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IBM launches New “System z10” Mainframe

27 February 2008 2 views No Comment

ibm logo (: IBM) today announced the z10 to help clients create a new data center. The z10 is designed from the ground up to help dramatically increase data center efficiency by significantly improving and reducing power, cooling costs, and floor space requirements. It offers unmatched levels of and automates the management and tracking of IT resources to respond to ever-changing conditions.

In addition to the z10, also announced it has invested $300 million in architects, technical skills, as well as design and benchmarking centers to help clients transform to a new data center. Qualified clients can receive free assessment services to prioritize and take action to implement a more efficient, and dynamic IT infrastructure.

’s next-generation, 64- , which uses - , is built from the start to be , offering greater over virtualized x86 to support hundreds to hundreds of millions of users.*1

The z10 also supports a broad range of workloads. In addition to , XML, Java, WebSphere and increased workloads from Service Oriented Architecture implementations, is working with and Sine Nomine Associates to pilot the Open Solaris on z, demonstrating the openness and flexibility of the .

From a standpoint, the new z10 is designed to be up to 50% faster and offers up to 100% improvement for intensive jobs compared to its predecessor, the z9, with up to 70% more capacity.*2 The z10 also is the equivalent of nearly 1,500 x86 , with up to an 85% smaller footprint, and up to 85% lower energy costs. The new z10 can consolidate x86 licenses at up to a 30-to-1 ratio.*3

Hewitt Associates, one of the world’s foremost providers of human resources outsourcing and consulting services, uses z10 mainframes as a cornerstone of its operations. “We’ve implemented z10 systems in our parallel Sysplex environment, which is running live, mission-critical benefits applications for the world’s top employers — so , , and reliability are of utmost importance,” said Sandee Kotowski, manager of infrastructure, Hewitt Associates. “The has been a key part of our IT infrastructure over the years, with clear cost benefits, but this new takes that value proposition a leap ahead. The capacity and scale of this changes the economics of the and is a significant step forward in addressing our constantly evolving needs.”
Designed as Engine to Manage IT as a Service; Drive the New
Businesses are working to not only greatly reduce the inefficiency and complexity of today’s data centers, but also share IT resources more efficiently and better align them to specific objectives and ever-changing conditions. At the same time, they are grappling with how to log, track, audit, and charge back every transaction. Their end objective is to move beyond basic (in which different computing tasks are partitioned on a ) to an environment in which their entire IT infrastructure, including applications, , , processing power, etc., is provisioned on demand.

The end result is that businesses can manage IT as a service — using a policy-driven that doles out, manages, and tracks appropriate IT resources where and when needed — to create the new data center.

The z10 is the industry’s only providing a complete range of policy-driven functions, including:

Authorization Management to and authorize who can access specific services and associated IT resources. Designed with encryption algorithms, the built-in features allow for z10 administrators to dictate multiple layers of and clearance to allow authorized users to access sensitive information that resides on the z. For example, an employee with entry-level clearance to search employee records for histories of volunteer work for a corporate report might not be able to access salary, promotion, and HR information for those same employees — based on the level of access that employee has been given as part of the authorization management policies built into the z.

Utilization Management to drive use of the . different from other classes of , the z10 is designed to run at up to 100 percent utilization - based on the varied demands placed on it by users.

z/OS, one of the systems for the z10, can manage transactions based on preset policies, adjusting on the to peaks and valleys. For example, customers going to a have multiple needs - some need cash - which is an instantaneous response, while other are applying for a mortgage - which is a longer process. The and the integrated OS can be configured to decide which requests are mission critical and timely and allocate utilization based on these needs.

Just-in-Time Capacity to deliver additional processing power and capacity when needed to help businesses better manage risk (e.g. more computing power during a peak retail season).
For the first time, the 64- z10 will automate the provisioning of processing power when needed to changing conditions. For example, financial services and retail institutions can schedule and automatically provision pre-set levels of processing power to manage spikes in demand. Equally as important, the z10 can also automatically provision processing power when unanticipated demands hit.

z/OS anticipates when additional capacity is needed, for how long, and maps to that instantly. This is known as “Just In Time Deployment of Capacity Resources.” The feature is built upon transaction needs and how customers prioritize them.

with the U.S. government’s highest level of , Evaluation Assurance Level 5 (EAL5), via z/VM. The z is the only on that has achieved this level of for and (through the z9 with plans in place to apply for EAL5 for the z10). When customers are looking to allocate additional resources in the and partition them to save and access capacity on demand, the EAL5 states that the that are opened running the specific systems are in effect the same as if you were running another connected to the z - the physical for the partition is the highest level it can be. This enables customers to allocate resources on demand, without fear of risk to any of the information running through the systems, improving and enabling 24/7 .

z Skills Continue to Rapidly Expand around the World with Academic Initiative, Tied to ’s Resurgence; New Rational Tools Drive Continued Ease of Use
Launched in 2004, the Academic Initiative offers a wide range of education benefits through ’s deep capabilities and experience — from supplied instruction to — that can scale to meet the goals of colleges and universities around the world. Academic Initiative: z works with schools to enable courses, labs, senior design projects, and research in large systems thinking. today announced a new milestone as it topped the 400th University participating in the program around the world (up from 23 universities in the program in 2004). The demonstrates the dramatic of the program tied to the resurgence of the in the data center (see separate press release on today’s Academic Initiative ).

