The IBM LinuxLine

July 23, 2014

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LINUX NEWS

• IBM’s Doug Balog to Discuss How Linux is Revolutionizing IT at LinuxCon North America
• Linux on Power: Delivering on the Promise
• IBM’s 50-Year-Young Mainframe Maintains its Edge with Linux and Open Source
• The Switch is On – KVM Users Get Power
• IBM Commits $3 Billion to Improve Chip Technology for Cloud and Big Data Systems
• Bluemix Goes GA with Significant Momentum Since Open Beta
• U. K. MSP Selects IBM Enterprise Cloud System to Improve Service and Security for Customers

LINUX AND KVM EVENTS 

• LinuxCon Europe in Dusseldorf– October 13-15, 2014
• KVM Forum in Dusseldorf – October 14-16, 2014
• SUSECon in Orlando – November 17-21, 2014
• Red Hat Summit 2015 Returns to Boston – June 23-26, 2015

LINUX AND KVM SUCCESS STORIES

• Business Connexion Expands Connectivity Across Africa
• U. K. ’s National Weather Service Advances Modern Forecasting
• Porto Alegre Keeps its Citizens Moving
• Italian Bank Launches Mobile Services on a Secure Platform
• Bon Ton Stores Upgrades IT Infrastructure to Support eCommerce and Mobility
• NC State University on the Business Case for Big Data and Analytics on IBM Power Systems

INSIDE IBM‘S LINUX PARTNERS 

• Red Hat, Docker, IBM, and Others Join Kubernetes Community
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 5 Now Generally Available

In his keynote at LinuxCon North America on Friday, August 22, Douglas Balog, General Manager, Power Systems, IBM Systems and Technology Group, will discuss the opportunities that the Linux community can provide to companies – if they build their infrastructure to handle it. Balog will explore the ways in which a broad portfolio based on a foundation of innovation and open collaboration can help organizations to find new customers, create new opportunities, and design next-generation applications to drive business success. The keynote, titled , will be presented Friday, August 22, 9:40am – 10:00 am. LinuxCon and CloudOpen North America are the largest technical conferences focused on Linux and neutral open cloud technologies in North America, providing developers and operations and devops professionals with leading edge technical education and networking opportunities. The combined events take place August 20-22, in Chicago, and IBM, a Platinum Sponsor of LinuxCon, will present these sessions:

•  – Michael Day, IBM – Wednesday, August 20 – 3:30pm – 4:20pm

•  – Shaohe Feng, Zhengsheng Royce, IBM – Wednesday, August 20 – 3:30pm – 4:20pm

•  – Venkateswararao Jujjuri, IBM – Thursday, August 21 – 10:45am – 11:35am

•  – Cody Schafer, IBM – Friday, August 22 – 10:45am – 11:35am

•  – Linton Ward, IBM – Friday, August 22 – 11:45am – 12:35pm

•  – Tony Gargya, IBM – Friday, August 22 – 3:45pm – 4:35pm

IBM will also have a booth at the conference to provide information about products and services. To view the conference schedule, go. Linux on Power: Delivering on the Promise

There are powerful forces having a dramatic effect on IT today: cloud, data, and open standards. IBM’s new Power Systems servers addresses all three, writes Anirban Chatterjee, Power Systems Product Marketing, IBM, in a blog:

Less than a year ago, IBM announced a commitment to invest $1 billion in new Linux and open source technologies for Power Systems. In June, we delivered on that promise when we began shipping the next-generation Power Systems servers incorporating IBM’s POWER8 processor which is available for license and open for development through the OpenPOWER Foundation. IBM’s 50-Year-Young Mainframe Maintains its Edge with Linux and Open Source

The mainframe has been core to many advancements IBM has made, including the strategic move into the open source arena nearly 15 years ago, writes Gerald (Jerry) Hosch, Offering Manager for Linux on System z, IBM, in a new blog:

When you have a mission-critical business environment, you need a strong infrastructure. The IBM mainframe has the strength to support the most demanding workloads through an array of IBM and partner solutions and services. The Switch is On – KVM Users Get Power

In a new blog, T. R. Bosworth, Offering Manager for Power Virtualization, IBM, writes about the launch of PowerKVM, which represents the first time IBM is offering open hypervisor technology in addition to its proprietary PowerVM on Power:

First discussed at Red Hat Summit 2013 by Arvind Krishna, GM Development and Manufacturing, IBM STG, the introduction of PowerKVM is an open alternative to IBM’s proprietary PowerVM technology which has been offered on Power systems. The addition serves the dual purpose of furthering IBM’s support of Linux and open source technologies, and also providing more choice to Power customers. With PowerKVM, Linux-centric administrators can very quickly get up to speed. If they know KVM or any kind of virtualization that is x86-focused, they can rapidly configure the system and administer it as if it were another Linux or KVM instance. IBM Commits $3 Billion to Improve Chip Technology for Cloud and Big Data Systems

