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Linux on the System z: Which Linux is Right for You?

A profile of Linux distribution partners.

In early 2000, customers became aware that Linux* was able to run on IBM* mainframe computers. With their reliability, security, and scalability, coupled with their suite of virtualization features and functions, customers saw mainframes as an ideal place to run multiple Linux servers to make more efficient use of their computing resource.

Customers began experimenting with early adopter, no charge versions of the operating system that were available from Marist College in Poughkeepsie N.Y. However, when customers wanted to use Linux on their mainframes to support business applications, they started looking for commercial distributions, backed by quality vendors to entrust with their mission critical workloads.

IBM System z* is fortunate to have the support of two premier Linux distributors. Novell* SuSE and Red Hat* offer System z customerscustomers quality engineering, a variety of support options, and timely updates to their versions of Linux to help customers get the most out of their mainframes while supporting Linux applications.

Which brings us to the question that most customers ask when they are planning to use Linux on a mainframe to host a business application: "Which one is right for me?"." With that in mind, IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition, approached IBM distribution partners Novell SuSE and Red Hat and asked them to prepare a short description of their companies, their commitment to Linux on mainframes, features, and anything else they thought IBM customers would like to know to make their decision easier. We were pleased to get responses from both. We'll begin with a few words about Red Hat from Mark Spencer - a Red Hat solutions architect - and we'll move on to Ray Lazarine - product marketing manager for NovellSuSE.

Mark Spencer on Red Hat

Red Hat has long been a player on IBMon IBM mainframe platforms. Since the turn of the Milenium, Red Hat has been committed to providing a stable open source platform on the mainframe. From the S/390* platform, and continuing on to today's System z architecture, Red Hat has continued to provide a platform for the delivery of mission-critical applications. This is manifest in Red Hat's commitment to a unified code-base, a cornerstone of Red Hat Enterprise Linux stability and predictability. This means that Red Hat uses the same source code to deliver Red Hat Enterprise Linux on a System z9* as it does on an X86 or X86_64 platform.

Red Hat is dedicated to delivering a predictable Linux platform for mission-critical application deployment. Through it's partnership with IBM, as well as the ISV community, Red Hat has become identified with Linux. This partnership provides a proven Linux computing environment clients have come to expect from IBM and Red Hat.

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