+IBM’s Jeff Scheel on Linux trends
The benefits of Linux on Power far outweigh
the barriers to getting started
IBM floods the Linux market with options
NOVEMBER 2014E-book: Linux on Power
PropositionA Growing
Linux on Power continues to flourish
QMBUJOVN�TQPOTPS� BMTP�TQPOTPSFE�CZ�
EDITORIALEXECUTIVE PUBLISHERDiane Rowell
PUBLISHERDoug Rock
EXECUTIVE EDITOREvelyn Hoover
COPY EDITORLisa Stefan
PRODUCTIONART DIRECTORDavid Sather
PRODUCTION MANAGERJonathan Benson
PROJECT MANAGERElizabeth Reddall
CIRCULATIONCIRCULATION DIRECTORBea Jaeger
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FULFILLMENT COORDINATORCarrie Stafford
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© Copyright 2014 by International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation. This magazine could contain technical in-accuracies or typographical errors. Also, illustrations contained herein may show prototype equipment. Your systemconfiguration may differ slightly. This magazine contains small programs that are furnished by IBM as simple examplesto provide an illustration. These examples have not been thoroughly tested under all conditions. IBM, therefore, cannotguarantee or imply reliability, serviceability, or function of these programs. All programs contained herein are providedto you “AS IS.” IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED.IBM, the IBM logo, and ibm.com are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in theUnited States, other countries, or both. If these and other IBM trademarked terms are marked on their first occurrence in thisinformation with an asterisk (*), these symbols indicate U.S. registered or common law trademarks owned by IBM at the timethis information was published. Such trademarks may also be registered or common law trademarks in other countries. A cur-rrrent list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at “Copyright and trademark information” (ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml).
The following (marked with an *) are trademarks or registered trademarks of other companies: Intel, Itanium and Pentium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.Java and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.Linear Tape-Open, LTO and Ultrium are trademarks of HP, IBM Corp. and Quantum in the U.S. and other countries. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States, other countries, or both. Microsoft, Windows and WindowsNT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries. Other product and service names might be trademarks ofIBM or other companies.All customer examples cited represent the results achieved by some customers who use IBM products. Actual environ-mental costs and performance characteristics will vary depending on individual customer configurations and conditions.Information concerning non-IBM products was obtained from the products’ suppliers. Questions on their capabilitiesshould be addressed with the suppliers.All statements regarding IBM’s future direction and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice andrepresent goals and objectives only. The articles in this magazine represent the views of the authors and are notnecessarily those of IBM.
Direct editorial inquiries to [email protected]
Linux on Power Buzz
At the recent IBM Enterprise 2014 conference, the
buzz around Linux* on Power* was substantial.
From the keynote session with Power GM Doug Balog
to numerous sessions to the expo floor, the duo caught
the limelight. That’s why, this, our first e-book, focuses
on the growth and future of Linux on Power.
We’ve taken two articles from our July 2014 Linux-themed issue of IBM
Systems Magazine and repackaged them in this new format, but we alsoe
added two new content pieces that further the Linux conversation.
A roundtable with representatives of Canonical, Red Hat and SUSE, the
three major Linux distributors, kicks the e-book off, providing insights into
how and why Linux on Power is flourishing. The roundtable, which appeared
in the July issue, begins on page 4.
For a look at Linux on Power trends and future direction, we turned
to IBM’s Jeff Scheel, chief engineer for Linux on Power (page 10). The
Q&A touches on the importance of the kernel-volume manager, Coherent
Accelerator Processor Interface, OpenPOWER and OpenStack.
While some clients are quick to try Linux on Power, others need a little
convincing. That’s part of the job of IBMer Ruviano Martinez. On page 15, he
refutes some of the common arguments about moving to Linux on Power.
Finally, we take a look at the IBM announcements and explain how they
help current and future clients make the move from x86 to Linux on Power
(page 18).
Where is your company with regard to Linux on Power? Drop me a note
and let me know or use the comments feature on our website.
Evelyn Hoover
IBM Systems Magazine Executive Editor
EDITOR’S DESK
Editor’s Desk..........................................................2
Roundtable reveals Linux is flourishing
on Power Systems ................................................4
IBM’s Jeff Scheel on the future
of Linux on Power ..............................................10
The benefits of Linux on Power far outweigh
the barriers to getting started........................15
IBM floods the Linux market with options...18
2 // NOVEMBER 2014 Linux on Power e-book
POWER SYSTEMS EDITION
Editor’s note: This article is reprinted
from the July 2014 issue of IBM Systems
Magazine, Power Systems edition.
BM’s POWER8* announcement and
$1 billion support for Linux* on
Power Systems* servers broaden clients’
access to applications and tools in an
open-source environment. Clients gain
the flexibility and innovation that Linux
offers and are assured that running Linux
on POWER8 technology will be backed by
IBM’s reliability, scalability, security and
performance. The open-source market is
fertile soil for Power Systems growth—
and it’s helping Linux flourish, too.
To provide insight on the latest Linux
trends, IBM Systems Magazine spoke
with IBM partners Red Hat, SUSE and
Canonical (backers of Ubuntu) regarding
what IBM’s investment means for clients,
partners and ISVs, and how open source
can spur growth for everyone. Joining the
Linux roundtable was Patrick Quairoli,
director IBM Alliances, from SUSE; Filipe
Miranda, global lead for Red Hat on
IBM System z* and Power Systems, and
Mark Coggin, senior director, product
marketing, platform, from Red Hat; and
John Dolen, partner marketing manager,
and Mark Baker, cloud technologist,
from Canonical.
,%0�6\VWHPV�0DJD]LQH��,60���:KDW�ZRUNORDGV�DUH�3RZHU�6\VWHPV�FOLHQWV�GHSOR\LQJ�RQ�/LQX["� 4XDLUROL� Open-source infrastructure
and Linux grew up together and we’re
still seeing good penetration. We’re also
seeing a lot of success from customers
putting their SAP front end on Power*
boxes running a Linux partition, giving
them the capability to have database
and application servers on the same
box. Finally, customers are leveraging
Linux on Power to run analytics like
InfoSphere* and Cognos*.