To push the limits of chip technology needed to meet the emerging demands of cloud computing and Big Data systems, IBM is investing $3 billion over the next 5 years in two broad research and early stage development programs that will push IBM’s semiconductor innovations from today’s breakthroughs into the advanced technology leadership required for the future. Increasingly, cloud and big data applications are placing new challenges on systems, just as the underlying chip technology is facing numerous physical scaling limits. The first research program is aimed at so-called “7 nanometer and beyond” silicon technology that will address serious physical challenges that are threatening current semiconductor scaling techniques and will impede the ability to manufacture such chips. The second is focused on developing alternative technologies for post-silicon era chips using entirely different approaches, which IBM scientists and other experts say are required because of the physical limitations of silicon based semiconductors. “The question is not if we will introduce 7 nanometer technology into manufacturing, but rather how, when, and at what cost?” said John Kelly, senior vice president, IBM Research. “IBM engineers and scientists, along with our partners, are well suited for this challenge and are already working on the materials science and device engineering required to meet the demands of the emerging system requirements for cloud, big data, and cognitive systems. This new investment will ensure that we produce the necessary innovations to meet these challenges. ”

Find out more about the new initiative 

Bluemix Goes GA with Significant Momentum Since Open Beta

Available on the IBM Cloud Marketplace, IBM Bluemix now includes more than 50 services for building secure, cloud-based business applications. Its rapid adoption during its open beta period, which began in February, makes Bluemix one of the largest Cloud Foundry deployments in the world in just a few months

Bluemix runs on the SoftLayer infrastructure and combines the strength of IBM’s middleware software with other open services and tools from IBM partners and its developer ecosystem to offer DevOps in the cloud – an open, agile development model scalable from one-person startups to large enterprises. The growing catalog includes tools in categories such as Big Data, social, mobile, security, and the Internet of Things, and for industries ranging from mobile commerce, academia, advertising, and emerging spaces such as wearables. “Organizations are rapidly moving new, innovative apps to Cloud Foundry’s scalable, user-friendly model,” said James Watters, vice president of Cloud Foundry Product and Ecosystem at Pivotal. “IBM Bluemix furthers the Cloud Foundry vision for rapid app development, as well as the ability for developers to work easily between platforms and tools from multiple providers. ”

More information about Bluemix is available 

U. K. MSP Selects IBM Enterprise Cloud System to Improve Service and Security for Customers

Vissensa, a U. K. -based managed service provider (MSP), is using the IBM Enterprise Cloud System. Founded in 2008, Vissensa maps technology platforms to the exact business requirements of clients. The IBM Enterprise Cloud System provides Vissensa with the ability to deliver a pre-configured, pre-tested Linux platform which can outperform their existing x86 based cloud infrastructure. This capability is increasingly important to Vissensa customers who are adopting multi-hypervisor operating systems and technologies, and incorporating new technologies such as OpenStack within their solutions to help reduce costs and increase performance. The IBM Enterprise Cloud System is factory built and configured with automated cloud orchestration and monitoring to allow clients to rapidly deploy enterprise-grade cloud services. Combining System z hardware, IBM storage and IBM cloud management software into a single IaaS solution, this offering will help IT organizations and cloud service providers deliver a differentiated level of service capable of supporting mission critical workloads. Bringing these mainframe qualities of service to the cloud will also allow providers to address many of the common concerns regarding security and downtime that have been associated with the cloud. The purpose of this assignment is we https://www.essayclick.net/ have to use one the la algorithm to enhance their proposed solution. “The zEnterprise platform offers better scalability with the most powerful processors of any server, the highest levels of availability you can get, and with better price/performance than legacy x86 hardware,” said Steve Groom, CEO of Vissensa. “It means we can offer a new level of service, with even better security and lower the total cost of ownership for our clients. ”

To read more about Vissensa’s use of IBM Enterprise Cloud System, go. More information is available about the 

LinuxCon Europe is the place to learn from the best and the brightest, delivering content from the leading maintainers, developers and project leads in the Linux community and from around the world. IBM is a gold sponsor of LinuxCon Europe. For more information, go 

KVM Forum in Dusseldorf – October 14-16, 2014

KVM is an industry leading open source hypervisor that provides an ideal platform for data center virtualization, virtual desktop infrastructure, and cloud computing. This annual technical conference brings together the community of developers and users that define the KVM ecosystem to discuss the current state of affairs and plan for the future of KVM, its surrounding infrastructure, and management tools. IBM is a platinum sponsor of KVM Forum. For more information about the conference, go 

SUSECon in Orlando – November 17-21, 2014 

With sessions that are consistently rated as excellent in the annual attendee survey, and recognized as the highlight of the conference, SUSECon presents content from SUSE employees, customers, partners and other contributors. If you have been one of these highly touted presenters, you know what it is all about. If you have not yet had a chance to join this elite team, SUSECon invites you to consider submitting a proposal for SUSECon 2014. The SUSECon 2014 Call for Papers is open through August 29, 2014, proposals for presentations, demonstrations, workshops and labs are currently being accepted. For more information, go 

