Motherboarding
by Hesh Wiener

In 1995, IBM shifted its proprietary midrange systems from CISC to RISC processor technology. Today, the System i is to a considerable extent a variation of the System p--or visa versa, depending on how you want to look at it. Last year, IBM sent a processor guru out to talk about a chip called z6, a sibling of the new Power6 chip that executes mainframe instructions. IBM will soon announce z6 mainframes that share a lot more than just some processor technology with the System p. They could easily be more than 50 percent System p, by weight. READ MORE >

Top Mainframe Stories from Around the Web

(Computerworld) Project management skills made a huge difference when the city of Philadelphia replaced an ancient water department billing system that ran on a mainframe system. It only took twenty years and $17.7 million. READ MORE >

(SearchDataCenter) Software costs on the mainframe are making customers see red and, in some cases, bleed red. A new licensing plan from CA is attempting to provide some relief. The idea behind it is to change from pricing based on MIPS to pricing based on MSUs. By the way, IBM has already made this move with its software. Could this be the start of a trend? READ MORE >

(BluePhoenix) The Industrial Bank of Korea has contracted with BluePhoenix for an application modernization project that will cost $400,000 and take six months to implement. BluePhoenix will provide modernization tools for change management and life-cycle control of systems running on an IBM mainframe. The bank has 512 branches and 8,858 employees. READ MORE >

(Venafi) Encryption software continues to garner attention in data centers around the world. It seems everyone is looking for an encryption product that is easy to deploy and will manage digital certificates. Can you put too much effort into data security and compliance with new industry regulations? It's not likely that anyone has reached that point yet. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

See our full calendar of events at
http://www.itjungle.com/big/big-calendar.html

February 5 -- Virtual Meeting - The Virtual IMS Connection user group meeting will feature guest speaker Bill Keene of NEON Enterprise Software discussing IMS disaster recovery preparation. The session begins at 10:30 a.m. CST. LEARN MORE >

February 24-29 -- Orlando, Florida - The SHARE mainframe user group will be hosting its spring event in sunny Florida, and will be focusing on two areas that are affecting mainframe shops in a big way these days: Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) application software design and server virtualization and consolidation. As usual, SHARE will also include the Technology Exchange Expo, where vendors can hawk their mainframe wares and attendees can try to find the tools to solve their IT woes. LEARN MORE >

April 6-11 -- Las Vegas, Nevada - Impact 2008, IBM's "Smart SOA Conference" is a showcase for WebSphere as the foundation, the tools, and all the materials needed to create a service oriented architecture. Technical experts from IBM, analysts, and companies that have implemented SOA solutions are taking the starring roles in this production. In addition to educational sessions and keynote addresses, there will be a solution center expo area. LEARN MORE >

May 18-22 -- Orlando, Florida -- Users of IBM's Tivoli Maximo and Netcool software have their own conference dedicated to integrating the silo environments that are prevalent in many data centers and improving service management. Included in the event will be presentations by more than 100 customers and business partners and one-on-one meetings with IBM executives, industry experts and analysts. LEARN MORE >