'ROHQ� Power Systems customers are
asking for more cloud capabilities.
Existing clients are asking how they
can integrate next-generation cloud
technologies such as Hadoop, data
analytics and social media with their
current workloads. New clients also
will be seeking out Power technology
to scale out their cloud infrastructure,
whether it’s public, private or hybrid.
With POWER8 technology, IBM has
made a huge leap forward in cloud by
enhancing the architecture to meet
the demands of the latest scale-out
applications, such as data analytics,
enabling a massive growth in the
ecosystem by moving to little endian
support and by designing new
processors that are cost-competitive
alternatives for cloud applications.
Linux on Power e-book NOVEMBER 2014 // 5
TAKEAWAY
r The Linux market is growing and IBM Power Systems technology is positioned to grow along with it.
r Clients gain flexibility and innovation from Linux, and reliability, scalability, security and performance from the Power Systems architecture.
r IBM partners with Linux providers Canonical, Red Hat and SUSE, and each has its own take on Linux trends and opportunities.
Roundtable reveals Linux is flourishing on Power SystemsBY SHIRLEY S. SAVAGE
Roundtable Participants
Canonical
John Dolen
Mark Baker
Red Hat
Filipe Miranda
Mark Coggin
SUSE
Patrick Quairoli
cloud. Clients and ecosystem providers
alike are responding as evidenced by
the numbers joining the OpenPOWER
Foundation.
4XDLUROL� IBM’s investment has caused
the interest in Power and Linux to
explode. We’re seeing it all over the
world, including North America, South
Africa, China, Korea and Brazil.
,60��+DV�WKH�32:(5��UHOHDVH�DIIHFWHG�/LQX[�GHPDQG"'ROHQ� The POWER8 launch takes
Power technology into the scale-out
area, and that opens up choice for
customers, particularly for deploying
cloud solutions. We’ve been seeing
many requests from customers who
are interested in deploying Ubuntu
on POWER8.
4XDLUROL� POWER8 technology is able
to run either big endian or little endian,
which creates a great opportunity. The
majority of hardware that’s out there
today runs little endian, whereas Power
servers have run big endian. SUSE, for
the first time, will be releasing a little
endian implementation for IBM Power
when we release SUSE Linux Enterprise
Server 12. With that, we’re going to see
more opportunities for ISVs to bring
solutions and workloads to Linux
on Power.
,60��:KDW�FKDQJHV�DUH�\RX�VHHLQJ�LQ�WKH�HQWHUSULVH�DQG�WKH�VPDOO�WR�PLGVL]HG�EXVLQHVV��60%��VSDFH�UHJDUGLQJ�/LQX["0LUDQGD� Enterprise CIOs are pressured
to meet the nonstop IT demand to
meet business needs; so they have
to keep looking for performance,
reliability, scalability and security
while keeping investments low, and
Linux is ideal for that. For SMBs, Linux
brings down costs and offers a stronger
interoperability with other systems.
4XDLUROL� We’re seeing a lot of interest
from existing AIX enterprise customers
who want to add Linux. Customers
are now starting to understand that
the infrastructure and management
are different on Linux than on AIX,
and they’re figuring out how it fits.
When SMBs look for more compute
capacity with the same footprint and
same energy usage, IBM and Power
technology stand out.
%DNHU� Enterprises are looking to
support diverse sets of requirements
and those environments need to be
interoperable. Also, enterprises want
more agility in their businesses. They
see greenfield companies that are able
to design, develop and launch services
in a matter of weeks or months and
then are able to scale those services.
Enterprises want to be able to do that.
With Ubuntu and POWER8, SMBs
can now take advantage of the type
of powerful analytics only available
to large corporations with million-
dollar budgets.
,60��$UH�\RX�VHHLQJ�FOLHQWV�LQ�QHZ�LQGXVWULHV�PRYH�WR�/LQX["�,I�VR��ZKLFK�RQHV�DQG�ZK\"�%DNHU��Media/entertainment has
a lot of excitement regarding Linux
0LUDQGD� Power customers take full
advantage of the architecture. With
POWER8 technology, the number
of threads per core has increased,
improving upon the last generation and
benefiting compute-intensive workloads
like big data, business analytics, highly
scaled cloud applications and extreme
Java* workloads.
,60��:KDW�FKDQJHV�KDYH�\RX�VHHQ�LQ�GHPDQG�IRU�ELJ�GDWD�DQG�DQDO\WLFV�FDSDELOLWLHV"�4XDLUROL� We’re seeing success on
Power Systems servers for analytics and
big data because the system of record
has been running on DB2* on AIX* or
Oracle on AIX. Customers want to get
the same performance and capabilities
that they see on the Power platform,
but the applications are only available
on Linux. Fortunately, Linux opens up
a broad portfolio of applications for
enterprises that depend on POWER*.
0LUDQGD� Big data and analytics are
growing and have become critical for
many industries. It’s helping companies
make better decisions.
'ROHQ� Canonical sees big data and
analytics as a core business solution for
many of our enterprise customers, such
as those in finance and healthcare.
These new workloads require scale-
out and cloud capabilities. We are
also seeing a need of speed and for
customers to quickly deploy cloud.
,60��+RZ�KDV�,%0�V�LQYHVWPHQW�DIIHFWHG�LQWHUHVW�LQ�/LQX["�0LUDQGD� It’s always a benefit to
have additional drivers behind Linux
adoption. While we can’t point to any
specific numbers, IBM’s support of
Linux can only help the ecosystem.
