March 21, 2016

KVM for IBM z Systems - version 1.1.1 GA

After the announcement in February, KVM for IBM z Systems 1.1.1  is now generally available. This is the second release, and it is expected that a new update is going to be released every half year.   

Here are a few links for further details:
Note: there is already the first fixpack available on Fix Central. When you start, please install the latest fixpack!

If you encounter any problems, please open a PMR with IBM. 

(updated 3/23/2015) 

March 3, 2016

New Open source packages for Linux on z

List of validated open source packages for Linux on z Systems

One of the FAQs after launching LinuxONE is the question: what of the currently popular applications stacks etc has been ported to Linux on z?
There is a community called "IBM LinuxONE and Linux on IBM z Systems Open Source Ecosystem" that in the forum has a list of projects ported/tested. Don't get confused by the date of the entry, look at the bottom for the latest update.
If you are missing something, feel free to ask the question in the forum.

Best session at Winter SHARE 2016: "I Just Bought an IBM z890 - Now What?"


Today at SHARE I had the remarkable experience to listen to a session Connor Krukosky. He's a 18 year old student that bought a z890 on eBay. Here is his story. The first operating system he got running was Linux. Some of the stumbling blocks (e.g. writing a IOCDS) he mentions reminded me from the time 17 years back, when I learned the same things the same way. SHARE has recorded the session. The video is now on YouTube:

(updated 3/29/2016)