Will Ubuntu make to Mainframes?

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If you were to give it a thought, you will agree, that it is time for open source software to have a greater presence in Mainframe segment as well. For some time now Canonical’s Ubuntu software offers support for x86-Powered System x and Blade Center lines.

A recent development between IBM and Canonical, predicts that soon IBM’s p mini-computers and blades; System Z mainframes will be certified for use with Ubuntu. It is most likely that minicomputers should be running on Ubuntu in the next month or so, while mainframes could well receive full support by end of the month.

Canonical’s reaching up to Mainframes

In the past couple of years, Canonical, the commercial front of Ubuntu has been steadily building products for online technologies and has debuted its Ubuntu Server as well as Ubuntu One, as a cloud OS. And tying up with the best in the industry for hardware, IBM’s System p Power Hardware series and the much talked about System z mainframes will increase Ubuntu’s reach. RedHat and Suse have traditionally dominated servers/cloud computing for enterprises for a long time now. In fact, IBM has had Linux-platform support for close to eleven years now.

Canonical already offers support for x86 Power X and Blade Center lines

In the past year, Canonical is offering developers the capability to build apps with server Edition Linux for IBM’s Power system and Blade Centre Lines.

The goal, last year was to get the Eucalyptus-based Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud running on KVM Hypervisors the same kind of support that Amazon EC2 (again a Ubuntu-based cloud platform) got. Getting IBMs DB2 Express-C on Ubuntu allows developers to set up images at zero costs since, IBM offer DB2 Express-C free and Ubuntu 10.04 Server Edition free.

Ubuntu and IBM hope that these capabilities will eventually move developers to deploying their application on private cloud and synchronizing it with core DB2 database for cores, processors, clustiering extension, and multiple system.

What Ubuntu will do for System p Power

The System p servers by IBM are in reality a product range for earlier generation of AIX and Linux. The new range of IBM Power Systems quickly replaced these models. However, System models and resources are yet available for Linux platform users.

This is where Canonical hopes to place Ubuntu as default support for the hardware series.

Ubuntu and system z mainframes

IBM System z offers hybrid computing for mainframes and distributed resources used by the system in the evolving data center segment. Analytics and data serving is integrated for flexible innovative delivery of services. Therefore, Canonical with its revised service suite is now all prepared to leverage the advantages of such a high-performing hardware, which is sure to be fast adopted. Probably the entire spectrum from application development, cloud computing, security, business Intelligence will be optimized for establishing automated, integrated and cost effective powerful solutions for system z mainframes.

Canonical has since, established new vendor-delivery models and spruced up its relationship with OEMs for sustained growth. Here is wishing Canonical more success in establishing a standard or platform for enterprise solutions with IBM!

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