'ROHQ��IBM’s investment in Linux has
been a major factor influencing open
solutions in the market. IBM’s support
of Ubuntu shows that it’s serious about
being an open-systems leader in the
6 // NOVEMBER 2014 Linux on Power e-book
Big endian and little endian are
terms that describe the order in which
bytes are stored in computer memory.
Big endian stores the “big end” (most
significant value in the sequence) first (at
the lowest storage address). Little endian
stores the “little end” (least significant
value in the sequence) first.
and what cloud technologies such
as Ubuntu and OpenStack can do for
them. How can they deliver a service
to an end user that’s going to be $5 a
month cheaper than their competitors
yet more profitable? We’re also seeing
strong interest from traditional carriers
with managed services and banking
sector clients now deploying clouds.
4XDLUROL� We’re getting requests from
automotive, insurance, education and
banking—the places where Linux has
always been popular. What’s new is
that the interest is from a different
subset of customers. It’s broadening.
0LUDQGD� Financial, healthcare
as well as retail, government and
manufacturing are all benefiting from
Linux because they want to reduce
costs. Companies usually start small
by employing Linux for noncritical
services and then move Linux to
mission-critical applications. Further,
it’s very easy to find people with
Linux skills.
,60��,V�WKH�2SHQ32:(5�)RXQGDWLRQ�GULYLQJ�LQWHUHVW�LQ�/LQX["�'ROHQ� At Canonical, we have a unique
perspective, being one of the first
software members of the foundation
and the only Linux board member. The
direction for Power technology is clearly
becoming open. That’s one reason
we’ve delivered Ubuntu along with
OpenStack and our cloud orchestration
and provisioning tools—Juju and Metal
as a Service—on POWER8.
4XDLUROL� What Power technology can
offer with Linux is new interest. IBM
is always doing the right things, like
adding common APIs and the capability
for original device manufacturers
to drive demand into a niche
market that never considered Power
platforms before.
&RJJLQ� The OpenPOWER Foundation
is intended to facilitate a vibrant
industry ecosystem around Power
Linux on Power e-book NOVEMBER 2014 // 7
architecture with a component being
open-source software and the Linux OS.
We’ve always believed that architectural
choice is an important aspect of
customer value.
,60��+RZ�LV�2SHQ6WDFN�V�ZRUN�JHQHUDWLQJ�/LQX[�FXVWRPHUV"�&RJJLQ� OpenStack is driving Linux
from several different angles—the
underlying infrastructure upon which
the OpenStack applications run as well
as the guest OS provisioned on top of
KVM [Kernel-based Virtual Machine] or
other hypervisors. You can’t easily use,
try or adopt OpenStack without also
embracing Linux. Today we’re seeing
Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack
Platform in many scenarios—often in
early pilots or architectural proof-of-
concepts. These are typically customers
who already have Linux experience, so
it’s viewed as a Linux expansion within
a customer’s organization.
4XDLUROL� SUSE has been involved in
OpenStack since its formation. The
importance for Power customers is that
they can now use the extra capacity
they have on their compute servers
and make those compute nodes within
an OpenStack environment. That’s
made possible by KVM, which IBM has
adopted. That introduction of KVM
into the Power platform makes those
compute nodes consumable within
OpenStack. Without KVM, we would
need a different set of APIs within
OpenStack to speak to PowerVM*. With
KVM, once you’ve assigned virtualized
compute resources through KVM,
OpenStack can consume them just like
any other KVM resource.
%DNHU� OpenStack is evolving into
Linux deployed at scale for enterprises
as they move to next-generation
architectures and workloads. This is a
move toward an open platform that can
deliver business applications at scale.
That is where the openness of Power,
Linux and OpenStack technologies
are creating this perfect storm where
customers are going to be able to do
more with their own structure, which
they need to do because of the volume
of data and customers is growing
so fast.
,60��:KDW�RWKHU�/LQX[�RQ�3RZHU�WUHQGV�DUH�\RX�VHHLQJ"�4XDLUROL� KVM will open up the Power
platform to new customers. Adding
utility computing capabilities like KVM
creates an opportunity for those who
are familiar with KVM and Linux to
expand into a new hardware platform
without learning additional tools.
The same is true with OpenStack. It
gives this commodity-like feel to the
Power platform, which has typically
had an air of mystery around it
with Linux adopters. I think Linux
is going to increase the popularity
of Power technology based on
IBM’s investments.
'ROHQ� Working with IBM, it’s going to
be exciting to see advances, whether
it’s in scale out or in some of Power
technology’s traditional core streams,
such as performance, reliability and
security being exploited for Linux. We
look forward to seeing Ubuntu and
Linux bring more value to clients.
Shirley S. Savage is a Maine-based
freelance writer.
Greenfield is a term used to describe a
project that’s not constrained by prior work.
