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July 26, 2010 Experture /RFG …experts on demand Executive Technology Strategies ETS 10-07-13 IBM's zEnterprise – A Catalyst for Transforming the Data Center RFG believes IBM Corp.'s zEnterprise mainframe computer system is a catalyst for transforming the data center from loosely-coupled heterogeneous islands of computing to tightlycoupled heterogeneous integrated server platforms. The newly launched zEnterprise is IBM's next generation mainframe computer that replaces the IBM System z10 Enterprise Class (EC) mainframe server. It not only has faster feeds and speeds and is more scalable but it also has additional management capabilities and can be tightly integrated with selected IBM Power7 blades and System x blades in one or more zEnterprise BladeCenter Extensions (zBX). IT executives using or considering using mainframe computers should undertake a cost/benefits analysis of the zEnterprise System to determine if and how the multi-platform "system of systems" could improve data center productivity, lower costs, reduce risks and simplify operations. Business Imperatives The zEnterprise 196 (z196) consists of 5.2 GHz quad-core processors with up to 96 cores and three TBs of memory that offers up to 40 percent improvement in performance with up to 60 percent more capacity. The z196 does not consume any additional power over its predecessor. Five models are offered. More than 100 new instructions have been added and on-chip cache has more than doubled. Data compression and cryptographic processors are included on the chip. The system has the capability of achieving one trillion instructions per second. IT executives with large mainframe capacity demands should understand all the technical advances incorporated into this generation of mainframes and do a cost/benefits analysis to see if, where, and when the zEnterprise should be added into the server mix. The most significant change built into the zEnterprise is the ability to manage and support up to 112 Power7 or System x blades in up to four attached sharable zBX racks. The system uses a private 10 GB Ethernet network. Additionally, IBM developed the zEnterprise Unified Resource Manager (zManager) to provide integrated management of resources and thereby extend System z quality of service on an end-to-end basis across the workloads regardless of platform. Up to eight of these zEnterprise Systems (z196 + zBX + zManager) can be combined into a single environment, which IBM calls a zEnterprise Ensemble. IT executives should explore how they can best integrate and optimize their multi-platform workloads on a price/performance basis. The zEnterprise 196 is the first of a series of next generation mainframe processors. While the launch included the IBM Smart Analytics Optimizer, the Power7 blades and the System x blades, the System x blades will not be available until next year. The System x blades will support Linux only. The ability to support Microsoft Corp. Windows is not yet known. Other futures are expected to include DataPower blades and a zEnterprise Business Class series. IT executives should carefully evaluate the architectural advances and strategic direction augured by this new class of mainframe server, reassess their server strategies, and modify their server architecture as needed to incorporate these concepts and components into their target environments. Last week IBM unveiled its new generation of mainframe servers. The architectural concepts incorporated into the zEnterprise System have been 10 years in the making and cost IBM more than $1.5 billion. The breakthrough zEnterprise announcement was the culmination of architectural investments and technical advances that went into all of IBM's server lines. IT executives can now employ a new approach to heterogeneous server computing that can simplify data center operations, improve productivity, lower costs, and reduce risk. Moreover, enterprises will be able to improve controls and quality of service, and begin the redesign of data center operations. Copyright © 2004-2010 Experture and Robert Frances Group, all rights reserved 20 Crooked Mile Road, Westport, CT. 06880; (203) 429 8951; http://www.experture.com/; Contact: [email protected] Executive Technology Strategies July 27, 2010 zEnterprise 196 The zEnterprise 196 is the next generation replacement for the System z10 EC processors (see Figure 1). The basic central processor is orderable in five different models: M15, M32, M49, M66, and M80. The models offer between one and 80 configurable cores with the M80 configured with 24 5.2 GHz quad-core processors (80 user configurable and 16 dedicated to the operating system). In addition, each chip has two co-processors dedicated to cryptography and data compression. The z10 EC and z9 EC servers are upgradeable to the z196. The server supports up to three terabytes of real memory and can be configured such that up to one TB can be dedicated to a single logical partition (LPAR). The cache architecture has been redesigned to include 1.5 MB of L2 cache and 24 MB or L3 cache ETS 10-01-03 per processor. Given all these hardware enhancements, IBM projects there will be a 