Sine Nomine Shows Off Solaris on System z
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

In the wake of their landmark agreement to have Solaris certified and distributed on Big Blue's server lines, IBM and Sun Microsystems have given their blessing to Sine Nomine Associates for a prototype of the OpenSolaris open source variant of Solaris--which is not quite yet a full distribution--acting as a guest operating system on the mainframe's z/VM virtual environment. That prototype, which predates the Sun-IBM agreement, was demonstrated recently at the Gartner Data Center Conference in Las Vegas. READ MORE >

Top Mainframe Stories from Around the Web

(TechNews) You can talk until you are Big Blue in the face, but when you aren't getting results there's only one thing to do--bring out the lawyers. IBM believes ASUSTeK, and its North American subsidiary, ASUS Computer International, has infringed on patents that cover power supplies, computer cooling, and computer clustering capabilities. READ MORE >

(T3 Technologies) On the other side of the courtroom, T3 Technologies has filed an antitrust claim against IBM alleging antitrust violations and unfair competition. Sound familiar? T3 is joining Platform Solutions' existing antitrust litigation against IBM due to the similarities in the company's allegations. Here's the petition T3 filed. READ MORE >

(eWeek) Sun Microsystems is making hay with its mainframe storage business, particularly in the tape automation segment where its modular libraries support open systems as well as mainframes. Look for new products to be added to Sun's catalog. It's not exactly a coincidence that this is happening at the same time the OpenSolaris operating system is set to run on the System z. READ MORE >

(Enterprise Systems) Can scale-up architecture pull the plug on scale-out architecture when it comes to energy efficiency? IBM's mainframe team says there's no doubt about it and, furthermore, Big Blue is going to market the heck out of this. Sticker shock when it comes to utility bills may have companies listening to what IBM has to say about this. READ MORE >

(DataDirect) Ever notice how an increase in MIPS triggers an increase in software costs? I know you have because you are ever-vigilant about those types of things. Am I wrong? If I'm right, you have probably looked into the use of the System z Application Assist Processor (zAAP) and Integration Information Processor (zIIP) and the benefit of transferring workloads to those specialty engines. 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 24-29, 2008 -- 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 SAO 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 >