The Linux Executive Report from IBM
March 14, 2012
The Linux Executive Report from IBM: March 14, 2012. A monthly summary of important trends and market research, case studies and information about IBM's Linux initiatives of interest to senior management.
Linux News
IBM rolled out a set of offerings geared towards helping its business partners more tightly integrate with the IBM SmartCloud by helping to connect them with customers, create new applications and improve their cloud computing skills. Expected to grow to more than $214 billion by 2020, cloud computing has become a catalyst for capturing new business value through innovation, stronger customer relationships, and faster time to market while reducing cost and complexity.
IBM has announced a world-record 4-processor result on Linux on the two-tier SAP Sales and Distribution (SD) standard application benchmark. This new result was achieved on the IBM System x 3850 X5, running IBM DB2 9.7 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.2, and SAP enhancement package 4 for the SAP ERP application Release 6.0.
In a recent Virtualization@IBM guest blog, SUSE's Michael Miller writes about the release of SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 Service Pack 2: It's a big step forward for us at SUSE. This is the first major product update since we started operating as an independent business unit within The Attachmate Group. It's also a good indication of our commitment to the SUSE Linux Enterprise platform.
IBM captured the number one position as the leading server vendor in the fourth quarter of 2011 with 33.7% revenue market share, according to a new report from Gartner, Inc. For the full year of 2011, IBM had 30.5% revenue market share, 1.5% ahead of its nearest rival.
Open Invention Network (OIN) has expanded and updated the Linux System technologies covered by its protective network of royalty-free cross-licenses among hundreds of OIN licensees. More than 700 new software packages - including popular packages such as KVM, Git, OpenJDK, and WebKit - will now receive coverage. In addition, coverage for over 1,000 existing software packages has been updated.
IBM's Dan Frye writes about the evolution of KVM in his blog post: As virtualization becomes ubiquitous in enterprises, it's important to note that KVM in particular offers advantages that stem from its simple architecture. At its most basic, KVM is a feature added to Linux that allows Linux and other operating systems such as Windows to be virtualized - as opposed to a separate complete virtualized operating system à la the Xen model. This not only simplifies KVM, but allows KVM to leverage the world's largest and best development community (that's the Linux community in case you were confused...) instead of having to duplicate core operating system development work
Adam Jollans, program director, Cross-IBM Linux and Open Virtualization Strategy, hosted a panel discussion on open virtualization at Pulse 2012, a premiere IBM Software event held in Las Vegas earlier this month. In the past year, much has happened to KVM, from the formation of the Open Virtualization Alliance, to security certification and leadership performance benchmarks, to enterprise cloud adoption. Titled "Open Virtualization - Ready for Business," the panel discussion focused on the reasons open virtualization is now enterprise-ready.
Inside Linux at IBM
Inside IBM's Linux Partners
This one-hour webinar from the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization webinar series focuses on the benefits of virtualization, alternatives, and the value of KVM and Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization on IBM System x.
The Open Virtualization Alliance (OVA) recently presented an educational webinar: "Open Virtualization for Open Clouds." Access the replay on demand to hear industry experts outline how open virtualization drives innovation in cloud computing.