S/390 Software Strategy

New Tasks, New Tools

Businesses are looking for ways to reduce time to market, boost customer satisfaction and operate globally. To remain competitive, they have to lower their costs and use fewer resources.

They look to Information Technology to help implement re-engineering, support new business strategies and to support delivery of new products and services to tap emerging markets.

Their Information Technology organizations need new tools for these new tasks--tools that can exploit information assets, deliver more applications to more users more quickly and integrate the applications into secure, global, multivendor networks.

OS/390: The Transformation

Two years ago, IBM began transforming S/390 by introducing Parallel Servers. Based on innovative CMOS technology, these parallel systems are smaller in size and larger in capacity than their predecessors and deliver proven performance at lower cost.

Now, IBM continues the transformation with new open server software for S/390. OS/390, IBM's internal name, is the first product in the next generation of S/390 server operating systems. OS/390 will be attractive to customers who are currently using MVS. IBM is working to develop comparable plans to meet the needs of VM and VSE customers. These new systems will extend S/390's architecture to provide the enterprise-wide client/server infrastructures and tools that businesses need for fast, flexible deployment of new applications.

OS/390 marries advanced technology with flexibility that can keep pace with business changes. At the same time, it retains the traditional strengths of MVS/ESA, an operating system that for years has been the backbone of high-end computing operations.

"This should make re-engineering our business easier and reduce the complexity of managing our system." Chester Hood, Ingram Distribution Group Inc.

Server System

OS/390 evolves the MVS operating system into a complete, network-ready, integrated operational server environment. OS/390 has all the classic strengths of MVS. It supports massive transaction volumes and large numbers of users with high performance. Built in are the hallmarks of IBM's traditional enterprise operating systems, such as advanced system and network management, 24-hour-a-day availability, security and scalability.

As a modern server system, OS/390 delivers advanced functions that multi-vendor enterprise-wide networks need. OS/390 is based on open industry standards, provides integrated client/server functions, and supports UNIX applications and SOMobjects for object enablement.

IBM's approach to open, distributed computing is the Open Blueprint, the architecture that connects different platforms through common services. The Open Blueprint is OS/390's roadmap that will allow users, applications and systems to work together with other IBM platforms and with products from leading vendors.

OS/390 will include all the functions needed to support the X/Open Single UNIX specification. It supports Distributed Computing Environment (DCE), the Open Software Foundation's (OSF) distributed file server, along with other functions for open, distributed computing.

With OS/390's UNIX functions, developers can use off-the-shelf packages, develop UNIX applications, or port them from other UNIX environments. And because UNIX applications integrate with OS/390, resources such as DASD, processing power, networks and peripherals are scalable.

"Good direction. This is the future of the new, modular, object-oriented approach to software engineering." Steve Davidson, National Westminster Bank

An Integrated Solution

Many of these advanced features were introduced in earlier MVS/ESA releases. Now more than 25 products and features have been integrated into a single, pre-tested system.

Customers will find the migration from MVS/ESA to OS/390 straightforward. They also will find the new operating system easier to install, test, and maintain. And, it takes less time to migrate operating systems software and applications to OS/390.

Once OS/390 is installed, it is easy to evaluate optional functions. New applications and services can get to the people who need them more quickly since IBM pre-tests all the optional functions and OS/390's base components for compatibility before delivery. Ordering, implementing, testing and maintenance becomes simpler as IBM adds new features and functions.

"Reducing our system maintenance is critical to growing our business." Rose Coste, USAA

A Simplified Approach

OS/390 utilizes a simplified approach:

The base server system
includes UNIX support, data access functions for distributed computing such as DCE and Distributed File Service application enablement and a communications server;

The latest enhancements of
features such as Parallel Sysplex support, and object-oriented programming;

A Set of optional, pre-tested and integrated
functions that come with OS/390, but can be evaluated in the customer's environment.

"Making the system easier to install and service is the right thing to do." Fred Hill, Rohm and Haas Company

The Communications Server

The communications server built into the base system is an integral element of OS/390's support for open, distributed, enterprise-wide computing. It has a wide variety of programming interfaces and commonly used wide-area network protocols, including TCP/IP, Systems Network Architecture (SNA) and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), a new high-speed, high-bandwidth technology.

OS/390's integrated communications server makes it possible for S/390 servers to manage and share information and transactions across a wide range of platforms and multivendor networks.

"With the OS/390 base communications server, IBM has positioned the MVS environment as the premier server for the enterprise. With IBM's stated direction for S/390, it is clear that it is the best choice for an organization's server needs, be they departmental or enterprise-wide. With OS/390, customers will realize the benefits of cost savings and increased service, while reducing the skill level required to support the environment." Dave MacSwain, Senior Vice President for Marketing and Technology at Software AG

Systems & Security Management

LAN Services, another integrated function of the OS/390 base system, extends S/390's strengths in data and systems management to an enterprise's workstations, whether the operating system they use is OS/2, DOS, Windows, Macintosh, UNIX or AIX.

