Novell Partners with SNA to Make Mainframe Linux Easier
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Mainframes are very efficient machines, but no one every called them inexpensive. If you are a mainframe shop that doesn't know a lot about Linux and you want to try out Linux on a mainframe, you have to go through a lot of grief--the same as for any other server, with some twists added for the mainframe architecture--to get Linux running on the box. This takes time, and time is money--particularly when you are talking about mainframe cycles. That's why commercial Linux distributor Novell has teamed up with Sine Nomine Associates to make Linux easier to install on mainframes. READ MORE >

Top Mainframe Stories from Around the Web

(IT-Director.com) Running mainframe applications along with Linux, Unix, and Windows applications on the same Itanium servers is now an option. The integration of the mainframe platform and standardized Web services, such as BPEL, SQL, and ODBC will see to it. And as mainframe applications, with their performance, reliability and superior I/O handling capabilities, increasingly become integrated into online, event-driven, transaction-based tasks, the importance of individual platforms will lessen. READ MORE >

(PC World) Based on what some people have to say about the mainframe, you might think recruiting fresh, young talent to work mainframe jobs would be as difficult as getting someone to relocate to Siberia. Not so, says IBM and SHARE, its System z user group. Their latest recruitment tactic is a document containing photos and profiles of mainframe professionals that will be distributed to university students. READ MORE >

(IBM) Another effort to introduce the System z to high school, college, and university students across the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec), is the Master the Mainframe contest. It's all about acquainting students with the basic skills required for jobs and internships in enterprise computing. Everybody loves a winner. See there smiling faces here. READ MORE >

(SearchStorage) Data backup solutions do not always come from the most likely of sources. The first options that come to mind might be to contact IBM or EMC for help, but you know right away that neither of those options will be cheap. Nothing is cheap, but not every option has to be as expensive. 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 >