In addition, as part of ’s $100 million Simplification announced in 2006, today announced new Rational for z to speed the deployment of applications running on z and continue to drive ease of use. For example, the new Rational translates COBOL applications into Web services eliminating the need for new developers to learn the COBOL programming language. (see separate press release on today’s Rational ).

Also as part of ’s Simplification , today announced a new set of that automates the management of complex IT disciplines (such as , databases and new deployments) and delivers a single, integrated view of the impact on critical applications hosted on customers’ mainframes. The Service Management Center for z shows the linkages between IT assets and applications and enables enterprises to monitor the overall service delivery from IT in support of specific objectives in finance, and customer satisfaction, among others. (see separate press release on today’s ).
New Information on Demand for z
today is announcing new Information on Demand software for System z, including Cognos 8 Intelligence (BI) for z. Cognos 8 BI for z combines the proven reporting and analysis capabilities of Cognos 8 BI with the power and reliability of z, enabling customers to use their data for competitive advantage, improve decision-making and their . is also announcing a Cognos 8 BI for on z customer beta program. Cognos 8 BI for on z will be available in the second half of 2008. ’s Information on Demand strategy is helping customers gain access to the right information they need, when they need it, along with key insights needed to and respond to changing market demands. By deploying Cognos 8 BI for on z, customers will be able to easily report and analyze hundred of millions of transactions directly on the — ensuring everyone across the organization can quickly identify and respond to critical trends.

is also announcing the immediate of DB2 for z/OS Value Unit Edition, which provides a new one-time-charge offering that enables the deployment of new application workloads. This offering strengthens the role of z as a cornerstone for key initiatives such as SOA, Data Warehousing, Intelligence and packaged applications such as . DB2 for z/OS Value Unit Edition and Information enable z clients to further deliver trusted information for their dynamic warehousing requirements.

In addition, will bring new Master Data Management capabilities to z in the second half of this year. This will include the InfoSphere Master Data Management for on z, which allows businesses to centrally manage customer, product, and account data for use across an .

Customers can contact their or Cognos Sales Representative to get more information about participating in the Cognos 8 BI for z beta program.
New Offerings Help Environments for Managing Information
Transactions, information, and data are growing by leaps and bounds, creating challenges for storing and accessing information efficiently. Today, is introducing enhanced capabilities for environments that help information , mitigate information risks and maximize information capacity for very large amounts of data.

Disk : Delivering the industry’s leading , is announcing an enhanced version of its disk — DS8000 R3.1 — with new disaster recovery and continuity features that the power of the . Working in concert with the z/OS 1.10 environment, customers can now manage up to four times more information in their environments than with any other .

Tape : Building on almost 40 years of , also enhanced the TS7700 Tape for environments, delivering improved information retention, archiving and capabilities thru exploitation of ’s TS1120 tape encryption .

New IT Transformation & Consulting Services for New Data Center
To help clients move toward a new data center, today also announced a new strategy and planning consulting service. The IT Transformation & – Infrastructure Strategy & Planning services provide a proven, pragmatic approach to identifying, organizing, prioritizing, rationalizing, and financially justifying initiatives that can help clients increase the value of their IT infrastructure. Clients can use the service to make their IT infrastructure less complex and costly to operate — and more agile, responsive, and supportive of their objectives. is now incorporating automated data discovery using Automated Dependency and Discovery Manager that enables clients to get an accurate case that details their return on .

IGF Financing for the z10
Global Financing (IGF), the leasing and lending of can offer financing terms and conditions that in many cases, can make it possible for qualified clients with existing IGF z 9 leases to acquire the new z10 and its increased computing power at a lower monthly payment than they currently make today. For more information visit www.ibm.com/financing.
New services for z and the New Data Center
also introduced several new services today which complement its existing strength in aligning data center transformation strategies and design with implementation and ongoing management. IT Transformation & Consulting Services, a strategy and planning consulting service, provides a pragmatic approach to helping clients by building an overall case for demonstrating the value and return on of their IT infrastructure. Implementation Services for Parallel Sysplex Middleware the z as a consolidation point for data to help clients move to a centralized DB2 data sharing environment while protecting data integrity. Implementation Services for Geographically Dispersed Parallel Sysplex (GDPS) enables a unique integrated and automated end-to-end recovery across z and other platforms.

For additional information please visit www.ibm.com/datacenter.

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