, OGPSNBUJPO�#VJMEFST�FYDFMT�BU�CJH�EBUB�BOBMZUJDT�XJUI�UIF�
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*#.�1PXFS�4ZTUFNT��TFSWFST�BSF�UBJMPS�NBEF�GPS�CJH�EBUB��
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MJDFOTJOH�DPTUT�BOE�BMMPX�GPS�TDBMJOH�VQ�BT�ZPVS�VTF�PG�BOBMZUJDT�
HSPXT��#VTJOFTT�VTFST�BDSPTT�UIF�FOUFSQSJTF�DBO�FYQFDU�IJHI�
MFWFMT�PG�SFMJBCJMJUZ��DPOTJTUFODZ��QFSGPSNBODF�BOE�TDBMBCJMJUZ�
+VTU�MPPL�BU�TPNF�PG�UIF�CFODINBSLT�XFWF�CFFO�BCMF�UP�BDIJFWF
1 %HWWHU�WKURXJKSXW��-JOVY�PO�1PXFS�EPVCMFT�UIF�OVNCFS�PG���
����MBSHF�SFQPSUT�QFS�TFDPOE�DPNQBSFE�UP�Y��
1 6ODVK�UHSRUW�WLPH�LQ�KDOI��108&3��TFSWFST�HFOFSBUF�
����8FC'0$64�SFQPSUT�JO�BCPVU�IBMG�UIF�UJNF�PG�-JOVY�PO�Y�����
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1 6XSHULRU�VFDODELOLW\��0O�108&3���TFSWFST�DBO�IBOEMF�NPSF�
����BOBMZUJDT�BOE�SFQPSUT�QFS�TFSWFS�UIBO�Y��
Linux on Power and WebFOCUS saves IT costs. 5IF�GMFYJCMF�DBQBDJUZ�PG�1PXFS�PGGFST�TBWJOHT�JO�FMFDUSJDJUZ��DPPMJOH�
BOE�*5�SFTPVSDFT��*#.�QSJDFT�QSPWJEF�NPSF�TDBMBCMF�BMUFSOBUJWFT�
UP�DPNNPEJUZ�Y���TDBMF�PVU�PQUJPOT��SFEVDJOH�5$0�FWFO�GVSUIFS�
Linux on Power and WebFOCUS deploys quickly. *#.�1PXFS�4ZTUFNT�GPS�-JOVY�BOE�TVQQPSUJOH�TZTUFNT�IFMQ�
EFDSFBTF�EFQMPZNFOU�UJNF�BOE�DPTUT��XIJMF�PGGFSJOH�HSFBUFS�
QFSGPSNBODF��EFQFOEBCJMJUZ�BOE�XPSLMPBE�EFOTJUZ�UIBO�
DPNQFUJUJWF�Y���QMBUGPSNT��
Linux on Power and WebFOCUS scales easily. "O�FGGFDUJWF�#*�FOWJSPONFOU�NVTU�CF�BCMF�UP�TDBMF�FBTJMZ�BOE�DPTU�
FGGFDUJWFMZ�UP�NFFU�OFX�BOE�FYQBOEJOH�CVTJOFTT�SFRVJSFNFOUT��
Linux on Power and WebFOCUS delivers super-linear scalability. 8F�PGGFS�GMFYJCJMJUZ�TP�ZPV�DBO�EFQMPZ�BOZ�DPNQPOFOUT�PG�
8FC'0$64�GPS�VTFST�UP�BDDFTT�EBUB�RVJDLMZ�BOE�JOUVJUJWFMZ��
4DBMF�GSPN� ��UP� ���������VTFST�BOE�JNQBDU�EFDJTJPO�NBLJOH�
JNNFEJBUFMZ�
Linux on Power and WebFOCUS are easy to use. "MUIPVHI�5$0�JT�BO�FTTFOUJBM�NFUSJD�GPS�DBMDVMBUJOH�UIF�TVDDFTT�
PG�B�#*�QSPKFDU��ZPV�NVTU�BMTP�DPOTJEFS�MFTT�UBOHJCMF�BTQFDUT��
TVDI�BT�FBTJFS�BDDFTT�UP�JOGPSNBUJPO��CFUUFS�EJTTFNJOBUJPO�PG�
LOPXMFEHF��BOE�JODSFBTFE�QSPEVDUJWJUZ�GPS�XPSLFST�UISPVHIPVU�
UIF�PSHBOJ[BUJPO�
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WKH�EULHI�YLGHR�GHPRQVWUDWLRQ��<RX�OO�VHH�DFWXDO�EHQFKPDUNV�
RI�TXHULHV�XVLQJ�/LQX[��'%���DQG�:HE)2&86�WKDW�LOOXVWUDWH��
VXE�VHFRQG�TXHU\�UHVSRQVH�WLPHV�RQ�ZRUNORDGV�RQ�3RZHU�
KDUGZDUH�RI�DOO�VL]HV²HYHQ�ZKLOH�DGGLQJ�FRQFXUUHQW�XVHUV��
�ZZZ�LQIRUPDWLRQEXLOGHUV�FRP�ZI�OLQX[SRZHU���
WebFOCUS and Linux on PowerTwice as Fast, Twice as Powerful
Register for the IBM/Information Builders webinar in November�,%0�/LQX[�RQ�3RZHU�DQG�:HE)2&86�H[SHUWV�GLVFXVV�WKH�SRZHU�
DQG�LPSDFW�RI�WKH�EHQFKPDUNV�DQG�EXVLQHVV�DQDO\WLFV
KWWS���LEPV\VWHPVPDJ�ZHEH[�FRP
8 // NOVEMBER 2014 Linux on Power e-book
WebFOCUS iWay Software Omni
informationbuilders.comGet Social
Why us? We make software
solutions that empower all
your decision-makers…because
everyone makes decisions.
Highest user adoption
Lowest cost of ownership
Highest rate of
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Award-winning customer
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Business Intelligence and Analytics | Integration | Data Integrity
10 // NOVEMBER 2014 Linux on Power e-book
Linux on Power e-book NOVEMBER 2014 // 11
As data gets bigger and
information becomes more
widely available, businesses
are tapping into the power
of open innovation. In response, IBM
continues to make strategic investments
in open technology, including its
announcement last year of a $1 billion
investment in Linux*, aimed to help
clients capitalize on big data and cloud
computing. The release of the POWER8*
processor in June is another example.
One expert at the helm of these
efforts is Jeff Scheel, chief engineer for
Linux on Power*. Since joining IBM in
1992, Scheel has played a lead role in
advancing the company’s open-source
ecosystem. Today, he sets the technical
direction for current and future
investments in Linux on Power, keeping
a close eye on industry trends.
,%0�V�-HII�6FKHHO�RQ�WKH�IXWXUH�RI�/LQX[�RQ�3RZHU
BY EVE DANIELS
TAKEAWAY
r Keeping a close eye on industry trends, Jeff Scheel, chief engineer for Linux
on Power, plays a lead role in advancing IBM’s open-source ecosystem.
r Among the most exciting trends, OpenStack and Kernel-based Virtual
Machines are enabling cloud and virtualization to grow up together.
r IBM is developing new solutions based on the Coherent Accelerator Processor
Interface, which IBM recently made available to the OpenPOWER Foundation.
down through the virtualization level.
