IBM zEnterprise 114 Technical Guide

The popularity of the Internet and the affordability of IT hardware and software have resulted in an explosion of applications, architectures, and platforms. Workloads have changed. Many applications, including mission-critical ones, are deployed on a variety of platforms, and the System z® design has adapted to this change. It takes into account a wide range of factors, including compatibility and investment protection, to match the IT requirements of an enterprise.

This IBM® Redbooks® publication discusses the IBM zEnterprise System, an IBM scalable mainframe server. IBM is taking a revolutionary approach by integrating separate platforms under the well-proven System z hardware management capabilities, while extending System z qualities of service to those platforms.

The zEnterprise System consists of the IBM zEnterprise 114 central processor complex, the IBM zEnterprise Unified Resource Manager, and the IBM zEnterprise BladeCenter® Extension. The z114 is designed with improved scalability, performance, security, resiliency, availability, and virtualization. The z114 provides up to 18% improvement in uniprocessor speed and up to a 12% increase in total system capacity for z/OS®, z/VM®, and Linux on System z over the z10™ Business Class (BC).

The zBX infrastructure works with the z114 to enhance System z virtualization and management through an integrated hardware platform that spans mainframe, POWER7™, and System x technologies. The federated capacity from multiple architectures of the zEnterprise System is managed as a single pool of resources, integrating system and workload management across the environment through the Unified Resource Manager.

This book provides an overview of the zEnterprise System and its functions, features, and associated software support. Greater detail is offered in areas relevant to technical planning. This book is intended for systems engineers, consultants, planners, and anyone wanting to understand the zEnterprise System functions and plan for their usage. It is not intended as an introduction to mainframes. Readers are expected to be generally familiar with existing IBM System z technology and terminology.