One of my pet peeves is that some people -- even a few "experts" -- in the IT industry persist in using the term "open system" to refer to whatever is not a mainframe. I believe words ought to have meaning, including the word "open." So let's take a look at what some people still continue to call an "open system," Microsoft Windows Server (on X86-based servers), and compare that to z/OS on an IBM z System. Let's consider Microsoft Windows Server 2016 (in beta testing currently and scheduled for release in early 2016) with z/OS 2.2 (scheduled for release later this month). While it's possible Microsoft and IBM could change their products before release, I do not expect any material changes that would affect this particular comparison.
The "open" Microsoft Windows Server includes these "features": 1. Activation keys. In order to make Microsoft Windows Server fully operable you need a license key and must "activate" your installation of Windows. Microsoft has made some provision for enterprises to manage keys (and have enterprise key servers), but everybody still must use keys and activation. 2. Hardware-based key sensitivity. If you "substantially" or materially alter the machine configuration, or you move your installation to another server, you typically need to re-activate your installation. 3. Tiered functionality key sensitivity. Microsoft Windows Server has several "editions," each with their own levels of function. License keys unlock (or don't) each level of function. Some functions relate to core server hardware attributes such as number of processors/cores, maximum memory supported, etc. 4. Opt-out telemetry. By default, Microsoft reportedly collects "telemetry" data from each installation, i.e. automated uploads of data to Microsoft. This "service" is called the Diagnostics Tracking Service. (Microsoft is also pushing retrofit opt-out telemetry to Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 through Microsoft Update.) When you install Microsoft Windows Server you must make configuration changes to disable automatic uploads of data from your server to Microsoft. According to Microsoft the data collected include server health and diagnostics. Let's contrast these Windows Server "features" with z/OS 2.2: 1. z/OS 2.2 has no activation keys, no Digital Rights Management "wrappers," or any other such nastiness. Never has. 2. Moot. z/OS 2.2 has no activation keys. There are no technical restrictions on moving z/OS installations from machine to machine. Thank goodness, since enterprises shouldn't have to worry about such barriers and complexities in disaster recovery scenarios, for example. 3. Moot. z/OS 2.2 has no activation keys. When you receive z/OS 2.2 you receive all elements, including optional elements that require additional licensing such as z/OS DFSORT. (Reportedly Microsoft Windows Server is much the same. All the code gets copied to the installation disk, though whether you can use particular functions or not depends on the license key and activation.) With z/OS YOU have full technical control over your license entitlements to optional elements via a configuration data set. IBM does not assume you are untrustworthy (i.e. require keys to unlock features), and there are no locked tiers of function in the z/OS product. Your licensing -- your contract with IBM -- is what governs your entitlements. There's no "nanny" operating system here technically trying to second guess what you're entitled to. Importantly, z/OS does not have artificial hardware limitations. (Windows Server 2012 R2 Foundation Edition is artificially limited to 32 GB of RAM, and Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials Edition is artificially limited to 64 GB of RAM.) Sysplex (clustering) licensing is also always included in base z/OS. There are also no Client Access Licenses (CALs) for connection to z/OS -- z/OS licensing permits unlimited connections.(*) 4. Goodness, no! If you want to send dumps, traces, etc. to IBM Support you can, but you must expressly choose to do so, and you choose exactly what data to send (and what not to send). Likewise, if you want system-level "Call Home" support, you must opt-in. Your server data -- even what a vendor might think are "health" data -- are none of IBM's business unless you want them to be IBM's business. Customers who choose to license z/OS on a sub-capacity basis must send IBM monthly SCRT or MWRT summary reports. (Or, if they skip a particular month, full capacity licensing is assumed for that month.) Those reports are summaries only (no raw usage data), completely transparent (so you can see exactly what you're sending), and never automatically sent. Customers simply e-mail those reports to IBM if they choose to do so. I could go on, but hopefully you get the idea. It's 2015, and here's my plea to the collective IT industry: could we all start using words/terms that reflect reality and stop using words/terms that are highly misleading at best? Microsoft Windows Server is NOT by any stretch an "open system" -- unless by "open system" you mean "a server operating system open to Microsoft's automatic collection of data unless and until you take steps to opt-out (and remain vigilant in case Microsoft turns collection back on in an update)." The industry has changed, profoundly. This is not your father's (or your grandfather's) mainframe. See the IBM LinuxONE enterprise servers, for example, that are 100% open source Linux (unlike even most X86-based servers). And this is not MS-DOS either. If you thought there were good guys and bad guys, well, they've flipped. Times change. (*) The only IBM middleware product for z/OS I'm aware of that has (optional) user licensing is (the optional) DB2 for z/OS. (WebSphere MQ Version 8 for z/OS includes unlimited client licensing at no additional charge. In previous versions unlimited client licensing was a priced option.) DB2 user (or server) connection licensing is required for DRDA connections from outside z/OS, such as JDBC Type 4 connections or ODBC connections. DB2 connection licensing is not required for other types of connections to DB2, for example via MQ. Unlimited licensing (DB2 Connect Unlimited Edition or Unlimited Advanced Edition) is the most popular DRDA connection licensing option. To my knowledge Microsoft has no unlimited CALs option -- none published, anyway -- and CALs are required for every (or at least almost every) type of connection to Microsoft Windows Server. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Timothy Sipples IT Architect Executive, Industry Solutions, IBM z Systems, AP/GCG/MEA E-Mail: [email protected] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
