>If you run 10-30 MIPS, chances are you're running z/VSE. That operating >system runs on the vast majority of "production" FLEX-ES systems. There >are other z/Architecture emulators coming into the picture and real >mainframe hardware now starts as small as 28 MIPS, so the landscape has >changed considerably since FLEX-ES was first introduced. IBM may be >taking a wait and see approach.
I have no particular insider knowledge on this, but a few more points on small mainframes: 1. IBM dropped the minimum purchase level for mainframe software products down to 3 MSUs because smaller customers needed this (and small projects within larger companies). This now means the mainframe is the cheapest place to put, say, WebSphere Message Broker. 2. IBM dropped the price almost in half on the 26 MIPS System z9 BC A01 from the previous entry model, the z890 Model 110. I didn't do a totally scientific study, but I believe today's mainframe is the same dollar price as any of the previously lowest price entry models, including the "baby mainframes" of yesteryear that people remember fondly. In inflation-adjusted terms it's much lower of course. The z9 is a much better machine than any predecessor and every bit a real mainframe, even at 26 MIPS, for true mainframe qualities of service. 3. The U.S. price of a brand new BC A01 is now about the same as one full time (fully burdened) employee's annual compensation, for perspective. 4. The 26 MIPS model is 4 MSUs. You can set subcapacity limits below that if your needs are even more modest, and special software pricing is available. 5. Genuine z/OS (in the form of z/OS.e) is available for a small fraction of the price for any new workloads, including DB2. 6. There's more competition than ever in the tools and utilities business, driving down costs. There are even 5 operating systems available to choose, including one IBM doesn't make (Linux) that's just a little popular. :-) 7. IBM announced there will be changes to z/VSE pricing terms with Version 4 related to subcapacity. (This is good.) 8. The z800 (minimum 40 MIPS, subcapacity eligible) is a real 64-bit mainframe and is available on the secondary market for less than the price of popular automobiles. A "small" z900 (also subcapacity eligible) is probably less than that. (Well, if a one person personal data center now has a z900....) All that said, small mainframe customers (and developers) should keep letting IBM know what they need. IBM generally does respond if it can, as in the examples above. - - - - - Timothy Sipples IBM Consulting Enterprise Software Architect Specializing in Software Architectures Related to System z Based in Tokyo, Serving IBM Japan and IBM Asia-Pacific E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
