IBM 990 - Manual (Page 13)

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2003, 2004. All rights reserved. 1
Chapter 1.
zSeries 990 overview
This chapter gives a high-level view of the IBM Eserver zSeries 990. All the topics
mentioned in this chapter are discussed in greater detail later in this book.
The legacy of zSeries goes back more than 40 years. Actually, on April 7th, 2004, it was 40
years ago that IBM introduced its S/360™. Since then, mainframes have followed a path of
innovation with a focus on evolution to help protect investments made through the years.
The proliferation of servers in the last decade or so has increased complexity in IT
management and operations and decreased the overall efficiency of resource use. On top of
this came the need for business solutions to support business pressures on demand, which
requires an on demand operating environment capable of being supportive, adaptive, and
responsive to on demand business objectives and offering infrastructure simplification with
the values of the mainframe technology as set forward with the zSeries 990.
The zSeries 990 is designed for any enterprise that needs the qualities of service required to
sustain and expand their on demand computing environment. Customers requiring the ability
to meet mission-critical requirements that include unexpected demands, high numbers of
transactions, a heterogeneous application environment, and the ability to consolidate a
number of servers will find the z990 an attractive solution since it leverages the current
application portfolio with Linux and z/OS®, and simplifies the operation and management of
business applications by consolidating both Linux and mainframe applications onto the same
platform.
Customers with 9672s and z900s should consider using this server to consolidate servers
and workloads, add capacity, or expand their Linux workloads in a more cost-effective
manner. The increased capacity, bandwidth, number of channels, and logical partitions
provide customers with the ability to reduce costs, while positioning them for future
expansion.
The z990 is based on the proven IBM z/Architecture™, which was first introduced with the
z900 family of servers. It is the continuation of the zSeries z/Architecture evolution and
extends key platform characteristics with enhanced dynamic and flexible resource
management, scalability, and partitioning of predictable and unpredictable workload
environments. Additionally, the z990 availability, clustering, and Qualities of Service are built
on the superior foundation of the current zSeries technologies.
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