Red Hat Summit 2015 Returns to Boston – June 23-26, 2015

Red Hat Summit brings together thought leaders and executives from across the technology industry to participate in keynotes and sessions on community, innovation, collaboration and customer success. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet with Red Hat product teams, hear from expert users at leading customer and partner companies, get hands-on training and learn best practices and strategies for innovation and success. The call for papers for Red Hat Summit 2015 will open later this year, with registration opening in early 2015. For a recap of the key announcements at Red Hat Summit 2014 in San Francisco, go 

Business Connexion (BCX) is a leading integrator of innovative business solutions based on information and communications technology (ICT). South Africa’s major financial institutions and key public sector organizations trust BCX to run mission-critical servers, storage and banking systems. BCX is building on the mainframe technology that has made it successful in South Africa to expand connectivity and business opportunity to growth markets across Africa. U. K. ’s National Weather Service Advances Modern Forecasting

The Met Office, the United Kingdom’s national weather service, works with customers in retail, energy, utility, insurance, transport and aviation industries –and offers services and reporting tailored to those sectors. Today, the mainframe is at the core of the Met Office’s IT infrastructure. Before consolidation to Linux on z, 204 x86 processor cores were allocated to Oracle – now the agency runs the same workloads on just 17 mainframe IFLs. Read 

Porto Alegre Keeps its Citizens Moving

Porto Alegre, the capital city of Brazil’s southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul, has used IT innovation to drive continual improvements to public services. The city needed to increase the efficiency of its maintenance processes and implemented an asset management solution based on IBM Maximo software on Linux for System z to enable data on maintenance activities to be displayed in near-real time on a digital map of the city. The solution has helped the city accelerate essential maintenance work, reducing road closures. Italian Bank Launches Mobile Services on a Secure Platform

Banca Carige Group (Banca Carige), one of the largest banks in Italy, has built an analytics environment and a new mobile banking service using IBM software on IBM zEnterprise EC12 mainframes, which provide round-the-clock availability and high security. This enables Banca Carige to launch new services to meet changing customer demands. In addition, the proven underlying technology accelerates deployment and reduces risk, while consolidating to a single platform cuts cost and complexity. Bon Ton Stores Upgrades IT Infrastructure to Support eCommerce and Mobility

In 2013, Bon Ton Stores invested in upgrading IT, continuing to update and expand its eCommerce sites, and launching a new mobile site supporting delivery of promotions and online purchasing. A central aspect of this technology upgrade involved the replacement of an x86 server environment, supporting eCommerce with10 IBM PowerLinux 7R2 servers and IBM PowerVM running IBM WebSphere Commerce on SUSE Linux operating systems. NC State University on the Business Case for Big Data and Analytics on IBM Power Systems 

Although big data promises to dramatically alter the business environment, technology is only a decision enabler. A new white paper describes the business value of using big data techniques to gather and analyze unstructured data, and the difference in how structured and unstructured data are used in decision making. The paper provides examples of how companies realized business value using unstructured data, shows how other companies can realize similar business value using unstructured data, and explains why picking the right servers and software can make a difference.

In a recent blog post about  an open source manager for Docker containers based on Google’s years of experience using containers at Internet scale, Google senior vice president Urs H?lzle, shared news that Red Hat, Docker, IBM and others are joining the Kubernetes community. The companies will actively contribute to the project, with each bringing their unique strengths.

According to H?lzle, the shared goal is to allow a broad range of developers to take advantage of container technologies. Kubernetes, he explains, was built from the ground up as a lean, extensible and portable framework for managing Docker workloads, and allows customers to manage their applications the way that Google manages hyper-scale applications like Search and Gmail.

Containers make predictable deployments and simple scalability possible because Docker packages all of a workload’s dependencies with the application. “This allows for ultimate portability; you can avoid vendor lock-in and run containers in the cloud of your choice,” writes H?lzle. “It is just as important that the management framework has the same properties of portability and scalability, and that is what the community will bring to Kubernetes. ”
 
Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 5 Now Generally Available

Red Hat has announced the general availability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 5, designed to serve as the foundation for building OpenStack-powered clouds for advanced cloud users, telecommunications companies, Internet service providers (ISPs), and public cloud hosting providers. Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform delivers an enterprise-class cloud platform built on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, co-engineered and integrated with Red Hat’s OpenStack technologies, offering IT organizations the agility to scale and quickly meet customer demands without compromising on availability, security, or performance.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 5 is based on the OpenStack Icehouse release and includes several new features aimed at easing enterprise adoption of OpenStack technology in the existing data center as well as enhancing capabilities to make it a more reliable and dependable cloud platform. Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 5 will also offer OpenStack data processing service (Sahara) as a Technology Preview, enabling faster provisioning and easier management of Hadoop clusters on OpenStack. Hadoop is used to store and analyze large amounts of data and, when combined with Sahara, it provides a platform for rapidly creating data driven applications and deploying them on the open hybrid cloud.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 5, engineered with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, is available globally now. In the coming weeks, Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 5, engineered with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, will be available.

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