Brian Westerman writes: >I think you might be able to run it under z/VM, you certainly >can run it under Hercules. If you get a fast enough PC, you >can probably beat the MIPS of what your running it on now;)
OS/390 V1 is licensed software, and it is licensed to a specific machine. If the original poster wants to move OS/390 to another machine, he must seek IBM's permission. Permission will likely be granted for IBM, Fujitsu-Amdahl, and Hitachi hardware, new or used. It will likely not be granted for Hercules. The same is likely true for other vendor software (if any). Billy R. Bingham writes: >The company currently has a 2003-116 and IBM will be dropping >maintenance 12/31/2009. They want to go to newer hardware >(z890/z990) but does not want to upgrade their software, I >repeat, does not want to upgrade their software. They want >to stay on OS/390 1.3 until they migrate off to an ERP >package. Sorry, it is not technically possible to move to newer hardware and continue running OS/390 1.3. :-( OS/390 1.3 (IBM program number 5645-001) became generally available on March 28, 1997. Last order date for 1.3 was December 31, 1998. The Multiprise 2000 Model 116 (2003-116) was introduced in September, 1996. It is a one-way machine rated at 6 MSUs (Group 38) and about 38 MIPS. Assuming that machine configuration currently provides sufficient capacity, the most appropriate replacement models probably include the System z9 BC Model B01 (only 5 MSUs and about 38 MIPS) and the System z10 BC Model C01 (only 5 MSUs and about 38 MIPS). (The z10 would be preferable since it offers smaller capacity increments, along with other technology improvements.) Another possible option is the System z10 BC Model A02, a two-way machine with 6 MSUs and about 48 MIPS, if a two-way machine would be more appropriate. Let me give you some very rough and very quick information on monthly license charges. I cannot vouch completely for the accuracy here, but my numbers should be close. The Model 116 is a Group 38 machine, so I estimate that the U.S. monthly license charge for the base operating system (only) is $16,260. Full capacity licensing is required for OS/390. The System z9 or z10 models mentioned above, at 5 MSUs, would be eligible for Entry Workload License Charge (EWLC), and the charge for z/OS Version 1 (5694-A01) would be $4,403 per month for the base operating system, even at full capacity. (The company you are working with may find sub-capacity possible, depending on their current and projected utilization.) That's a 72.9% reduction in the monthly charge for the base operating system. As an aside: do you know if Oracle, Microsoft, or SAP has cut their prices by 72.9%? :-) Just for "fun," let's assume that the company had migrated to z/OS V1 five years ago. They would have saved $711,420 on the base operating system charge by now. That would have purchased some very nice hardware plus many hamburgers. There should also be an inflation adjustment here. The 2009 $4,403 monthly charge is actually equal to approximately $3,420 in 1998 dollars. With this inflation adjustment, the real reduction in price is just shy of 79%. Also, in that time the labor required to manage a mainframe has declined faster than for other platforms. If the 1998 fully burdened full time equivalent (FTE) employee cost was $150,000, today (with inflation) it would be just shy of $200,000. (Labor costs are quite regional, though, so YMMV.) There is also a substantial reduction in hardware maintenance charges, and the first year is under warranty. ....Methinks there was some grave mismanagement of IT infrastructure at this company. But it's not too late to correct that. To give yet one more data point, let's suppose you double the MSUs for z/OS. What's the price for incremental growth? Answer: $1,670. That is, you can increase z/OS capacity by 100% for 37.9% more software price. Of course, there's probably more on the machine than just base OS/390. There are no doubt various operating system features, plus middleware products. YMMV. Hope that helps. - - - - - Timothy Sipples IBM Consulting Enterprise Software Architect Based in Tokyo, Serving IBM Japan / 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
