The workload challenge
Integrating the mainframe into today's IT
Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Backup/Recovery
Broadcast The mainframe was there first, but is it the dinosaur that many people assume?
For some workloads, it has never been bettered: many of today's business web sites store a production database on a mainframe host, for example. For applications that rely on large-scale transaction processing, that support thousands of users, manage terabytes of information or handle large-bandwidth connections; for businesses that need high quality of service and resilient security, often the mainframe architecture is still the best choice, and offers the best return on investment.
But doesn't that type of heavy lifting describe more of our IT tasks? If so, could the Big Unit be due a renaissance?
In our Regcast Tim Phillips is joined by Ray Jones, IBM VP of Worldwide zSeries Software - translation, "Mr Mainframe" - and Freeform Dynamics' Dr Stats Tony Lock - a man who who knows all about the subject from many years of practical experience - to discuss where a mainframe is and isn't best, whether you might need one in the future, how you make the transition - and whether our preconceptions sometimes stop us from choosing the best IT architecture for the job.
The event is on the 7th of April at 11:00 BST.
If you've been wondering about how to manage your workloads efficiently, or about how you might get more from your mainframe, you can join us for free right here. ®
COMMENTS
@volsano- Carebears?
Good lord, I hope not.
As far as mainframes being part of the cloud? probably; the specs I looked at for IBM's zSeries looked pretty impressive, at least for what it's designed for...
Welcome back 1980 -- all is forgiven
Mainframes are back!
Timesharing bureaus are back!! (but now called cloud computing).
Is it time for the return of the Care Bears?
Looking to bin the mainframe
The company I work for (a global telco monster) has a mainframe for all our provisioning / order entry / billing / maint. etc and it works just fine.
Over the last 5 years they have spent many millions on a new web based system, you know the sort of thing, point, click and it's designed the circuit for you. In fact what they want is for the order entry people to put the info in, the system to design the circuit and then apply any connections etc that may be required.
That is feasible if you were starting a new company from scratch with an empty datatbase but if you import the old data from the mainframe (which in some cases is wildly inaccurate) then you'd have to shut the company down for 6 months (at the very least), do a complete audit of every single bit of kit, and even then we have so much legacy stuff (ancient kit) that may or may not be able to use the command language they have chosen.
The new system doesnt work mainly because the people designing it don't understand telecommunications.
The old system has it's problems of course but EVERYONE in the company knows these limitations and the work arounds to them.
I actually want them to keep the mainframe, it works, it is more than adequate and everyone in the company knows how to use it.
The company wants to shut down the mainframe at the end of April and use the new system (No, it still doesnt work properly and no, there has not been one sniff of training)
I'm not a mainframe / IT guru type but I'm sure I have read about alternatives for replacing a mainframe with blades and running the same stuff on it, likewise for running fancy front ends to make the mainframe more accessible. I'm sure either (or both) would be preferable to the $hit storm about to hit us in the next couple of months!
Anon for obvious reasons :-)
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