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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.
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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]