Linux on IBM Z and LinuxONE - Group home

Ubuntu 21.04 released for IBM Z and LinuxONE

  

On April 22, 2021, Ubuntu 20.04 (Hirsute Hippo) was released, including s390x support for IBM Z and LinuxONE.

Support for s390x has existed since Ubuntu 16.04, but it's not just a matter of recompiling binaries for the architecture for the s390x team at Canonical. With each Ubuntu release, and IBM Z hardware release, the team works to make improvements specifically designed to support the system.

Frank Heimes of Canonical has written a long blog post over on the Ubuntu On Big Iron blog covering key new features with this release: The 'Hippo' is out in the wild - Ubuntu 21.04 got released!

His post includes key updates and software upgrades, including updates to smc-tools and qemu, and more support for HiperSockets, as well as other enhancements:

  • SMC-D v2 support added to the kernel
  • Support for HiperSockets/Ethernet Converged Interfaces added to the kernel
  • Several virtualization stack improvements
  • NVMe support expanded with IPL Load Normal support in kernel
But do visit his post directly for the full list and development details like bug report numbers.