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  • 1.  Need z/OS version & other details

    Posted 10/03/19 03:14 PM
    Hi,

    1.) Can someone please let me know which version of z/OS is installed in the learning mainframe server ?
    2.) Is the version installed support Linux on IBM Z ?. If yes what is the host OS ?
    3.) Is Red Hat Linux is installed in this learning mainframe server ?
    4.) Can Docker be installed in this IBM Z learning mainframe server, if not already ?

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    Vinodh Krishna Munaswamy Naidu
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  • 2.  RE: Need z/OS version & other details
    Best Answer

    Posted 10/04/19 09:06 AM
    1. I believe the IBM Learning System is running z/OS 2.3 currently.

    2. No, Linux is a different operating system. If you'd like a Linux on Z/LinuxONE instance for personal learning, try IBM's LinuxONE Community Cloud.

    3. On the LinuxONE Community Cloud you have a choice of Red Hat, SUSE, and Ubuntu distributions, as you prefer. You can change your mind and get another distribution as long as you're running one virtual machine at a time.

    4. Yes, you can install and run Docker within your Linux virtual machine on the LinuxONE Community Cloud. Better yet, you can use the Cloud Native Platform which provides pre-configured Docker, Kubernetes, and other capabilities, currently via IBM Cloud Private ("ICP"). Then you don't even have to install Docker.

    "Coming soon" (I expect):

    5. z/OS 2.4, released last month (September, 2019), introduced z/OS Container Extensions ("zCX"), a new feature included with the base z/OS operating system at no additional charge. zCX means that you can run any Docker container that runs on Linux on Z/LinuxONE on z/OS as well. When IBM updates its Learning System to z/OS 2.4 then they may include zCX access.

    6. IBM will add Red Hat OpenShift to the LinuxONE Community Cloud at some point.

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    Timothy Sipples
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  • 3.  RE: Need z/OS version & other details

    Posted 10/06/19 09:04 PM

    I received some more questions from a reader, and it's best if I answer them here publicly:

    (a) You may be able to run OpenShift Origin 3.x on the LinuxONE Community Cloud based on these build instructions or with appropriate, prebuilt binaries, assuming the system resources you get on the LinuxONE Community Cloud are sufficient. However, Red Hat OpenShift 4.x is coming very soon to Linux on Z and LinuxONE, so you might want to wait for that.

    (b) Yes, z/VM is a hypervisor that can run guest instances of all operating systems that run on IBM Z (and LinuxONE) machines, including Linux, z/OS, z/VSE, z/TPF, and even z/VM itself. (Yes, you can run z/VM inside of z/VM inside of z/VM....)

    (c) Linux and z/OS have a huge variety of ways to communicate. Yes, they can certainly communicate with each other when they're running as guests under a common z/VM instance (if given permission to communicate and configured to do so), but neither z/VM nor a single instance of z/VM is a requirement for communication between these two operating systems.

    (d) I don't know exactly when IBM will update the Learning System with z/OS 2.4, but I think it'll be at least before the 2020 Master the Mainframe Contest which starts in September, 2020. However, I don't know what IBM's plans are for the 2020 Contest. *If* the 2020 Contest features zCX, then the Learning System should have it, too.

    (e) z/OS 2.4 does not come with Red Hat OpenShift. However, some basic integration between OpenShift and z/OS is already technically possible, and more is coming.

    (f) IBM LinuxONE machines can run Linux (all "s390x" architecture distributions, including Red Hat, SUSE, Ubuntu, and several others), hypervisors (z/VM and KVM), and some virtual appliances (such as IBM's GDPS Virtual Appliance). IBM Z machines can run everything LinuxONE machines can run plus other operating systems (z/OS, z/VSE, and z/TPF), all virtual appliances for IBM Z and LinuxONE, and the Coupling Facility Control Code (CFCC). CFCC is provided with all IBM Z machines. z/OS uses CFCC for z/OS's clustering technology called Parallel Sysplex.



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    Timothy Sipples
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  • 4.  RE: Need z/OS version & other details

    Posted 10/06/19 10:39 PM
    And here are some more answers to other reader questions:

    (g) The IBM Learning System offers z/OS, and the IBM LinuxONE Community Cloud offers Linux on LinuxONE/Z. Both are available at no charge. For access to z/VM and z/VSE operating systems you may be qualified to join IBM PartnerWorld and use the IBM Z Remote Development Program resources. There is a US$550/month minimum charge for access to the IBM Z Remote Development Program system. If you're interested in z/TPF, which is available to qualified partners, please ask the IBM Z Remote Development Program team. Other possible options include ZPDT (available to qualified partners) and ZD&TE. Of course, you could buy or lease your own, real IBM Z machine and license one or more IBM operating systems for it. Some cloud hosting organizations, training firms, and others have already licensed IBM operating systems to provide remote access under particular terms and conditions.

    (h) The Cloud Native Platform on the IBM LinuxONE Community Cloud is Linux-based, not z/OS-based. The Cloud Native Platform may or may not run under a hypervisor such as z/VM, but that's an implementation detail that really isn't too important to your direct use of the Cloud Native Platform (Docker, Kubernetes, etc.) There shouldn't be anything preventing you from connecting to the IBM Learning System (z/OS) from the IBM LinuxONE Community Cloud if you'd like to try something involving communication between those two operating systems. And remember that all Docker containers that can run on LinuxONE (or Linux on Z) can also run on z/OS Container Extensions (zCX). zCX is a standard, included feature in the base z/OS 2.4 operating system on IBM z14 and higher model machines, so anything you create in/for a Docker/OCI s390x architecture container (or multi-architecture container that includes s390x) is also compatible with z/OS 2.4, as-is/unmodified.

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    Timothy Sipples
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    Original Message


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