Last updated on:
Sunday, July 06, 2008

Software

• Linux/390 Distributions
• Linux/390 Patches
• Hercules - An S/390 Hardware Emulator

Information

• Large numbers of links
• Linux/390 HOWTOs
• IBM's Linux/390 pages
• Distribution Contents
• IBM VM and Linux Resources
• Linux man pages
• Notes & Observations
• Top 10 reasons to run Linux on VM
• Linux/390 at Princeton University
• i/370 Port, aka Bigfoot
• linuxvm.org Archives

Community

• Community Members
• Linux-390 Listserv
• Linux/390 Presentations
• Linux/390 Subscribers
• Linux/390 Survey Results

News

• Enterprise Linux Today
• Linux Journal
• Linux Today
• Linux World
• Kernel Traffic

Fun

• Ubersoft
• User Friendly

Credits

• Cast of characters

Archives of linuxvm.org

08/01/2002 - Peter Webb reported a news article that said that "Copies of OpenSSH packages on popular download sites have been trojaned, developers have warned." The binary files had not been touched, but the source files had. In the ./configure file, commands had been added to compile and link a trojan that would contact a remote system on port 6667. This is typically the port used by IRC (Internet Relay Chat) servers. The OpenSSH developers have replaced the source files with the correct versions. The trojaned files were only available between July 30 and August 1 when it was discovered. If you downloaded OpenSSH source during that time period, you should get a new copy.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/26492.html
http://www.openssh.org/

08/01/2002 - Carsten Otte of IBM reported a fix for the IUCV driver for 2.4.7. It eliminates the initialization delay a number of people had been reported. David Kennedy of Linuxcare had initially patched this problem, and this fix is the official version of that from IBM. Fritz Elfert of IBM stated that David's fix introduced a problem on multi-CPU Linux/390 guests on VM that the IBM version avoids.
http://www.marist.edu/htbin/wlvtype?LINUX-VM.29229
http://www10.software.ibm.com/developerworks/opensource/linux390/current2_4_x-august2001.shtml#SBCRkernelsum7

08/01/2002 - Jerry Whitteridge asked how he could assign the right CNTL key on his Linux desktop to be the ENTER key while in x3270. He was used to that key being ENTER when logging onto his z/OS system with his Windows®-based 3270 emulator. Steve Ware and Paul Rogers offered two different ways of getting it done. Steve's suggestion was:

In .profile:

export KEYMAP=default

In .Xdefaults:

x3270.keymap.default: \
      <Key>Pause:     Clear()\n\
      <Key>Escape:    Reset()\n\
      <Key>Insert:    Insert()\n\
      <Key>Return:    Newline()\n\
      <Key>Control_R: Enter()\n\
      Ctrl<Key>End:   EraseEOF()\n\
      <Key>End:       FieldEnd()\n\
      <Key>Prior:     PF(7)\n\
      <Key>Next:      PF(8)\n\
      Shift<Key>F1:   PF(13)\n\
      Shift<Key>F2:   PF(14)\n\

etc.

!
! Let's make a few adjustments to the default x3270 keymap...
!
x3270.keymap.custom: \
        <Key>Insert:            ToggleInsert()\n\
        <Key>Next:              PF(8)\n\
        <Key>Prior:             PF(7)\n\
        <Key>Escape:            Reset()\n\
        <Key>Return:            Newline()\n\
        <Key>Control_R:         Enter()\n
!
! ... and tell x3270 to use our adjustments.
!
x3270.keymap:                   custom

08/05/2002 - Neale Ferguson reported that a new Redpaper was now available from IBM, "Linux on IBM zSeries and S/390: Server Consolidation with Linux for zSeries." According to the abstract of the paper, "This paper provides an introduction to server consolidation with Linux for zSeries. It covers the following areas:"

• The different types of consolidations, their pros and cons.
• Technical example of a server farm under z/VM, using sharing and cloning techniques.
• How to map a UNIX or Intel server farm to a Linux under z/VM environment.
• Example farms: File serving with Samba and Web serving with Apache.
• A brief introduction to TCO.

08/05/2002 - Jim Elliott posted the URL to an article about various companies and governments moving work to Linux. The German bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, and numerous US companies are mentioned.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techreviews/products/software/2002-08-04-linux_x.htm

08/07/2002 - Mark Post forwarded a pointer to a "companion piece" to the "Solaris-to-Linux porting guide" that IBM had previously published. This one is titled "Technical guide for porting applications from Solaris to Linux, version 1.0" and contains these major sections:

• Porting overview
• Porting guidelines
• Porting Procedures
• Comparing Linux and Solaris
• Some application development tools
• The Solaris make vs. the GNU make
• Options of the C compilers
• Linker invocation
• Solaris Thread Library (STL)
• System interfaces
• Support for interfaces and definitions
• Miscellaneous hints and tips
• Target Hardware Platforms

08/08/2002 - Gerhard Hiller of IBM reported the following update to the DeveloperWorks web site:

• s390-tools 1.1.3 with changes (replacing s390-tools 1.1.2 in the "May 2002 stream")
• An important restriction on tape-sharing

08/08/2002 - Mark Post reported an InfoWorld article about a series of IBM announcements regarding Linux and its use in the Small and Medium Business (SMB) sector.
http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/02/08/08/020808hnlinuxibm.xml

08/08/2002 - Neale Ferguson posted the link to an article on an O'Reilly and Associates web site that talks about CASE tools in general, and then about which ones are available for large system development in a Linux environment.
http://linux.oreillynet.com/pub/a/linux/2002/08/01/enterprise.html

08/09/2002 - Mike Grundy of IBM announced that Dynamic Probes version 3.6.3 has been released.
"Dynamic Probes is a generic and pervasive debugging facility that will operate under the most extreme software conditions such as debugging a deep rooted operating system problem in a live environment.

