Hello, Gene.
Nelson, Gene C. wrote:
We are in the process of evaluating SUSE 10 sp2 Linux and RHEL for a z9
mainframe. We are doing this to be prepared for the day when an
application requests the need for a Linux server. We also feel that
some of our current WEB appilcations may be moved to Linux for CPU /
licensing fee savings.
We are certainly newbies when it comes to Linux. So my question is:
What distributions other than SUSE and Red Hat are being used on the
mainframe platform (z9 or z10) and what has been the experience with
installation, maintenance and support?
Other popular Linux distributions for the mainframe are the following:
1) Debian
2) Slackware/390
3) Gentoo
4) Centos
I believe that commercial support (for a fee) for Debian is available from Sine
Nomine
Assoc (http://www.sinenomine.net). I like Gentoo myself because 1) it's small
footprint,
and 2) it's package management tools.
The main drawback to these packages is that none (or very very few) of the
major Linux on
System z ISVs, like Oracle, will certify their software as supported on them.
The expense
of certifying a major application, such as Oracle or WebSphere, is not trivial,
so the
vendors pick the two largest distros and support only them. Your company's
lawyers also
like having some sort of legal entity available for them to sue in case
something goes
bump in the night.
My advice is if you are looking to run production class applications on Linux,
go with
either SuSE or Red Hat. If you're just wanting to have some Linux guests to
experiment
with and get a feeling for how well Linux runs, any of the ones listed above
will work,
and work well.
Have a good one.
Gene Nelson
Mainframe System Programmer
Federated Insurance Company
121 E. Park Square
Owatonna, MN 55060
(507) 455-5200
ext. 5706
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DJ
V/Soft
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