When all of these areas are common, the
expense of introducing new hardware is
as cheap as it gets.
4��:KLFK�WUHQGV�DUH�\RX�PRVW�H[FLWHG�DERXW"$� One of the most well-known
examples is the open-source and
specialized databases—whether it’s a
NoSQL, key value store or a traditional
database. There’s a whole set of these
new Linux applications that customers
are now using instead of the traditional,
proprietary databases. Many of these
niche databases are cheaper and faster
at their specific function.
The cloud environment is another
good example of an exciting trend.
OpenStack is driving huge interest,
whether we’re talking about large
service providers or traditional
enterprises. OpenStack and KVM
[Kernel-based Virtual Machine] are
enabling cloud and virtualization to
grow up together.
IBM has cloud images available to
open-source developers at Oregon State
and the Open Source Lab. We have
recently established and brought online
a similar setup in Brazil at UNICAMP,
and we’re continuing to explore other
opportunities in China and Europe. So
we are not only opening these cloud
images, but we’re also contributing
resources and providing boxes to key
developers to ensure that strategic
projects support Linux on Power.
4��&DQ�\RX�RXWOLQH�WKH�ELJJHVW�EHQHILWV�RI�32:(5��IRU�RSHQ�VRXUFH�GHYHORSHUV"$� First and foremost, we doubled
the number of hardware threads per
core in the processor. The POWER7*
processor had four hardware threads
per core. In POWER8, we have eight
hardware threads per core.
Of course, doubling the number of
hardware threads doesn’t necessarily
mean that you double the quantity of
work you can accomplish. So we’ve
also improved that single thread
performance, and we’ve introduced
a new technology called micro-
threading. Now we can split the core
and simultaneously dispatch up to
four different partitions across those
eight threads. This advancement gives
us increased virtualization density
on the core and will help our overall
virtualization strategy.
A second technology that’s being
exploited in Linux is transactional
memory. This is something the
industry has used for some time at the
software level, but now we’re seeing it
in the hardware, too.
In a transactional memory
environment, you go in and start
the activities on that specialized set
of memory, and when you end the
transaction, you’re told whether
anybody interfered with you. Support
for this kind of software is now in
POWER8 hardware, and we’ll continue
to optimize our software to exploit it.
We sat down with Scheel to discuss
a few of those trends, as well as learn
what IBM is doing to stay ahead of
the curve.
4��/HW�V�VWDUW�ZLWK�WKH�ELJ�SLFWXUH��:KDW�V�KDSSHQLQJ�ZLWKLQ�WKH�RSHQ�VRXUFH�ODQGVFDSH"$� The world has changed and
enterprise systems are changing with
it. The number of companies designing
and building their own servers is
increasing, as are the disruptive
forces behind these custom systems.
Software architects from large retailers,
government entities and many others
are finding ways to handle rapid
growth in big data and analytics-based
solutions. And it’s not just in the U.S.—
it’s worldwide.
When Linux originally came out,
there was a “me too” mentality in
the software. It was about things that
Microsoft and UNIX* could do as
well. But now we have this new set of
applications being developed on and
for Linux—whether it’s Hadoop, Redis,
Node.js or Docker—and businesses
are out designing their new solutions
around this next generation of software.
This is happening because of
open-source software. Developers
can innovate together on the same
code base with minimal effort.
Companies benefit because they can
run the same software on different
hardware platforms, not only from
the application level, but all the way
12 // NOVEMBER 2014 Linux on Power e-book
´0\�SHUVRQDO�EHOLHI�LV�WKDW�.90�LV�WKH�QH[W�JUHDW�RSSRUWXQLW\�SRLQW�IRU�
FRQVROLGDWLRQ�LQ�WKH�HQWHUSULVH�μ��³-HII�6FKHHO��FKLHI�HQJLQHHU�IRU�/LQX[�RQ�3RZHU
4 // NOVEMBER 2014 Linux on Power eBook
And the third feature is our Coherent
Accelerator Processor Interface
(CAPI). In this CAPI world, outboard
accelerators and processors can touch
and cache memory without specialized
programming constructs, simplifying
the programming model between the
system and the outboard accelerator.
It goes from being more of a device
driver-embedded model, where you
have to share memory very carefully, to
one where the processor takes care of
it for you.
Right now, IBM is developing new
solutions based on CAPI. Look for
these in the not-too-distant future.
What makes CAPI more exciting is
that IBM has also made it available to
the OpenPOWER Foundation. So the
opportunities for CAPI exploitation are
greatly expanded due to the involvement
of the foundation members.
4� 1HHGOHVV�WR�VD\��WKH�ZKROH�ZRUOGLVQ�W�RSHQ��:KHUH�GR�WKH�WKLUG�SDUW\�RU�FORVHG�DSSOLFDWLRQV�FRPHLQWR�SOD\"$� We’re focused on creating an
environment that interacts well with
pieces of third-party software. And
some great new products are coming to
market that are based on open. That’s
where we get things like our Power
Development Platform (cloud), which
enables third-party software providers
to get access to Linux images for their
development purposes. IBM provides
this access through PartnerWorld.
Through our university rela-
tionships, we’re also leveraging
Bountysource.com to incent porting of
various open-source libraries. Our goal is
to proactively pursue the porting of key
libraries before applications need them.
There are also the cases of enterprise
versions of open source where the line
is blurred, in a sense, between open
and closed. I’m referring to companies
like Opscode, which provides the
enterprise version of Chef, or Puppet
Labs, which provides the enterprise
version of Puppet. Both are DevOps
tools used in the cloud environment.
These companies are key to the next-
generation software ecosystem that we
are now witnessing.
