Mainframe Shops Charged Big Bucks for SLES 10 Linux
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

After being the number two in the commercial Linux distribution business, far behind Red Hat, Novell is hoping that by getting virtualization, improved driver support, and other features into its server variant of the SUSE Linux platform--as well as simpler and more aggressive pricing--it will be able to kick sales up a notch or two and start closing the sales gap with Red Hat. If SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 doesn't in fact do that, it is hard to imagine what will. READ MORE >

Top Mainframe Stories and Vendor Announcements

(zJournal) Why would Nationwide Insurance use Linux on its mainframe? For starters it has a distributed server system that averages between just 5 and 15 percent utilization and, beyond that, allocating processing power in the distributed system was a pain in the rear. In this interview, the IT architect at Nationwide explains why and how Linux is being used and the results that have been obtained so far. READ MORE >

(TechWorld) PeopleTools 8.48, the newest release of the PeopleSoft development toolset, has been introduced and for the first time the toolset supports Linux on the zSeries. It is also the first time the PeopleSoft tools have been designed to deploy applications with Oracle's application server and other Oracle middleware. READ MORE >

(ASG) Enterprise software provider ASG has completed its acquisition of Diversified Software Systems, a leading provider of JCL automation software products and services. Diversified's mainframe automation products and services will be brought under ASG's Operations Management product family that focuses on production workload solutions. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

August 13-18 -- Baltimore, Maryland - The SHARE User Events feature IBM technical training tailored for enterprise-class IT professionals. Educational sessions focus on real-world solutions that meet business challenges and influence future IT product development. In addition to the first-class training, SHARE presents a great opportunity for networking with other professionals who work at some of the world's leading organizations and have insights into the technology and products that companies and jobs are depending on. All SHARE User Event sessions and events will take place in the Baltimore Convention Center. LEARN MORE >

August 28 & 29 -- San Francisco - BMC UserWorld puts the focus on BMC products that are primarily designed for service management and database management. In addition to a variety of learning tracks, the conference also provides access to BMC executives, customer support representatives, and R&D gurus. An emphasis is placed on product tips and techniques, as well as the proven strategies that enable IT to proactively address business requirements such as lowering costs, driving revenue, and mitigating risk. LEARN MORE >

September 11-14 -- Baltimore, Maryland - The WebSphere Portal Technical Conference is set up to provide IBM's technically oriented product details and hands-on training, along with presentations of customer case studies and best practices from Big Blue's product architects and developers, IBM Business Partners, and customers. Sessions will be organized according to the following tracks: new features in WebSphere Portal, Portal basics, Portal development, and Portal administration. LEARN MORE >

October 20 & 21 -- Chicago, Illinois - The Network and Systems Professionals Association annual conference, NaSTEC, features educational tracks on large systems/mainframes, distributed systems, and professional development and includes 24 total sessions. Topics include IT compliance, TCP/IP network health checks, and security, as well as others. LEARN MORE >