40 percent improvement in performance for an equal z10 Nway and a 60 percent increase in capacity. Moreover, there are compiler improvements (for C/C++, COBOL, Java, and PL/1) and more than 100 new instructions that could enhance certain processing streams, such as Java, by up to 88 percent. Floating point performance is also expected to almost double as well. The new release of z/OS (version 1 release 12) provides up to 50 percent performance gain for XML validation workloads and up to 40 percent increase in VSAM-based online and batch workloads. In addition to z/OS the z196 mainframe itself supports z/VM, z/VSE, z/TPF, and Linux on System z (Novell Inc.'s SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) and Red Hat Inc.'s Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)). A z196 is able to Figure 1. The zEnterprise System Source: IBM Copyright © 2004-2010 Experture and Robert Frances Group, all rights reserved 20 Crooked Mile Road, Westport, CT. 06880; (203) 429 8951; http://www.experture.com/; Contact: [email protected] July 27, 2010 Executive Technology Strategies ETS 10-01-03 support up to 50 distributed servers on a single core. Furthermore, IBM claims a fully configured zEnterprise System can support up to 100,000 virtual images. pricing for the zBX hardware and software cost neutral, thereby taking acquisition costs out of consideration when determining configuration selection. Also available with z196 processors are the specialty engines – the Integrated Facility for Linux (IFL), System z Application Assist Processor (zAAP), and the System z Integrated Information Processor (zIIP). Systems can be configured with a maximum of 80 IFLs, 40 zAAPs or 40 zIIPs. When upgrading to the z196, IBM complimentary upgrades the specialty processors. As with other mainframe solutions, a number of the servers can be aggregated to create one large server pool. IBM refers to this mix in the zEnterprise System environment as a zEnterprise Ensemble. Up to eight zEnterprise Systems can be combined into a single zEnterprise Ensemble (see Figure 2). The shared virtual resource pool is managed under the control of the Unified Resource Manager. All of the zEnterprise Ensemble nodes may be deployed within active sysplex distances. The zEnterprise processors fit in the same floor space as the z10 servers and consume less energy per core. Additionally, IBM offers optional water cooling and highvoltage DC power, which can eliminate the need for a Universal Power Supply (UPS) inverter and Power Distribution Unit (PDU). Top exit I/O cabling is also available. Figure 2. zEnterprise Ensemble zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension The zBX is configured for high availability. It is managed by the zManager and has a secure 10 GB Ethernet network connection to the z196 for data and support. The maximum distance allowed between the z196 and the zBX is 26 meters. This reduces latency and eliminates the need for encryption and a firewall. There can be up to four shareable 42U racks for a total capacity of 112 Power7 or System x blades. The Power7 blades are available in 4Q2010 while the System x blades are scheduled for availability in 1H2011. The zBX also has an optional rear door heat exchanger to help reduce energy consumption. No System z software runs on these blades. IBM Passport Advantage software is licensed instead. IBM claims it has made the Source: IBM Another capability available with the zBX is the IBM Smart Analytics Optimizer (ISAO). The ISAO is a workload optimized appliance for handling DB2 SQL queries without tuning or manual intervention. The system Copyright © 2004-2010 Experture and Robert Frances Group, all rights reserved 20 Crooked Mile Road, Westport, CT. 06880; (203) 429 8951; http://www.experture.com/; Contact: [email protected] July 27, 2010 Executive Technology Strategies examines each inquiry and determines if it should be executed in the mainframe or shunted over to the ISAO. If the system decides that the inquiry is to be executed in the ISAO, then the compacted data and query are transmitted to the zBX and, unless otherwise specified, the request will be dynamically executed on up to the maximum number of optimizer cores (up to 56 orderable). The answer is then shipped back in compacted mode. IBM says it has seen improvements in execution of SQL queries by up to a factor of 80 times using the optimizer. zManager and Other New Software The Unified Resource Manager or zManager performs six different functions: energy management, hypervisor management, network management, operational controls, virtual server life cycle management, and workload awareness and platform performance management. ZManager is a part of the IBM System Director family and is integrated into the System z management facility. The energy management functions do monitoring and trend reporting of CPU energy efficiency for the entire heterogeneous infrastructure. It has a static power savings mode that allows for turning off engines that are not in use. The hypervisor manager handles the integrated deployment and configuration of hypervisors, manages the images, creates the virtual networks, and manages and controls