4��7HOO�XV�PRUH�DERXW�.90��:K\�DOOWKH�IXVV"$� My personal belief is that KVM
is the next great opportunity point
for consolidation in the enterprise.
As Linux has been in the past, KVM
will be the next rallying point for
commonality.
Today, people run multiple hyper-
visors on different platforms—not
because they want to, but because they
have to. With the introduction of KVM
on Power we’ve made possible the
day when enterprises can deploy KVM
across all of those platforms using com-
mon software tools and technologies.
When this becomes standard, we
will have taken the enterprise solutions
with multiple hardware platforms to
the most affordable place possible—all
through open source. Then, companies
will be able to reap the benefits of each
hardware platform without paying the
expense of integrating a whole new
platform. That’s on the horizon, and it’s
fun to watch people get excited about it
and start to exploit it.
Eve Daniels is a Minneapolis-based
freelance writer.
IBM Systems Magazine, Power Systems edition, provides additional information about
many of the topics covered in this interview. To learn more, check out these articles:
1 The IBM POWER8 announcement, including coverage of CAPI and KVM:
IBM Team Announces POWER8 and Unveils a New Strategy
1 A more technical look at OpenStack: OpenStack Primer
1 A Power perspective on OpenPOWER: How IBM, Its Clients and Its New
Partners Stand to Benefit From OpenPOWER
Related Articles
14 // NOVEMBER 2014 Linux on Power e-bookLinux on Powerinux on Power eBookeBook
Watch Lisa Johnston, IBM VP of Power Systems Worldwide Marketing, talk
about IBM’s investments in Linux. Also, Mike Kowolenko of North Carolina
State University and Roxanne Reynolds-Lair of the Fashion Institute of
Design and Merchandising share how they use Linux in their environments.
9LGHR�([WUD
REACHExpand your
The benefits of
Linux on Power far
outweigh the barriers
to getting started
Linux on Power e-book NOVEMBER 2014 // 15
BY EVELYN HOOVER
As the popularity of Linux* running on Power*
technology continues to grow, IBM is working to further
expand the OS’s reach. While some clients are more
than willing to move workloads to open source, others
are reluctant. These clients cite various reasons behind the
decision to not try Linux on Power. But if clients examine the
details, they’ll see that their arguments aren’t supported by
facts, according to IBM.
As the person responsible for developing and evangelizing
the competitive advantages of IBM software solutions running
on Power Systems* servers, Ruviano Martinez, program director,
IBM Competitive Project Office, says his goal with Linux is to
make clients aware of the progress IBM
has made since Linux on Power was first
launched with POWER4* technology
more than 10 years ago. The recently
announced POWER8* Linux-only
systems—S812L, S822L and S824L—
further change the game.
Refuting Claims“I’ve heard all kinds of reasons clients
give to not try Linux on Power,”
Martinez says. “I’ve heard everything
from I will need to retrain my staff to
use Linux on Power, to I’m not sure my
applications will run the same way on
Power as they run on Intel* servers,
to running Linux on Power will be
too expensive.”
Cost is the most often cited reason
clients give. It’s also the easiest
argument to address, Martinez says,
pointing to the recent POWER8
announcement. The Power S822L, for
instance, a 3.4 GHz POWER8 processor
with 10 cores, costs about the same as
comparable x86 Linux servers.
“This means for the same price as
you can buy an x86 server, you could
buy a Power Systems server that only
runs Linux and gives you twice the
performance,” he explains. “So a client
will get a server that runs twice as fast
and gets twice the performance of an
x86 server, basically giving them a
savings of 50 percent in transaction
costs.” As a proof point, Martinez points
to a recent SAP benchmark, which
shows that Power provides two times as
many users per core.
In addition to the competitive
acquisition cost, Linux applications run
faster and are more secure on a Power
server than Intel servers, according to
Martinez. This allows IT organizations
to reduce their operational cost by
managing fewer servers. IBM regularly
runs internal test cases and conducts
benchmarks in the field demonstrating
the 2x performance gains that can be
achieved with Linux on Power.
The decision to run Linux on Power
technology instead of x86 becomes
even clearer if you examine the
differences in infrastructure. POWER8
servers boast faster chips, providing
twice the performance and four times
as many threads as x86. Running
Linux on this type of infrastructure
allows it to manage today’s demanding
workloads, he adds. The servers
also boast twice the amount of
cache memory, resulting in greater
I/O bandwidth.
Yet another differentiator between
Power and x86 servers can be found
in the Coherent Attached Processor
Interface (CAPI) that IBM introduced
this spring with POWER8 servers.
Martinez describes it as a high-speed
bus that lets devices attach directly
into the motherboard, in essence
creating a superhighway for vendors
to attach new accelerators, which
reduces the amount of I/O latency.
This provides faster response times
and allows other companies to bring
innovative new solutions to the market
more quickly.
16 // NOVEMBER 2014 Linux on Power e-book
“These new capabilities represent
radical changes in how open the
platform is today, making this a great
time to get reintroduced to what IBM
has been doing around Linux on
Power,” he adds.
All of these capabilities come
together in Linux on Power technology
to provide a more reliable and secure
infrastructure. “You take the best and
the proven capabilities on a Power
platform and then you add the Linux
operating system to it, which brings
in the openness with new innovation
capability on top and you really get the
best of both worlds,” Martinez notes.
Retraining staff who are familiar
with working on x86 Linux is also a
nonissue. Linux on Power technology
is the same Linux that many shops are
already comfortable running. “The
commands, the configuration settings
and everything that customers already
know about running Linux will apply
the same way when running on the
Power platform,” Martinez remarks.
Making the SwitchSome IT staffers and IT managers
might be interested in testing Linux
on Power technology but they need to
convince their executives that doing
so makes sense and that the open-
source OS isn’t a flash in the pan. To
help convince them, Martinez offers
the following:
1 IBM’s investment and commitment
in Linux extends across Power Systems
and System z* servers.
