Windows Comes to the Mainframe Mountain

What better way to consolidate your Windows servers than put them on some big iron?

A CA exec once told me if a mainframe crashes three times in year, that is an unreliable computer. If your PC crashes three times in one day, it's been a good day. Ok, so this was in the days of Windows 3.1, but the joke always stuck with me.

One thing that hasn't changed is mainframe reliability. They are still the gold standard for uptime and reliability, and with 40 years of development, there isn't much for alternatives. Maybe that's why despite repeated declarations that the mainframe, it continues to survive, thrive, and see significant updates from IBM.

The latest news is that IBM is finally delivering on a promise to support Windows applications on its zEnterprise 196 mainframe. When IBM introduced its zEnterprise server in 2010, it promised it add support for running Windows applications through general-purpose blades for the IBM zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension, which allows for Power- and x86-based blades to run in the mainframe. That support will finally be available come December 16.

IBM has positioned its mainframes as consolidation platforms to run its z/OS mainframe operating system, Linux, AIX Unix and Windows. While the x86 world struggles with virtualization and partitioning, mainframes have been doing it for years. So it's a natural fit, assuming you could get the Windows part working.

The Windows support means Windows applications that work with mainframe data can be integrated and consolidated onto the same system. The same applies for the Linux support. IBM already offers support for its Power processors running its AIX operating system.

Not only can IT shops consolidate their hardware on one system, it also means better management of workloads, thanks to the native load balancing and centralized management of the mainframe.

• Microsoft
• Virtualization
• IBM
• mainframe
• Microsoft
• virtualization
• Windows