Author: Will Singleton
Date: 22:43:08 05/23/01
Go up one level in this thread
On May 23, 2001 at 09:03:15, Will Singleton wrote: >On May 23, 2001 at 07:46:57, Geo Disher wrote: > >>Got this information from ZDnet today!. Maybe someone could run a some Linux >>chess software on this. >> >>IBM says it will offer Linux supporters the next best thing starting this week: >>free access to one of the computing giant's powerful mainframe sytems. >> >>IBM will announce late in the week that it has made one of its 10-processor >>zSeries mainframe computers available via the Internet for access by people >>interested in working with the Linux operating system. >> >>The mainframe has been set up to give people "virtual servers," allowing them to >>log in, explore Linux features and test heavy-duty applications designed to run >>on Linux. >> >>The mainframe, whose resources will be split among a large number of >>simultaneous users, will be able to allocate processing power and storage space >>to more than 1,000 people at a time, IBM executives said. However, the number of >>potential users who can sign up via IBM's Web site to use the machine is >>virtually unlimited. >> >>Aside from its 10 processors, the mainframe is equipped with 2.1 terabytes of >>storage. >> >>"There are many folks...who would like to get access to a mainframe and can't," >>said Joann Duguid, director of marketing for Linux for IBM's zSeries server. >>"What we'd like to see is more development of Linux applications." >> >>Analysts said shared mainframe access using Linux is popular among universities >>but so far has not been offered by big businesses--certainly not for free. >> >>"We always think that everyone who has heard of Linux has used it, but that's >>not true," said Bill Claybrook, research director for Linux and open source at >>Aberdeen Group in Boston. >> >>This is "an opportunity for people who haven't used Linux to...get to try it >>out," he said. >> >>Claybrook, a former Unix programmer, set up his own account, spent time getting >>the lay of the land, and then surfed the Web using a text browser called Lynx, >>"just to see if it works," he said. >> >>Many people will likely do the same, just to see how Linux works. Still others, >>IBM hopes, will test applications. >> >>But what might seem like a grand experiment is also a shrewd marketing move by >>IBM. None of IBM's server competitors--such as Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard >>or Compaq Computer--has offered similar programs. >> >>The move is also another opportunity for IBM to link itself to the open-source >>operating system in a way the pure Linux companies such as Red Hat would find >>hard to match--unless they want to pony up for a new mainframe. IBM is in the >>midst of a major Linux push this year, with CEO Lou Gerstner pledging to spend >>$1 billion on the operating system in 2001. >> >>IBM will also gain, among other things, test data related to using its >>mainframes for applications such as Web hosting. This kind of data will help it >>approach potential customers looking to consolidate their Web hosting services >>on a single mainframe, Claybrook said, as opposed to maintaining a large number >>of individual Linux-based servers. >> >>And the program is another way for Big Blue to promote its successful mainframe >>business, one of the brighter spots in the company's most recent earnings >>report. IBM reported that mainframe sales grew 40 percent in the first quarter >>of 2001 from the same period a year earlier. >> >>From IBM's point of view, "It's a good way for us to illustrate the benefits of >>a mainframe," Duguid said. "It shows our commitment to the Linux community to >>allow anyone to use this." >> >>To sign up, interested parties should look under "Linux Community Development >>System links" on IBM's zSeries server Web site. >> >>Participants are granted access to the mainframe, which offers either TurboLinux >>or SuSE distrubutions for zSeries, in different stages and for terms ranging >>from 30 to 90 days, IBM said. > >I checked out the page, looks like there's some delay in the signup process. I >wonder what speed you'd get out of that 10-way box; couldn't find the cpu specs. > >http://www-1.ibm.com/servers/eserver/zseries/os/linux/lcds/ The above link is now good for registration. If someone with an SMP Linux prog will register and test it out, it would be interesting.
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