1 IBM has been running the OS
for years and offers more than 400
software products ranging from
DB2* to WebSphere* to InfoSphere*
BigInsights*, and many others that are
fully supported in a Linux environment.
IBM has donated more than 500
patents to the open-source community
to protect Linux from litigation.
TAKEAWAY
r IBM has made great strides since
Linux on Power was first launched
with POWER4* technology more
than 10 years ago, and the recently
announced POWER8* Linux-only
systems—S812L, S822L and
S824L—further change the game.
r Linux applications run faster and are
more secure on a Power server than
Intel servers.
r Making the move to Linux on Power
technology is relatively easy as several
free resources are available to help
ensure client success.
Linux on Power e-book NOVEMBER 2014 // 17
1 The company has more than
600 developers focused on making
Linux better for the community and
within IBM.
1 IBM is also a founding member of
the OpenPOWER Foundation.
When these facts come together, they
facilitate improved reliability, security
and performance for clients, he adds.
Linux has many customers across
multiple industries, including banking,
insurance and government. Clients
who use the OS like the fact that once
they develop applications, they can run
them on Linux anywhere.
Company size doesn’t matter with
regard to Linux success. “I find that
it’s the innovation and passion people
bring to it that really determine how
successful things become at the end of
the day,” Martinez adds.
For clients new to the OS, making
the move to Linux on Power
technology is relatively easy as well.
Several free resources are available to
help ensure client success, according
to Martinez. IBM, for example, offers
a wealth of resources and information
for developers and others, including
free applications, toolkits, migration
kits and services. If a company
is interested in a more bundled
approach, IBM provides software
developer toolkits that bundle tools
into Linux on Power.
Business partner resources are
handled via IBM PartnerWorld* and
include Power hardware that can be
used for development via the cloud.
IBM also provides free help for ISVs
to import their applications to Linux
on Power. Site Ox also lets users run
Linux applications on its service for
free on a trial basis.
Expanded OfferingsIn his role with the Competitive
Project Office, Martinez’s mission is
to perform competitive intelligence on
how products truly work in a client
environment. To get that intelligence,
he and his team meet with clients
regularly to understand their
technology issues.
They work with clients to harness
data and look at their scenarios
to see how IBM products stack up
to the competition. This can help
clients compare and contrast the
latest x86 servers against the Power
server. “It’s such an exciting time
“It’s such an exciting time with cloud, analytics, mobile
and social applications coming to fruition now, and
Linux is playing a big part of that in a major way.”
—Ruviano Martinez, program director,
IBM Competitive Project Office
with cloud, analytics, mobile and
social applications coming to fruition
now, and Linux is playing a big part
of that in a major way,” Martinez
explains. “In fact, the leading OS for
the OpenStack cloud community is
Linux. So all of this comes together at
a very opportune time to illustrate the
benefits of Linux on Power for
IBM clients.”
Evelyn Hoover is executive editor of IBM
Systems Magazine.
of detailed technical specifications for
its POWER8* processor—lets software
and hardware developers implement
and innovate using POWER8 technology.
Also announced were PowerKVM, the
Power Systems version of Kernel-based
Virtual Machines available on IBM’s
next-generation Power Systems servers
tuned for Linux, and the introduction of
Canonical’s Ubuntu Server for use on the
POWER8 system. These announcements
are part of a $1 billion investment
IBM made in September 2013 and a
larger push into the Linux market. This
news helps IBM and its clients stay
ahead of IT trends, says Adam Jollans,
program director for IBM’s cross-IBM
Linux strategy.
“When you look at the IT world, a
lot of the software that’s being used
for big data, the cloud and systems
of engagement is only available on
Linux. With these new developments,
Power Systems users are poised to
take advantage of the performance of
Power* technology with the flexibility
and functionality of Linux,” Jollans
explains. “In the end, building on open
source allows you to innovate really,
really quickly; to move fast in a fast-
moving market.”
Analysts were impressed with the
announcements, saying they give IBM
the capability to work with the leading
enterprise Linux distributions.
“At announcement, IBM had an
impressive roster of Linux [distribution]
partners including SUSE, Red Hat and
Ubuntu, which collectively account for
at least 90 percent of the commercial
Editor’s note: This article is reprinted
from the July 2014 issue of IBM Systems
Magazine, Power Systems edition.
If open source is the wave of the
future, IBM is fully suited up
and paddling out beyond the
breakers. The company this spring
made a series of announcements
and investments that put it at the
forefront of Linux* development and
use, giving existing and future clients
the capability to get more out of their
current Power Systems* investments
and migrate their existing Linux on x86
to a more substantial platform.
A Deluge of AvailabilityThe most recent announcement— new
Power Systems servers and the release
18 // NOVEMBER 2014 Linux on Power e-book
The Wave of the
FUTURE
I B M f l o o d s t h e L i n u x m a r ke t w i t h o p t i o n sBY KAREN J. BANNAN
Linux market,” wrote Richard Fichera,
VP and principal analyst at Forrester
Research (bit.ly/1mSqgKX).
“With claims of ‘nearly 100 percent’
compatibility for interpretive languages
(Java*, PHP, Python, etc.) and easy
recompile of C/C++, IBM is making an
aggressive play for Linux workloads.”
Proof Is in the PowerIBM’s newest additions to the Power
line include five new Power Systems
S-Class servers based on POWER8
technology—the first of their kind.
Two of the five, the Power Systems
S812L and S822L servers, run
Linux exclusively. The other three,
Power Systems S814, S822 and S824
servers, can run multiple operating
systems, including Linux, AIX*
and IBM i.
Also added to the Power Systems
solutions line were IBM BLU
Acceleration Solution, IBM Solution for
Analytics and IBM Solution for Hadoop.