With OS/390's built-in security features, all the systems in the network can be protected from unauthorized access. S/390 systems-managed storage, automatic backup and flexible recovery procedures assure data integrity.

Open Server for the Future

Balancing a multivendor computing environment is one of the most challenging issues that face businesses today. OS/390 makes it easy to process information throughout an enterprise. Its open systems features link IBM servers and systems with platforms from a wide range of vendors.

Enabling and Developing Applications: OS/390's base supports open processing, client/server applications, object-oriented technology, traditional runtime libraries and MVS/ESA applications.

With this rich set of functions, businesses can run their traditional S/390 applications, LAN applications and access the UNIX application portfolio via OS/390's Unix-based and DCE-based functions. An enterprise's UNIX programmers can deploy, port or write applications for OS/390 with minimal MVS/ESA training. In the future, OS/390 will apply for Open UNIX branding. OS/390 Release 2 will include this support.

"Candle views this new offering and the benefits customers will derive from it as important steps toward further lowering the overall cost and complexity of installing and running S/390 applications." Aubrey Chernick, Candle Corporation's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Faster Time to Market: One way to reduce the time it takes to deliver new applications and services, and to control costs is to cut the staff time needed to support the system. By integrating the functions from many products and features, OS/390 reduces the time the IT staff has to spend planning, installing, testing and maintaining a system. One customer estimated that OS/390 would save up to 65 days on installation related tasks alone. Freed from support tasks, the staff can devote more time to designing, building and tailoring mission-critical business applications.

"This is needed to allow our I/T professionals to spend more time deploying new business applications to our mainframe." Jeff Grigg, Bath Iron Works

Availability and Scalability: OS/390 combines S/390's acclaimed reliability and parallel processing's flexibility. The large-scale servers in the enterprise's network deliver increased power for high-transaction, high-volume workloads. With parallel processing, work can be distributed dynamically to any available processor. This combination improves response time and throughput and provides mission critical application availability 24 hours a day.

The Total Cost of Computing

OS/390 is another major step in reducing customer's Total Cost of Computing. It goes beyond streamlining support costs, although it does that. OS/390 goes beyond enhancing end-user productivity and adding stability to open, distributed environments, although it does both.

In the final analysis, OS/390 delivers the advanced technology of a modern server operating system. In doing so, it makes the total cost of S/390 servers even more competitive with alternative solutions.

"OS/390 will simplify and streamline the migration to CMOS/parallel/sysplex systems and will free up highly valuable systems programming resources." Mike Bunyard, Sr., Director at Boole and Babbage

What is Ahead

OS/390 is the beginning of a major change in the way S/390 will deliver systems software. The transformation of IBM's base operating system for S/390 will be staged to support customers' plans to migrate to the new operating system. Because the integration won't require programming changes, customers investment in current applications and middleware will be protected.

IBM plans to deliver new releases of OS/390 about every six months. When a release becomes available, the content of the next release will be announced. This regular and predictable schedule will reduce disruptions and improve customer planning for new operating-system releases.

Future OS/390 releases will provide further extensions of open architecture, parallel processing and client/server technology. Besides UNIX interfaces that support X/Open, IBM intends to provide extensions for distributed object-oriented technology (DSOM), quarterly service updates and a soft-copy publication printing function. IBM also intends to integrate functions beyond the operating system, such as databases and transaction management. Finally, OS/390 will be easier to implement with each new release.

In Summary. . .

OS/390 is the next step in the evolution of S/390 into an enterprise-wide server system. It transforms MVS into a server operating system with a full set of modern server functions. Because existing products and functions are integrated right into OS/390, the system is simpler to install, maintain and administer. As a result, S/390's total cost of computing compares favorably with that of other platforms. Not only does it support the broadest range of application environments in the computer industry, but OS/390 delivers all of the classic strengths businesses expect from an S/390 system.

"BMC Software welcomes the open, robust and scalable benefits offered through OS/390 and the opportunity to deliver new products that will exploit the OS/390 environment. We recognize that OS/390's advanced architecture will help customers capitalize on their existing investments in MVS and assist them in running their enterprise-wide computing environments more efficiently." Calvin Guidry, Director of Product Development

Trademarks

The following are trademarks of the IBM Corporation:

AIX*
DOS
MVS/ESA
OS/2*
Parallel Sysplex
S/390*
SOMobjects

The following are trademarks of other companies:

Macintosh - Apple Corporation
OSF - Open Software Foundation Inc.
UNIX - X/Open Company Ltd.
Windows - Microsoft Corporation

* IBM Registered Trademarks

System/390 Division
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