"Highlights of v3.6.3 include support for ppc, ppc64 and s390x architectures."
http://oss.software.ibm.com/developerworks/opensource/linux/projects/dprobes/

08/11/2002 - David Bond of Tachyon Software announced an HLASM-compatible assembler for Linux/390.
"The Tachyon Legacy Assembler is a new, free offering from Tachyon Software. It is a HLASM-compatible assembler that runs on mainframes and produces object code for IBM's z/OS, OS/390, TPF, VSE and VM/CMS operating systems. Currently, the free Tachyon Legacy Assembler only runs on Linux for S/390 and zSeries, but plans are to produce z/OS, OS/390 and MVS 3.8 versions."
http://www.marist.edu/htbin/wlvtype?LINUX-VM.29328
http://www.tachyonsoft.com/legacy.html

08/15/2002 - Dave Jones posted an IBM press release that talks about moving some of its internal "key applications" to Linux. Jim Elliott dug up the pointer to the offical press on the web.
http://ibm.com/press/prnews.nsf/jan/7FC8FFA0B51473A985256C150070E521

08/15/2002 - Neale Ferguson provided a link to a CNET article on Verizon and Air New Zealand moving to Linux. Air New Zealand is replacing a total of 300 Compaq servers with a z800. There was also some discussion of the mistakes made by Verizon in planning the transition.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-949913.html

08/16/2002 - Gerhard Hiller of IBM reported the following updates to the DeveloperWorks web site:

• kernel 2.4.17 timer patch with bug fix
• glibc 2.2.5 recommended patch with bug-fixes
• kernel 2.4.17 iucv patch with bug fix
• kernel 2.4.7 iucv patch with bug fix
• The 2002-08-16 recommended qeth modules contain the following changes since the 2002-06-17 recommended modules:
  • fixed a problem when using the "ip" tool (caused a hang on RedHat during shutdown)
  • added broadcast support for broadcast-enabled OSA Express adapters

08/20/2002 - Mike MacIsaac posted a link to a CNET story on the sale of Turbolinx to Software Research Associates, based in Japan.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-954573.html

08/20/2002 - In response to a query about finance applications that run on Linux/390, John Summerfield suggested sql-ledger, which is completely written in Perl.
http://www.sql-ledger.org/

08/21/2002 - After the umpteenth-thousandth inquiry, Jim Elliott was able to get the following statement out of Lotus regarding Domino on Linux/390:
"Linux on zSeries is a growing and strategically important platform within the IBM customer base. Lotus recognizes the increasing interest in utilizing Linux on zSeries as a platform for consolidating and managing Domino server infrastructure."

• Planned port of Domino 6 to Linux on zSeries, after Domino 6 z/OS Port, to begin Q1 2003
• Early adopter/beta program expected late Q1/Q2 of 2003
• Options available to customers in the interim
  • Domino for z/OS available today
  • Domino for Linux on Intel is available today

08/22/2002 - In a fit of whimsy, Rob van der Heij reported packaging a new RPM for Linux/390:
"I don't know yet whether it is useful, but purely out of deep respect respect for Sir Jim the Evangelist, I built the rpm package for Linux on S/390 ;-)"
http://www.jedi.claranet.fr/eliott/
ftp://iae.nl/pub/users/rvdheij/eliott-1.0-1.s390.rpm

08/23/2002-09/05/2002 - Thanks to the generosity of a large number of the presenters at SHARE 99, Mark Post was able to upload their presentations to the presentations page on this site.

