Mainframe (Titan) and zLinux Services to Get New IBM z114 Business Class Server

This November, CIT is replacing its z9 Business Class Server—the reliable infrastructure hosting CIT mainframe applications as well as the new zLinux service for the past five years—with the newly-announced z114 Business Class (BC) Server. The upgrade is necessary due to continual workload growth and IBM's upcoming retirement of the z9 Business Class Server.

Benefits

Upgrading to the z114 offers a range of benefits, such as:

• immediate performance benefits for existing applications,


• increased flexibility to accommodate changing customer requirements by adjusting the capacity setting of the z114,


• platform-as-a-service cloud capabilities for new or changed applications for years to come,


• and opportunities for saving on software licensing costs in the future.

What's new?

While the z114 remains a great choice for customers who need to run mission-critical applications, host private enterprise clouds, or require a backup development machine, it also opens up a world of powerful new capabilities, including developing and running java workloads, hosting SAS legacy applications, and running high transactional volume web blogs in the zLinux arena. Its new microprocessor chip has a higher-frequency superscalar design, improved cache structure, new "out of order" execution sequence, and over 100 new hardware instructions that deliver world-class per-thread performance for DB2, WebSphere, and Linux workloads.

The z114 also features a new processor called the z Integrated Information Processor (or zIIP) that is designed to free up general computing capacity and lower the overall cost of computing for selected workloads that take advantage of zIIP processing. Running on the z114, workloads including DB2, SILK, and future releases of Model204 will offload a portion of CPU processing to the zIIP, enabling better performance and lower costs for these applications.

Major enhancements

The following is a list of some of the major enhancements that the z114 processor provides:

Capacity

• 48 GB of Internal RAM, up from 32 GB on the z9-BC


• General purpose processors rated at over 300 MIPS for an over 22% increase in processor power for Titan workloads


• Three Integrated Facility for Linux processors (IFLs) dedicated for zLinux application expansion


• The ability to adjust capacity settings with a non-disruptive microcode change to save on hardware and software costs as circumstances warrant

Connectivity

• The z114 upgrades FICON I/O Connectivity so it can support up to 8 gigabytes per second data transfer rates to meet the demands of future applications.


• Each FICON Channel has two possible modes of operation designed for connectivity to servers, switches/directors, disk, tape, and printers. These two types include CHPID type FC for traffic supporting z/OS and zLinux environments, and CHPID type FCP for attachment to SCSI devices to support the zLinux environment.

Networking

• Large Send for IPv6 packets is available for z/OS environments on the z114. Large Send (also referred to as TCP segmentation offload) is designed to improve performance by offloading outbound TCP segmentation processing from the host to an OSA-Express3 feature.

These are just some of the new functions and capabilities our Titan and zLinux customers can expect from the new z114 zSeries server. With this upgrade, we are also positioned to take advantage of the latest features and technologies to be introduced in z/OS and zLinux. Because the new environment will allow for uninterrupted operation without disruptive hardware upgrades for years to come, it is ideal for customers that require a stable environment either for running their existing applications or developing new applications. Whether you are looking for stability or innovation and performance, our new z114 will be a great benefit both now and into the future.

What steps to take

If you have any third-party software on the mainframe, check with your vendor now to make sure it is certified for and supported in the new environment. We will publish the new z114-BC serial number in Titan News prior to the upgrade, which is scheduled for November 13, 2011.

Questions?

If you have questions about the upgrade or the new z114 Business Class (BC) Server, please contact the NIH IT Service Desk using the information below:

• To submit an online request to the Service Desk: http://itservicedesk.nih.gov/Support/


• To contact the Service Desk by phone:
  - 301-496-4357 (6-HELP) (local)
  - 866-319-4357 (toll free)
  - 301-496-8294 (TTY)

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