communications. The network management component addresses the internal virtual networks including access control. Features of the operational controls include auto-discovery and configuration of resources, cross-platform problem detection and reporting, physical hardware ETS 10-01-03 configuration, backup and restore. The virtual server life cycle manager provides a single view of virtualization across the platforms and allows for deployment of multiple, cross-platform virtual servers in minutes. The workload awareness and platform performance manager helps define workloads and performance policies and then provides wizard-driven management and monitoring of resources according to the business service level policies. New compilers and DB2 10 are also available with the new zEnterprise. DB2 10 offers on-the-fly data compression, additional performance savings, 10 times more concurrent users, and enhanced query parallelism. The new C/C++ compiler offers a 30 percent improvement while CICS administration time is reduced by 80 percent. IBM estimates that using all of the new software features available on the zEnterprise will reduce labor costs by up to 71 percent. Users could see an 85 decrease in labor requirements for deployment, release, and change management, a 39 percent reduction in incident management labor, a 37 percent drop in security management costs, and a 77 percent decline in asset management labor costs. Roll-out and Futures The basic z196 will be available in the third quarter. By yearend IBM will make generally available the zBX, the Smart Analytics Optimizer, zManager and Power7 blades. In the first half of 2011 IBM expects to announce and deliver System x blades and DataPower for zEnterprise. RFG believes that during the next two to three years IBM will address the storage pooling capabilities. Today, DS8700s connect to the z196 over fibre channels Copyright © 2004-2010 Experture and Robert Frances Group, all rights reserved 20 Crooked Mile Road, Westport, CT. 06880; (203) 429 8951; http://www.experture.com/; Contact: [email protected] Executive Technology Strategies July 27, 2010 while XIV and SAN devices attach to the zBX blades just as they would in a traditional bladed environment. However, RFG expects IBM to provide software so that all data can be placed on shared mainframe storage and be accessed by any of the servers. This advancement should give the zEnterprise System a distinctive price/performance and data center productivity advantage over other offerings. ETS 10-01-03 data center operations and a whole new approach to data center architecture. The IBM zEnterprise System is the first server hardware and software environment architected to satisfy these requirements for mainframes, Unix and Linux servers. Its unique architecture enables users to optimize the workloads to the platform best suited to perform the work, thereby lowering costs and increasing productivity. Final Thoughts Data center operations need to change significantly over the next five years. IT executives need to find more ways to increase consolidation of servers and sites, and virtualization of applications. Operations must become more automated, energy efficient and simplified. At the same time security must be improved and risks minimized. For most organizations this will represent a massive transformation of their Users should find upgrading to z196 processors low risk propositions, similar to their moves to previous generations. However, even though the zBX has been tested in select beta environments, there are too many options to be certain that all desired configurations and implementations will go without a hitch. Thus, as with any new untested environment, RFG recommends that IT executives pilot and test these environments thoroughly before putting the applications into production. The Bottom Line: RFG believes IBM has architected and is delivering a transformative server environment that will enable IT executives to convert their data centers into agile, dynamic infrastructures that support constantly changing business requirements in a secure and low-cost manner. The zEnterprise will allow IT executives to tightly-couple and integrate heterogeneous server platforms so that end-to-end business processes can be executed using the management and quality of service that is only found on the mainframe. IT executives with large scale computing environments should scrutinize the architecture and implementation of the zEnterprise to determine if, where, and how this multi-platform "system of systems" might best be incorporated into the enterprise data center target architecture. IT executives should also perform a detailed cost/benefits analysis – including return on investment (ROI), total cost of acquisition (TCA), and total cost of ownership (TCO) – to see if the investment is justified. Additional relevant research is availabl. Interested readers should contact Client Services to arrange further discussion or interview with Mr. Cal Braunstein. Copyright © 2004-2010 Experture and Robert Frances Group, all rights reserved 20 Crooked Mile Road, Westport, CT. 06880; (203) 429 8951; http://www.experture.com/; Contact: [email protected]