IT Infrastructure - eWeek

IT Infrastructure: Big Iron Mainframes Versus x86 Servers: What You Need to Know


IBM in recent years has seen an upswing in interest in its Series z mainframes, and Big Blue, along with other vendors such as Unisys, CA and BMC Software, is ramping up its investment in mainframe technologies. At the same time, other OEMs, such as Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard and Dell, are promoting a vision in which data centers are populated by a host of smaller, highly virtualized servers that are more tightly integrated with storage, networking and management resources. Industry observers, who once saw the mainframe as a dinosaur, now concede that big iron is going to stick around and IBM has worked hard to keep it relevant. However, with advancements in chip technologies from Intel and AMD; greater virtualization capabilities; and new performance and efficiency features from HP, Dell and others, highly networked x86 servers are able to take on increasingly large and complex workloads. Here are five arguments each for distributed and mainframe environments, thanks to IBM and HP. While not a definitive list, each covers a lot of ground.
 
  • Big Iron Mainframes Versus x86 Servers: What You Need to Know
    by Jeffrey Burt
  • Five Advantages of Distributed Environments
  • Acquisition Costs
    Some low-end x86 servers can be had for a few thousand dollars; a basic configuration of a Dell PowerEdge R805 starts at just under $2,000. Mainframes can run into the millions of dollars, though IBM has been driving down the prices of some of its machines.
  • Operational Costs
    Blade servers, such as HP's ProLiant BL 460c G6, cost less than traditional rack, tower and mainframe systems; use 20 to 30 percent less power and cooling; and are easier to manage, according to HP officials.
  • Infrastructure as a Supply Chain
    A distributed model lets companies respond to business needs in a matter of minutes, rather than weeks or months. Services can quickly be requested by users, and the infrastructure can quickly provision them and make them available.
  • Expertise
    While IBM, CA and others have been aggressive in recent years in attracting younger programmers to the mainframe platform, many mainframe professionals are older and nearing retirement age, and the bulk of students coming out of colleges have cut their teeth on new computing models.
  • Data Center Convergence
    HP and Cisco are among the leaders in converging server, storage, networking and management software, through their all-in-one systems, the BladeSystem Matrix and UCS (pictured), respectively. Using the Matrix, HP estimates that businesses can save about 80 percent in operational costs, realize payback in eight months and see ROI in three years of more than 300 percent.
  • Five Advantages of a Mainframe Environment
  • Security
    IBM has built numerous security features into its Series z mainframes and the accompanying software apps. For example, a hardware device called a Cryptographic Coprocessor ensures that sensitive information—such as credit card information, addresses and Social Security numbers—can be accessed only by authorized users. If tampered with, the device actually self-destructs.
  • Resiliency
    Mainframes and IBM's z/OS are built to stay up and running, even during planned and unplanned outages, firmware updates, and natural or man-made disasters.
  • Dynamic Capacity Management
    IBM's mainframes can add workloads to their systems—or remove workloads—at a moment's notice.
  • Server Consolidation
    About the size of a refrigerator, the z10 Enterprise Class system can replace up to 1,500 x86 servers with an 85 percent smaller footprint and up to 85 percent lower energy costs, according to IBM.
  • Data Management
    Businesses can use System z mainframes as centralized databases and avoid the data replication required with distributed systems, which create further data verification challenges.
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