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4 S/390 PID: ThinkPad Enabled for S/390
1.2.2 Linux
In order to provide well-tested S/390 operation, a single Linux distribution was chosen as the
ThinkPad base software. This is Red Hat 7.1 Linux. Other versions and distributions of Linux
might work, but only ThinkPad/EFS machines running on this base operating system are
supported at the time of writing.
This may change in the future, of course. Linux is an ongoing process and the EFS base
system is likely to migrate to a future Linux kernel when one becomes available and FSI
migrates the FLEX-ES code to it. FSI and IBM intend to manage EFS development with a
high priority for system stability. In general, this means the EFS base operating system will
not “chase” small Linux enhancements and may delay movement to major new releases until
their stability for the EFS environment has been thoroughly confirmed.
Linux is a large topic. This redbook addresses Linux only to the extent needed to install and
use FLEX-ES. There are many clever things that can be done with Linux, and some of these
can interact with FLEX-ES and files used with FLEX-ES. Except as needed to install a basic
ThinkPad/EFS system, we do not explore the things a user might implement using Linux
facilities.
1.2.3 Positioning with other small S/390s
Recent entry-level S/390 machines used by PID members have included the following:
P/390, R/390, and S/390 Integrated Server (IS) systems (all based on P/390 adapters).
These systems are no longer manufactured or marketed, but are still widely used by
members of IBM’s Partners in Development (PID) organization.
Application StarterPak systems. These are no longer manufactured or marketed, but a
number are in use by PID members.
Several models of Multiprise 3000 systems (MP3000). These are currently manufactured
and marketed and widely used.
x/Server EFS (formerly known as NUMA-Q Enabled for S/390). These are no longer
marketed for EFS solutions.
Various models of Multiprise 2000 systems. These are no longer actively marketed.
The following table offers a few initial comparisons:
S/390
CPUs
Rel
CPU
Perf
Typical
S/390
Storage
in MB
Internal
Disk
Perform
Typical
Internal
Disk
Capacity
S/390
Chans
Significant
Features
ThinkPad/EFS < 1 1.4 256 Good 32 GB + None Very portable!
Netfinity/EFS
(small)
1 1.8 512+ Very Good
to Excellent
160 GB Limited Multiple S/390 instances
portable
xSeries EFS 3 5 512-2048 Excellent 200 GB+ Limited Multiple S/390 instances
significant non-S/390
workloads possible
P/390
R/390
Int. Serv.
1 1 256 fixed Limited 18-36 GB Limited Portable (except IS)
MP3000-P30 1 8 1024
fixed
Very good 72 GB Excellent LPARs
Crypto hardware
ICMF