Mainframes (MF) in the news again? Can it be or did I just wake up in 1980 all over again? It's true (the Mainframe part not 1980) that we are now looking backward for our future in virtualization and Cloud Computing using Linux as the delivery system. Mainframes have a 40-year history with virtualization--in fact, the IBM System z's z/VM is a Type-1 hypervisor--like VMware's ESX and Xen.

Something old and something new.

Melding the two disparate worlds of Mainframes and Linux is an exciting undertaking. Linux is the Operating System new kid on the block with its x86 orientation and a unix filesystem and command structure. It's also the favorite of many who use virtualized infrastructure, including Cloud-based infrastructure. Linux is an essential part of Cloud Computing because of its cost, agility, customizability, and use in supercomputing.

What does this mean for you?

What it means is that you'll use the Cloud for applications, services, and possibly even your Desktop interface.

And it means that all the buzz, and worry, about Cloud Computing may be at an end. There's a lot of naysaying going on these days with techies and CEOs alike railing against Cloud Computing because of your lack of control--or more importantly--Security. The security question is no longer relavent since we're now talking Mainframes. Mainframes have the highest level of security of any system--and always have.

z/VM fully supports Linux as a Guest OS or image in MF-speak. Almost every service imaginable is available for Linux on z/VM and IBM is excited about it and is pouring time and resources into its continued development.

Does IBM know something the rest of us don't about Linux and Cloud Computing?

They did.

The word is out.