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4 Experiences with Oracle Database 12c Release 1 on Linux on System z
Mainframes are expensive?
Actual costs depend on what you're looking at. In terms of hardware acquisition costs,
certainly, a single mainframe costs more than a single server or even several servers. But,
you would need more individual servers to match the computing capability of a mainframe.
Add to that the fact software and labor costs for servers grow linearly: The more servers you
add, the more software licenses and systems administrators you need. And yet, the
mainframe delivers higher utilization, lower overheads and the lowest total cost-per-user of
any platform. When all cost factors are considered fairly, the mainframe is usually the lowest
cost alternative.
Often when considering the cost of the mainframe, people only look at the initial hardware
purchase and overlook the ongoing maintenance costs. With 100 servers, you have 100 times
more chances something will break. So you need an army that has to be ready at any time to
fix hardware. Each of those servers has an OS on it, and all of them need patches, upgrades
and applications deployed to them on a regular basis. So, you need another army for that.
Then your applications are spread all over the place, so when the software fails or gets
overloaded, it takes an army to monitor the applications and locate the problem. Servers are
cheap to buy, but those savings are eaten away by all of the people required to run and
monitor them.
Don't forget electrical and air-conditioning costs also increase when you add servers. Then,
you need to make sure that you count ALL the servers.
Mainframe skills aren't available or you need more people?
As we've already seen, it takes fewer people to manage a mainframe than a set of servers
delivering comparable capability. Do you need specialized skills to manage a mainframe? It
depends. If managing Linux on System z, you'll find that Linux is Linux regardless of platform.
So if you can manage Linux on Intel, you can manage Linux on the mainframe. This means
those students coming out of universities that know Linux can, with very little additional
training, manage a Linux on System z environment.
In addition, IBM has been investing in increasing the available skills. The IBM System z
Academic Initiative helps to ensure that a shortage of System z and z/OS skills does not
happen. Since 2004, the program has worked with more than 1,000 schools to educate more
than 50,000 students worldwide! Many people in the mainframe community are using the
System z Academic Initiative to assist and enable schools to teach mainframe skills.
Then there is SHARE's zNextGen community that connects more than 900 young mainframe
professionals from more than 24 countries. And don't forget the two annual SHARE
conferences and year-round webcasts, which offer hundreds of hours of mainframe skills
training and numerous opportunities for peer networking.
There's plenty of access to the skills required to manage a mainframe and scores of experts
who are happy to share their knowledge and experience. Being well versed in mainframe
technologies is a pretty good career choice.
MIPS don't lie
Are companies running from the mainframe? Certainly a few are contemplating or attempting
to migrate off the mainframe. But the work being done by the platform is increasing, not
decreasing. Just looking IBM's Annual Report, 2010 saw a 22 percent increase in MIPS
shipped over the previous year, 2011 had a 16 percent increase, and 2012 saw 19 percent
growth. Clearly, the truth about mainframes is out there—especially for those willing to look
beyond the myths.
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The blog article ends here.