Hi to all the GSAP participants,
A great question was asked during an SME session a few months ago. The question was asked at the very end of the SME session. I loved the question and struggled to provide a succinct and quick answer to this executive level inquiry. Before reading my brief answer, please consider responding offering your opinions, comments, inquiries about in details in my response.
The IBM Z mainframes quietly and effectively manages the world's critical business and government activity millisecond-by-millisecond. The secret behind the enduring success involves asking why?
Answering the question "could" involve decades of deep hardware and software technology advancements that are unseen and under appreciated. These would include:
- Internal orchestration of processors, memory, and input/output activity avoiding diminishing returns
- I/O Architecture
- Channel Subsystem
- Uncomprimised integrity applied to handling of data
- Virtualization and Dynamic Address Translation
- Microcode and Millicode
- Speciality processors and accelerators
GSAP does look behind the scenes of how IBM Z and z/OS work exposing learners to the above during the 7 learning units in System Services and Structures which is typically taught to those with advanced IBM Z and z/OS experience.
The question from a new learner perspective is best answered at a higher level.
- Design criteria based upon business needs and data
- Many decades of advancements to the above
- Relentless focus on the future needs of business
IBM mainframe original design was focused on the needs of business while the large computer systems decades ago were designed for scientific applications focusing on calculations.
Business needs have a primary focus on
- Data - Volume, Velocity, Variety, and Veracity
- Reliability, Availability, Serviceability, Scalability, and Security
- Upward Compatibility
IBM designed and built a computer system focused on data and the needs of business 60+ years ago. The IBM mainframe hardware and software design took several years and a massive business investment. Numerous revolutionary and
"IBM so dominated the mainframe market that observers expected the BUNCH to merge or exit" -
Reference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BUNCH
Please consider responding with your opinions, comments, and inquiries about anything I posted.
paul n.