PSI releases new z/OS server; other Share announcements

By Mark Fontecchio, News Writer 10 Mar 2008 | SearchDataCenter.com

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For more Share conference coverage: IBM System z10 mainframe beta user touts HiperDispatch The cost of different data center architectures Share event and group update

The System64 MS is a follow-up to similar machines that PSI announced at last fall's Share conference in San Diego. At 8U, the server can deliver between 26 million instructions per second (MIPS) and 460 MIPS, compared with the earlier DS and ES models, which have a maximum of 253 MIPS and 2,000 MIPS, respectively.

PSI senior engineer Kayvan Sylvan said the new server can support up to 14 z/OS 1.8 or 1.9 hardware partitions or up to 128 Windows or Linux virtual server images. It is a two-cell machine (PSI "cells" are analogous to IBM mainframe "books"), with each cell capable of holding eight dual-core Intel Itanium chips. The machine can also run Xen virtualization software from Citrix Systems Inc., a technology that includes a live-migration feature to enable live virtual server images to be moved from one physical box to another without downtime.

PSI's entry into the marketplace a few years ago has certainly caught the attention of IBM, which sued PSI over its use of Big Blue's own z/OS. PSI then countersued, arguing that IBM was trying to quash competition in the mainframe marketplace. These lawsuits remain unresolved.

At Share, all eyes on system performance
All told, about a dozen vendors announced new or updated products at the Share conference in Orlando, Fla. Among the most popular were products for system, application and network performance.

At the show, AQM Solutions Inc. launched TriTune 4.1 and APC 4.6. TriTune is a z/OS application analysis tool. Version 4.1 includes new features that provide greater detail about WebSphere, DB2, IMS and CICS transactions. The new version of APC, a performance management tool, now offers three ways to measure annual CPU time.

AES announced new versions of its network performance software, CleverView for cTrace Analysis and CleverView for TCP/IP. The new version of cTrace can now trace packets from Linux and z/VM transactions as well as z/OS. Its TCP/IP software, meanwhile, can now monitor and analyze performance of z/OS Open Systems Adapter (OSA) Express, a mainframe network controller.

Cole Software LLC announced version 1.9 of z/XDC, its z/OS debugging tool. The new installment includes different ways to write z/XDC commands, support for binary and decimal floating-point registers and data, and new commands to display defined and active subsystems.

NewEra Software Inc. has released Image Focus 6.2, which identifies ad reports on z/OS vulnerabilities. NewEra also announced three other products: Supplemental Inspectors, which monitors system libraries, data sets and installation policies; Control Editor to manage access and changes to certain datasets; and Fast DASD Erase for z/OS, which is self-explanatory.

Mainframe backup and disaster recovery
At the Share conference, OpenTech Systems Inc. released DR/Xpert for DB2 and DR/Xpert GUI. The former audits, backs up and recovers DB2 data, while the latter provides a nice user interface for doing so.

21st Century Software announced DR/VFI Recovery Assurance software, a cross-platform product meant to provide application and data backup recovery services for mainframe, Unix and Linux environments.

STORServer Inc. announced STORServer Agent for VMware Consolidated Backup and STORServer Reporter for IBM Tivoli Storage Manager. The VMware product provides a LAN-free backup of VMware ESX Server to IBM Tivoli Storage Manager, while the Reporter product provides real-time reporting for servers that use Tivoli Storage Manager.

Innovation Data Processing released a half-dozen new and updated pieces of software, which perform functions such as de-duplicating backup data, expanding VMware support and managing z/OS system disk storage.

Mainframe SOA, security and education
Layer 7 Technologies Inc. now sells its SecureSpan Mainframe SOA Gateway, which purports to have the ability to create business services from various legacy mainframe applications and data without burdensome re-coding or platform porting.

Software Diversified Services (SDS) released its FTP Manager to help users monitor and automate FTP processes.

Last but not least, Interskill Learning announced several new online mainframe education courses to help users get IBM certification for service-oriented architecture and z/OS.

Let us know what you think about the story; email Mark Fontecchio, News Writer. You can also check out our Server Specs blog.

Tags: Mainframe computer hardware,  Modern mainframe: SOA and Linux,  Mainframe operating systems and management,  VIEW ALL TAGS

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