The Relevance and Value of Mainframes Today
A set of links that buld the case for the mainframe today. An important distinction is to understand the difference between "cost per MIPS" and "total cost of ownership - TCO", or "total cost per user - TCU". Vendors favoring an installation approach of large numbers of Intel and Unix/Linux servers emphasize the "cost per MIPS", ignoring the fact that for much of the 24 hour day those machines are sitting mostly idle, and wasting their CPU cycles. A more appropriate measure is TCO or TCU, where machine utlization is so much more efficient on a mainframe, with load factors approaching 50-60% throughout the 24 hour day. The inevitable conclusion: sharing a mainframe is STILL the most cost-effective way for a large community of users to share computing resources.
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| Accurate TCO Analysis Demonstrates the True Value of System z Mainframe | When doing cost comparisons between mainframes and commodity hardware like PC's or linux/unix boxes, focus on true total cost of ownership (TCO), not a misleading cost per mips measure. This article from IBM Systems Journal highlights some of the differences between true measures and misleading measures. |
| Arcati Mainframe Yearbook | Arcati is the definitive encyclopaedia on all things mainframe. Visit their site and obtain a copy of the latest Arcati Mainframe Yearbook, which is the best independent guide for users of mainframes. |
| Clabby Analytics Examines the Mainframe Skills Shortage Myth, 2010 version | In this followup to its 2007 paper refuting the "urban myth" of mainframe skills shortage, Clabby Analytics re-examines the issue again in 2010 and draws the same conclusion - there is no shortage. |
| Clabby Analytics Examines, and Refutes, the Mainframe Skills Shortage Myth | In this 2007 report, Clabby Analytics takes a close look at the supposed "mainframe skills shortage" and concludes it is a myth. The conclusion: a shortage of mainframe skills cannot be used to justify migrating a system to a more "modern" platform. |
| Clabby Analytics on IBM's Mainframe Pricing - Now Less than Unix Servers | Clabby Analytics takes another close look comparing mainframe versus Unix servers, and finds that System/z properly configured offers more bang for the buck. IBM currently offers System z Solution Editions — each targeted at specific markets where IBM believes that mainframes have a distinct competitive advantage (such as in banking, security, or Linux consolidation). |
| Clabby Analytics Reports on Mainframes | Don't just take IBM's word alone on mainframes. Clabby Analytics is an independent technology research and analysis firm operated by industry veterans Jane and Joe Clabby who conduct independent research on information systems, including research on microprocessors, system designs,, management environments, databases, and workloads. They also conduct research on application performance management. You will find a wealth of information on their website that includes quite a number of important reports on mainframes in their Archives. They also have a number of studies that point out the incorrectness of a "common wisdom" that a shortage of mainframe skills is justification for "getting off the mainframe", and that training programs currently underway will be able to provide support for mainframes for a very, very long time to come.. |
| Comparing the Cost of IBM Mainframes with HP or Sun Unix Servers | A Clabby Analytics look at the dynamics involved in acquiring and operating a mainframe environment as compared buying and operating an HP or Sun open system Unix environment. |
| Dancing Dinosaur - The Mainframe in the 21st Century | An interesting blog on the relevance of the mainframe today and tomorrow, by technology writer Alan Radding. |
| Doing an Honest Linux TCO Analysis | From a paper presented at the 2008 Conference of SHARE, the IBM Users Group. What is the least expenasive server for Linux? It's multiple sessions running on an IBM mainframe. |
| From Legacy to Legendary: Making Your Mainframe Work For You | A short, but to the point, article on why we still need the mainframe today. Written more for the managers, than for the technical professionals, it can be used by senior technical staff to help thwart any misguided management ideas along the lines of "all ya gotta do is move off the mainframe." |
| Legacy matters: why the IBM mainframe continues to thrive | Though a bit dated (2007), the reasons for the IBM System/z mainframe's longevity presented here are still relevant today. The number of mainframe installations may be dwindling a bit, but those that are surviving are getting bigger and bigger. |
| The Dinosaur Myth |
In this paper, research firm Arcati makes the argument that the mainframe is still the best platform when cost is measured by Total Cost per User (TCU). The mainframe software costs are typically much lower than those of other platforms on a per-user basis, while contributing more to the business. |