IBM zEnterprise

The system architecture combines the new IBM zEnterprise mainframe with new technologies – IBM zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension and IBM zEnterprise Unified Resource Manager – which provide an ability to manage with the workloads which are executed on the System z, Power and System x platforms.

Now customers will be able to integrate management of all resources of the zEnterprise mainframe within one system and to extend such qualities of mainframes as controllability and the highest level of reliability to the workloads executed on certain servers based on Power7 and System x. Thanks to an ability to manage workloads of several systems within one, the zEnterprise mainframe allows to reduce costs on acquisition on 40% and to reduce total cost of ownership by 55%.

For example, application of the systems of the zEnterprise System family in combination with IBM zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension and IBM zEnterprise Unified Resource Manager technologies allows supplier company of financial services which processes transactions with credit cards on the mainframe and uses a blade servers of IBM for analytical applications, to perform profound information analysis for fractions of a second, but not to wait how earlier, for several hours while two diverse systems integrate the databases. According to estimates of IBM, this hybrid environment is capable to increase performance when processing advanced queries to databases by 10 time.1 Besides, new architecture of IBM allows above-mentioned financial company to extend unique qualities of the mainframe – the highest level of readiness, security and reliability – to the applications for service of customers performed on a blade servers of IBM.

IBM zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension

The IBM zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension technology allows to integrate with the zEnterprise server mainframe and to unroll under its management the applications working on the IBM BladeCenter servers based on the POWER7 and System x platforms and also on the servers optimized for certain workloads, such as analytics and management of Web infrastructure.

A blade servers of IBM, connected to IBM zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension – and managed as mainframe resources – are integrated with data/workloads of System z and are capable to support tens of thousands of applications. Later this year the IBM corporation announces zEnterprise Extension blade center with support of IBM Power7 under control of AIX. IBM also represents IBM Smart Analytics Optimizer, an accelerator which allows to increase performance of processing of difficult analytical workloads at simultaneous reduction in cost of transaction.

In 2011 IBM is going to provide additional a blade servers of general purpose for the solution IBM zEnterprise bleydcenter to Extension, including a blade servers of IBM System x running Linux. The servers developed for certain workloads will include IBM DataPower which improve work of the Websites and increase network performance.

IBM zEnterprise Unified Resource Manager

The product of the IBM Systems Software family under the name Unified Resource Manager is first in own way microprogram providing (software for direct manipulation by hardware functions) which integrates resources of several platforms in the form of one virtualized system and gives opportunities of the unified management in the environment of zEnterprise. In completely configured zEnterprise Systems cluster it allows to manage more than 100000 virtualized servers as the only system.

zEnterprise Unified Resource Manager is the major tool for use of such attributes of mainframes as security and reliability for workloads on the BladeCenter servers based on Power and System x. In particular, the product Unified Resource Manager is capable to reveal "bottlenecks" in a system or failures among the diverse systems. If failure happens on a blade server to architecture of x86, then for the purpose of maintenance of functioning of the mentioned application the Unified Resource Manager tool is capable to move instantly it on other blade server with architecture of x86. Along with this Unified Resource Manager automatically sends the electronic message and initiates addresses to a support service. Besides, Unified Resource Manager helps to locate on priorities computer workloads for more effective achievement of business objectives.

zEnterprise Unified Resource Manager increases the level of network security for all applications of the "expanded" zEnterprise system, including workloads a blade servers based on IBM POWER 7 and x86. It helps to reduce complexity level and also to weaken the need for additional enciphering and for program firewalls in the zEnterprise environment.

IBM for the first time integrates the mainframe and Windows

New opportunity allows the clients using multilevel application solutions – for example, the Windows applications connected to data on the mainframe – to integrate and consolidate such solutions on one system. This for the first time the performed possibility of consolidation of the world of mainframes and the world of distributed computing is designed to reduce complexity and to reduce costs of large corporate data processing centers and, at the same time, to improve management of the workloads covering the system of the mainframe and distributed computing environments.