Jay Maynard	The Hercules S/370, ESA/390, and z/Architecture Systems Emulator
David Bond	More than you ever wanted to know about GCC, GAS and ELF
David Bond	An Assembler Programmer's view of Linux for S/390 and z/Series
Dave Jones (by Stan H. King)	The Future of IBM S/390 Mainframe Small Platform Computing
Gordon W. Wolfe, Ph.D.	A Linux and/or VM Solution for Analyzing any Web Server Log
Phil Smith	Exploiting XEDIT
Jim Elliott	Linux on zSeries: What, Why, Where
Oliver Benke	Monitoring and Understanding Performance on Linux for zSeries & S/390
Jim Elliott	Managing Linux Using "Secret" Tools in z/ VM
John Sarsgard	IBM Linux Strategy: Executive Overview
Neale Ferguson	SCSI on Linux for zSeries - Early Experiences
Neale Ferguson	Linux for zSeries: Early Experiences with 64-bit Linux
Phil Smith	Open Source: Making a Business Case
Phil Smith	Managing Linux Under z/VM
Alex deVries	Addressing Cultural Barriers Faced When Deploying Linux on z/VM
Scott Ledbetter	Virtual Disk Architecture and the S/390 Linux Environment
Gordon W. Wolfe, Ph.D.	Managing a Penguin Farm on the VM Prairie
Martha McConaghy, Art Olbert, Doctor Robinson, Phil Smith, Rich Smrcina	Lessons Learned From Linux on z/VM (Roundtable)
Neale Ferguson	An Introductory Exploration for those wishing to understand the Linux Operating System Session 9351 Lab Workbook
Rich Smrcina	Linux in your Lap
Neale Ferguson	RPM 101 - The Red Hat Package Manager
Neale Ferguson (by Rick Troth)	Samba - just a quick look
Neale Ferguson	Linux 2.4 Changes and Enhancements

08/26/2002 - David Boyes announced the availability of a FAQ-O-Matic "FAQ list for VM, particularly for hosting Linux images." David also stated "I've populated it with a set of basic topics and questions that I've heard from various people. Over the next few days, I'll be adding lots of content (and a preview of the upcoming z/VM for Dummies book I just submitted to a couple of publishers), but others are welcome to submit topics and answers, which will be automatically included in the FAQ and credited to their original source. To submit items, you do need to register (and will be prompted to do so) but only to protect the FAQ from random spam twits."
http://sinenomine.net/node/view/10
http://www.marist.edu/htbin/wlvtype?LINUX-VM.29627

08/26/2002 - Sebastian Welton discovered a Computerworld article (in German) that seemed surprised at David Mastrobattista's comments during his session at SHARE 99. David pointed out that although Linux may be low or no cost, the system management tools and support contracts needed are not. Bob Lamerand dug up the English version of the article.
http://www.computerwoche.de/index.cfm?pageid=254&artid=39967
http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/os/linux/story/0,10801,73781,00.html

08/27/2002 - In response to a query for links for tuning VM and Linux, Kurt Acker recommended the IBM VM web site for general information, as well as two specific documents, "Linux Performance when running under VM," "z/VM Performance Version 4 Release 3.0," and Chapter 17 of the "Virtual Machine Resource Manager."
http://www.vm.ibm.com/perf/
http://www.vm.ibm.com/perf/tips/
http://www.vm.ibm.com/perf/tips/linuxper.html
http://www.vm.ibm.com/pubs/pdf/hcsi1a50.pdf

08/29/2002 - Michael Short reported an article from Enterprise Systems Journal that talked about how using Linux/390 for server consolidations can be cost effective, even though the hardware and software isn't cheap. The lead paragraph states "Mainframe shops aren't simply deploying Linux because it's free. In fact, Big Iron Linux adoption is succeeding in spite of the fact that Linux running on S/390 or zSeries is by no means an inexpensive proposition." The author also quoted Lionel Dyck directly.
http://www.esj.com/news/article.asp?EditorialsID=265

08/29/2002 - Phil Tully reported that "Oracle9i Database Enterprise Edition Release 2 for Linux/390 is available." The two files are 440,724,391 and 616,447,271 bytes in size (420MB and 588MB, respectively).
http://otn.oracle.com/software/content.html
http://www.marist.edu/htbin/wlvtype?LINUX-VM.29734

08/30/2002 - David Boyes reported that a copy of the original 1972 IBM VM/370 sales presentation had been unearthed, and was now available on the Sine Nomine web site. Harry Williams and Martha McConaghy of Marist College found it and lent it to David for copying. David finished his post by commenting "It's interesting in that pretty much everything in this presentation is still true and accurate about VM. Not bad for turning 30, hmm?"
http://www.marist.edu/htbin/wlvtype?LINUX-VM.29771
http://sinenomine.net/photo.php?dir=photos/vm370&prefix=vm370

08/30/2002 - In response to a query about the availability of a Linux/390 distribution that was in the form of a VM DDR minidisk backup on tape, Pat Abruzzese mentioned that Velocity Software had distributed something very much like that in the past to people who had requested it. Mark Post also replied, stating that a company named Information Technology Company has a for-cost program that does it also.
http://www.marist.edu/htbin/wlvtype?LINUX-VM.29774
http://www.marist.edu/htbin/wlvtype?LINUX-VM.29766
http://www.p390.com/linux.html

08/31/2002 - Motohiro Kanda announced that the "Mainframe OS compatible file system and Hitachi hardware patch for kernel 2.4.7 is now available." He also mentioned that the patches were against the stock Linux 2.4.7 with the latest IBM patches for S/390. There were some questions as to exactly where to get the patch, since the web site is mostly in Japanese. Mark Post did some poking around and provided a more direct link.
http://www.hitachi.co.jp/Prod/comp/soft1/linux_m/detail24.html
http://www.hitachi.co.jp/Prod/comp/soft1/linux_m/gpl/software/linux-2.4.7-ap-1.0.diff.tar.gz