The Resurgent Mainframe: A Platform for Innovation
by Chris Craddock

Innovation may not be the first thing you think of when someone mentions mainframes. After all, the mainframe has been pilloried in the press and on Wall Street for much of the last 20 years. Some of that criticism stemmed from a bias toward newer platforms, but much of it was warranted, prompting IBM and independent software vendors to deliver better technology and to make mainframes easier and more cost-effective to use. READ MORE >

Top Mainframe Stories from Around the Web

(SearchDataCenter) For those who buzz with excitement over the "news" that server virtualization is now available, you can remind them that IBM's z/VM has been around since 1972. What's really new is the capability of z/VM to use multiple specialty processors on a single LPAR--that's a logical partition for those who are new to the whole virtualization thing. READ MORE >

(The Industry Standard) The trouble with most disaster preparedness plans is that you really don't know how prepared you are until disaster strikes. But based on current datacenter growth levels, it doesn't take a leap of faith to predict a great many datacenters are not designed to handle expected growth. Not only will companies wrestle with information technology requirements, but the power grid will have its hands full as well. READ MORE >

(Bus-Tech) The IBM System Storage Proven program is like the gold seal of interoperability as far as third-party products are concerned. That's why Bus-Tech is excited about its Mainframe Data Library, Mainframe Appliance for Storage, and zDASD products successfully completed interoperability testing with IBM's System Storage N series, DS4000, DS3000 and SAN Volume Controller. The company has also released a new product, the Mainframe Data Library model 6000. It claims throughput in excess of one GB per second, four gigabit FICON support, 1,536 emulated tape transports, and enhanced availability features. It also features from three to six independent emulation nodes, each of which support two FICON or three ESCON channel adapters and emulate up to 256 mainframe tape drives. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

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

August 25-28 -- Chicago, Illinois - The IBM Energy Efficiency Initiative takes center stage at the "See Blue, Think Green Technical Conference that brings together technical experts and business leaders. Sessions will concentrate on best practices in energy efficiency, innovative power and cooling technologies, and eco-friendly asset disposal services. There will also be technical sessions and hands on labs featuring IBM's most recent System announcements (including Power Systems, Mainframe Systems, Storage System, and Modular Systems) to present platform-specific topics. LEARN MORE > October 13-17 -- Las Vegas, Nevada - The IBM System z Expo will include more than 300 sessions featuring z/OS, z/VM, z/VSE, and Linux on System z. There will be an emphasis on the z10 Enterprise Class server, WebSphere application server, DB2, CICS and IMS support, GDPS and Parallel Sysplex support, service oriented architecture, virtualization, and data center energy efficiency. LEARN MORE >

December 7-12 -- Las Vegas, Nevada - The Computer Measurement Group (CMG) will be hosting its 34th International Computer Measurement Group annual conference that is focused on ensuring the efficiency and scalability of IT services through measurement, quantitative analysis, and forecasting. As part of its annual conference CMG is offering specialized training in the areas of ITIL and TCP/IP Network Performance Management. These two programs, presented by CMG training partners, will have separate registrations from the main event. The overall theme for CMG'08 is "Architecting the Service Oriented Infrastructure for Efficiency, Scalability and Agility." Among other topics in the spotlight are IT service management, green IT, virtualization, server consolidation, application load and stress testing, and software performance engineering. The conference will be held at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel. LEARN MORE >