IBM launches Linux-only mainframe system LinuxONE

Worldwide Business Machines has launched Linux-only mainframe servers called LinuxONE. The system will be based on IBM’s z13 mainframe computer, which had been designed for high-volume mobile transactions.

The severs embrace LinuxONE Emperor for giant enterprises and Rockhopper for mid-size companies.

In terms of other software, IBM said it is working with the open source community to offer a variety of tools on LinuxONE, including Apache Spark, Node.js, MongoDB, MariaDB, PostgreSQL and Chef. Spark is a free information-storing framework that IBM has said it is spending “hundreds of millions” to develop. As part of the Linux Foundation’s “Open Mainframe Project” it has contributed some 500,000 lines of code including code related to IT predictive analytics that are on the look out for unusual system behaviour to stop issues becoming failures.

Presently more than a third of IBM’s mainframe clients are running the Linux operating system, Tom Rosamilia, senior vice president of IBM Systems, said in a release.

In a further gesture to developers, IBM is creating a LinuxONE Developer Cloud and offering open access to the development community.