3
    IBM Brings Watsonx To ESPN Fantasy Football With New Waiver Grades And Trade Grades
    • September 13, 2023
  • 4
    NASA Shares Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Independent Study Report
    • September 14, 2023
  • 5
    Introducing OpenAI Dublin
    • September 14, 2023
  • /
  • Technology
  • Tools
  • About
  • Contact Us

Input your search keywords and press Enter.