The Linux Executive Report from IBM
March 28, 2013
The Linux Executive Report from IBM: March 28, 2013. 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
IIBM announced that all of its cloud services and software will be based on an open cloud architecture in order to ensure that innovation in cloud computing is not hampered by locking businesses into proprietary islands of insecure and difficult-to-manage offerings. As the first step, IBM unveiled a new private cloud offering based on the open sourced OpenStack software that significantly speeds and simplifies managing an enterprise-grade cloud.
IDC has released a white paper, "KVM: Open Virtualization Becomes Enterprise Grade." IDC's Gary Chen writes that x86 server virtualization has quickly become a trusted, mainstream solution.
In a new post on the CloudPro website, Ian Murphy poses the question of whether it is time for KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) "to be given a fair shake." The open source hypervisor, which is available as part of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise and Canonical Ubuntu, has become a competitor to established products, including VMware's vSphere, Microsoft's Hyper-V and Citrix's Xen, Murphy observes. I
In a new blog, titled "KVM Goes to Work," Jean Staten Healy, Director, Worldwide Linux and Open Virtualization at IBM, looks at the key areas for KVM's growing strength in the enterprise: Over the past year, we have seen a marked shift in the conversation around KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine). Questions early on focused on whether the open source hypervisor could be trusted as an enterprise-grade virtualization solution. We think that question has been answered with a resounding "Yes, KVM is ready for business!" Most recently, we demonstrated with a first-ever virtualized x86 TPC-C benchmark result that even the most demanding and complex workloads can be virtualized - with KVM.
SUSE has received Common Criteria Certificates at Evaluation Assurance Level EAL4, augmented by ALC_FLR.3 (EAL4+) for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP2 including KVM virtualization and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for System z 11 SP2. The certifications show that commercial and government agencies with environments that demand proven security assurance can trust SUSE Linux Enterprise Server to handle sensitive information affordably with an internationally agreed-upon and widely adopted standard for security evaluation.
Inside Linux at IBM
IBM will kick off the 10th annual HPC Linux for Wall Street Conference with an opening keynote panel discussion titled, "Breaking through HPC Virtualization Barriers with KVM." The session will explain how KVM, built on the Linux kernel, has gained a foothold in the financial sector as an enterprise proven, cost-effective virtualization solution that maintains high performance scalability while running virtualized HPC and low-latency workloads
The 2013 IBM Systems Technical University is a four-day event designed for your technical and professional development. IBM can offer the expertise to help you tune your IT investment for the needs of your business today - and into the future.
A new video on YouTube spotlights North Carolina State University, one of the largest technical colleges in the Southeast. NCSU uses the PowerLinux platform to manage big data and IBM Content Analytic Studio on the cloud to develop a smarter computing environment that uses the appropriate technologies based on the questions they are trying to answer.
A wide-ranging assortment of case studies explaining how organizations have successfully implemented KVM for business advantage is available.
IBM hosts Linux on System z Executive Council meetings in locations across the United States to provide education on Linux on System z. Check back frequently for information about educational opportunities coming to a city near you. Information is also available about Live Virtual Classes for z/VM and Linux.
Computerworld's Open Business Conference (OSBC) will take place April 29-30 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco. As part of the conference, the Open Virtualization Alliance (OVA) will present a panel discussion on how far open virtualization has come since OSBC last year, where KVM solutions are being used today, and what's next for the OVA. The session, "Virtualization Opens Up: KVM, OpenStack and the Virtualization of Everything," is scheduled for Monday, April 29, at 3 pm.
A new article on the POWER IT Pro website looks at the benefits of PowerLinux and visualizes these in an infographic. "We're not sure why, but of all the Linux options available, IBM's PowerLinux set of solutions might be the most under-known Linux solution around, despite being the beating heart of Watson," writes Chris Maxcer.
Inside IBM's Linux Partners
The 2013 Red Hat Summit has announced its most robust agenda to date with 11 tracks and more hands-on labs than ever before. The ninth annual Red Hat Summit will be held June 11-14 at the Hynes Center in Boston.
The Linux Foundation 2013 event and co-located Linux training schedule includes Linux events worldwide and co-located Linux training opportunities, answering the global demand for technical Linux content, knowledge and collaboration. Go here for the complete list of 2013 events and training opportunities.
At Red Hat Summit in June, IBM identified three technologies which would play a major role in the next era of computing - open virtualization, big data and open cloud. Six months later, all three are having a major impact. In this presentation, progress in each of these areas is discussed - how IBM and Red Hat are delivering integrated solutions to solve real-world business problems through smarter computing.
A replay of "The Reality of x86 Virtualization: Hypervisor Diversity," a webcast presented by presented by Red Hat and IBM on October 11, is available for replay now - streaming and in downloadable MP4.
Registration opens April 1 for SUSECon, SUSE's annual global user conference. The event will be held November 12-15, 2013, at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.