"New heterogeneous virtual IT infrastructure will bring us to new levels of flexibility and scalability. Various applications on our existing servers work independently of each other at diverse platforms; this Wednesday is organized by the principle "one server – one application". Consolidation of the IBM System z mainframe with Intel servers in a uniform complex configuration can be the best solution for upgrade of our IT infrastructure — noted Huub Meertens, the head of a support service in EUROCONTROL, the European company on air traffic management in the Netherlands. — Considering our difficult infrastructure with high requirements to security, reliability, scalability and effective management at competitive price is very important for us. For this reason of EUROCONTROL selected IBM zEnterprise with the zBX expansion (zEnterprise Blade Center Extension)".

Consolidating together Windows and the mainframe, IBM gives to clients even more flexibility, freedom of action, opportunities for work and implementation of innovations in numerous applied environments of the operating systems z/OS, Linux, AIX and, now, Windows.

The new technology, in particular, provides centralized operation that promises various technical and economic advantages, such as faster and automated access to computing resources, decrease in administrative expenses and training costs of personnel.

New opportunities of consolidation and centralization of management of Windows applications on the IBM System X servers with processor architecture of x86 will be available to any zEnterprise system – z196 or z114.

Thanks to the hybrid approach to calculations introduced by IBM with release of the zEnterprise System mainframe in July, 2010 for the first time, separate blade-modules based on the IBM System x servers and the System x applications can be installed in the zEnterprise system. At the same time, it is not required to make any changes to a program code of the application, and integration and control of servers and applications is provided through zEnterprise Unified Resource Manager from the single console. Advantage consists that application servers can both physically and to be logically closely to data on the mainframe.

The possibility of "hybrid calculations" is already implemented for management: the workloads executed on the IBM Power servers with the AIX operating system; loadings on the IBM System x servers with Linux; and also solution for the business analysis and multi-function printer for System z (IBM Websphere DataPower XI50 for zEnterprise). Thanks to these opportunities, the zEnterprise System mainframe accelerates "reasonable calculations" (smarter computing) for the companies and the state organizations through the innovation approach which it is possible to call "the system of systems" or "supersystem" ("system of systems") – the approach allowing to manage the diverse workloads distributed between several systems as a unified environment.

This announcement expands capability of the zEnterprise System mainframe to solve a problem of paramount importance of corporate data processing centers – a problem of a chaotic heap of the diverse and separate technologies unrolled at different times as required for accomplishment of specific applications. These systems, as a rule, work in the isolated environments, requiring separate personnel and specialized software tools for management. Need of interaction of these systems with the operator and with each other in real time enters additional complexity. This old problem of clients is aggravated with sharp value addition and difficulties of management against the background of the growing wave of intellectual workloads with intensive data processing in our more and more interconnected world.

Clients demand more effective and simpler infrastructure in management to have an opportunity to put the limited resources in implementation of strategic IT initiatives, such as implementation of cloud computing and business intelligence.

This announcement is also one more example of viability of the mainframe in the highly competitive and dynamic market of servers. The mainframe continues to remain important and valuable advantage to banks, insurance companies, the government organizations, the large companies of retail and other clients of IBM who take real benefit from its reliability and security of the highest level. Relying on 1.5-billion investments of IBM into research and development, and a long-term deposit of clients, the zEnterprise platform shows invariable aspiration of IBM to innovations and the solution of pressing problems of clients.

The release and the beginning of deliveries of the new IBM System zEnterprise 196 system in July, 2010 became the next power pulse to development of family of System z mainframes that brought new clients and served as an incentive for upgrade of systems worldwide. After July, 2010 IBM received over 80 new clients of the mainframe, and more than 30% of these international sales are the share of the growing markets. The Yi Lian Zhong Information Technology (YLZ) company, the leading supplier of information services in China, announced the choice System z recently for creation of the platform of cloud computing which will facilitate life to more than 300 million Chinese citizens thanks to the Internet portal for different social services.