These offerings make the most of the
POWER8 processor, which can analyze
data 82 times faster than an x86-based
server, according to IBM tests. The chip
itself has 12 cores per die and 8 threads
per core for a total of 96 threads per
socket. This lets users get quick insights
on both structured and unstructured
data. And each server is designed to
meet a specific need. IBM Solution
for Analytics, for instance, handles
analytical, computational and cognitive
workloads through integration with
Cognos*, SPSS* and DB2* with
BLU Acceleration.
One main benefit of the POWER8 chip,
according to Jollans, is that it provides
a high degree of multithreading,
cache memory and data bandwidth,
which plays well with Linux and its
capabilities. “Big data can be brought in
and processed very fast—much, much
faster than you could before. You can
also get far higher utilization. Combined,
Linux on Power e-book NOVEMBER 2014 // 19
this means more value for your money,
and therefore, more cost-effective
infrastructure,” he explains.
The architecture of the chip enables
direct attach to DRAM, significantly
reducing the amount of processing
time necessary to start an operation
and also reduces the DRAM
required to hold data in
OS memory. This reduces
latency, according to Jollans.
POWER8 technology meets
the expectations of the
industry—a chip that’s faster
with more cores, threads,
cache and I/O. But the real
stunner is the new Coherent
Accelerator Processor
Interface (CAPI). This open
interconnect will let system
engineers attach accelerators
and I/O resources that will
provide impressive results
and significant advantages in big data
operations, Jollans says.
Indeed, at the event announcing
POWER8 technology, Doug Balog,
general manager, Power Systems,
equated the new processor with
a superhighway, saying the open
interface allows accelerators to attach
to the system, presenting a shared
virtual memory space for applications.
The chip performance coupled with
Linux and its always-evolving kernel
means there will be more innovation,
which can lead to a serious
competitive advantage for users.
Real World, Real FastWhile IBM’s new servers and solutions
are impressive, end users
will also benefit from the
company’s decision to make
the technical specifications
for the POWER8 processor
available to developers for
customized server System-
on-Chip development.
OpenPOWER Foundation
work allows for innovation
around the POWER8
chipset and has already
led to third-party software
development. The net result
will be improved data center
efficiency and capabilities.
Google, one of the founding partners
in the OpenPOWER Foundation,
is already taking advantage of the
availability of the specifications. Soon
after the April 24 announcement,
Gordon MacKean, a senior director
at Google, showed off a server board
built around POWER8. MacKean,
who is also the chairman of the
OpenPOWER Foundation, posted the
photo of the board to his Google+
TAKEAWAY
r IBM’s latest POWER8 and Linux announcements give existing and future clients the
capability to get more out of their Power Systems investments.
r The POWER8 chip provides a high degree of multithreading, cache memory and data
bandwidth, which plays well with Linux and new workloads.
r Sharing POWER8 technology with the OpenPOWER Foundation has already led to
breakthrough technology from Google and other members.
r CIOs won’t struggle to find talent because they’ll be able to tap students just coming out of
school as well as existing IT staffers already skilled in UNIX.
The POWER8 chip has
12 cores per die
and
8 threads per core
for a total of
96 threads per
socket
™
page (bit.ly/T6Quwm), writing, “We’re
always looking to deliver the highest
quality of service for our users, and so
we built this server to port our software
stack to Power. A real server platform
is also critical for detailed performance
measurements and continuous
optimizations, and to integrate and
test the ongoing advances that become
available through OpenPOWER and the
extended OpenPOWER community.”
While MacKean didn’t post details
about which OS or applications the
board might run, given Google’s
extensive use of Linux in its data
centers, it’s likely that it will be
running a version of the new POWER8
technology-compatible Linux. This
capability to use Linux
on POWER8 technology
is especially important to
organizations like Google,
says Brian Warner, director
of client services at the Linux
Foundation.
“Everyone is realizing that
cost is one of the bigger factors
for the increasing use of Linux
in the cloud, but the second
factor is the unbelievable
pace of innovation in the Linux kernel.
When you listen to [Linux Foundation
executive director] Jim Zemlin say
there are nine changes an hour in
the kernel—and that’s every hour,
365 days a year—that’s an incredible
statistic,” he explains. “If you look at
how innovation happens, we’ve shown
that collaboration is the best way to get
things done and it produces the best
results. Opening [POWER8 technology]
up and creating something that allows
people to grow the ecosystem and
create good products—it’s just good for
the industry as a whole.”
Some companies are already reaping
the benefits of Linux on Power Systems
servers. Retailer Bon-Ton, which
reported nearly $30 billion in revenue
in 2013, had been running Linux on
x86 servers. The infrastructure included
about 1,000 x86 virtual machines
that ran the company’s e-commerce
platform. In previous years, server
consumption had been as high as 96
percent, so the company was looking to
raise capacity without raising software
costs. Last holiday season—using
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server on the
IBM Power architecture— capacity
utilization peaked at 50 percent.
Bon-Ton is a good example of a
company that moved from x86 to Linux
on Power, and shows what companies
can do if they’re running Linux on
existing, older infrastructure and need
more performance or capacity, Jollans
says. “There is a pent-up
demand from people who are
already using Linux but want
to do Linux bigger, faster and
better,” he explains. “They
want to do big data analytics.
They want to do cloud.
They want to do systems of
engagement such as mobile
and social—and they want
it to be as ultra-reliable,
responsive and low cost as
possible, but they can’t on their existing
hardware. Those are the demands that
Linux on Power is going to be able
to meet.”
Jollans also points to the need for
high-level security for anything running
in the cloud, which Linux on Power
makes available. “When you’re running
in the cloud and sharing space with
other people, you want to be absolutely
sure your data is secure. You’re typically
running encryption and decryption and
you need to do those things on the fly
very fast, and again, that’s where Power
comes in.”
Karen J. Bannan is a veteran writer and
editor with a wide range of publishing
experience.
W
Who Will Run Linux on Power?Everyone.
POWER8 can analyze data
82x faster than an
x86 server
™
20 // NOVEMBER 2014 Linux on Power e-book