<s>
IBM	B-Device
System	I-Device
z9	I-Device
is	O
a	O
line	O
of	O
IBM	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
computers	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
also	O
marks	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
previously	O
used	O
eServer	B-Application
zSeries	O
naming	O
convention	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
the	O
last	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
computer	I-Architecture
that	O
NASA	O
ever	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
is	O
a	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
using	O
the	O
z/Architecture	B-Device
,	O
previously	O
known	O
as	O
ESAME	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
z/Architecture	B-Device
is	O
a	O
64-bit	B-Device
architecture	I-Device
which	O
replaces	O
the	O
previous	O
31-bit-addressing/32	O
-bit-data	O
ESA/390	O
architecture	O
while	O
remaining	O
completely	O
compatible	O
with	O
it	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
older	O
24-bit-addressing/32	O
-bit-data	O
System/360	B-Application
architecture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
primary	O
advantage	O
of	O
this	O
arrangement	O
is	O
that	O
memory	O
intensive	O
applications	O
like	O
DB2	B-Application
are	O
no	O
longer	O
bounded	O
by	O
31-bit	O
memory	O
restrictions	O
while	O
older	O
applications	O
can	O
run	O
without	O
modifications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
announcement	O
of	O
the	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
Business	O
Class	O
server	O
,	O
IBM	O
has	O
renamed	O
the	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
109	O
as	O
the	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
Enterprise	O
Class	O
server	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
several	O
functional	O
enhancements	O
in	O
the	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
compared	O
to	O
its	O
zSeries	O
predecessors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Support	O
Element	O
is	O
the	O
most	O
direct	O
and	O
lowest	O
level	O
way	O
to	O
access	O
a	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
circumvents	O
even	O
the	O
Hardware	B-Device
Management	I-Device
Console	I-Device
and	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
running	O
on	O
the	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
HMC	O
is	O
a	O
PC	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
and	O
emulates	O
the	O
Support	O
Element	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
preceding	O
zSeries	O
mainframes	B-Architecture
used	O
a	O
modified	O
version	O
of	O
OS/2	B-Application
with	O
custom	O
software	O
to	O
provide	O
the	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
's	O
HMC	O
no	O
longer	O
uses	O
OS/2	B-Application
,	O
but	O
instead	O
uses	O
a	O
modified	O
version	O
of	O
Linux	B-Application
with	O
an	O
OS/2	B-Application
lookalike	O
interface	O
to	O
ease	O
transition	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
new	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
previous	O
HMC	O
application	O
on	O
OS/2	B-Application
,	O
the	O
new	O
HMC	O
is	O
web-based	O
which	O
means	O
that	O
even	O
local	O
access	O
is	O
done	O
via	O
a	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Remote	O
HMC	O
access	O
is	O
available	O
,	O
although	O
only	O
over	O
an	O
SSL	B-Protocol
encrypted	O
HTTP	B-Protocol
connection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
refers	O
to	O
the	O
new	O
HMC	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
closed	O
platform	O
"	O
which	O
does	O
not	O
allow	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
install	O
software	O
or	O
access	O
the	O
command	B-Application
line	I-Application
interface	I-Application
to	O
increase	O
security	O
and	O
stability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Program	O
Directed	O
Re-IPL	O
is	O
a	O
new	O
feature	O
for	O
Linux	B-Application
on	I-Application
System	I-Application
z9	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
allows	O
Linux	B-Application
systems	O
running	O
in	O
an	O
LPAR	B-Device
to	O
re-IPL	O
(	O
reboot	O
)	O
themselves	O
without	O
operator	O
intervention	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
accomplished	O
by	O
the	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
storing	O
the	O
device	O
and	O
load	O
parameters	O
used	O
to	O
initially	O
IPL	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DB2	B-Application
,	O
VSAM	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
data	O
storage	O
formats	O
achieve	O
greater	O
I/O	O
performance	O
thanks	O
to	O
a	O
new	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
feature	O
called	O
a	O
MIDAW	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
the	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
introduces	O
the	O
,	O
a	O
new	O
type	O
of	O
processor	O
that	O
accelerates	O
certain	O
specific	O
DB2	B-Application
tasks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modified	O
Indirect	O
Data	O
Address	O
Words	O
(	O
MIDAWs	O
)	O
are	O
a	O
channel	B-Device
programming	O
capability	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
System	I-Device
z9	I-Device
processor	O
range	O
,	O
and	O
all	O
subsequent	O
ranges	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MIDAW	O
facility	O
is	O
an	O
extension	O
to	O
the	O
pre-existing	O
Indirect	O
Data	O
Address	O
Word	O
(	O
IDAW	O
)	O
channel	B-Device
programming	O
capability	O
,	O
providing	O
support	O
for	O
more	O
efficient	O
FICON	B-Architecture
channel	B-Device
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MIDAWs	O
allow	O
ECKD	O
channel	B-Device
programs	O
to	O
read	O
and	O
write	O
to	O
many	O
storage	O
locations	O
using	O
one	O
channel	B-Device
command	O
,	O
which	O
means	O
fewer	O
signals	O
up	O
and	O
down	O
the	O
channel	B-Device
are	O
required	O
to	O
transfer	O
the	O
same	O
amount	O
of	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
reduction	O
is	O
particularly	O
noticeable	O
for	O
Extended	O
Format	O
data	B-Application
sets	I-Application
,	O
accessed	O
through	O
Media	O
Manager	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
include	O
Extended	O
Format	O
Sequential	O
data	B-Application
sets	I-Application
,	O
Extended	O
Format	O
VSAM	O
data	B-Application
sets	I-Application
and	O
certain	O
types	O
of	O
DB2	B-Application
tablespaces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
each	O
of	O
these	O
data	B-Application
set	I-Application
organizations	O
have	O
alternatives	O
,	O
each	O
has	O
a	O
distinct	O
set	O
of	O
advantages	O
,	O
whether	O
in	O
the	O
area	O
of	O
performance	O
,	O
space	O
saving	O
(	O
through	O
hardware-assisted	O
data	B-General_Concept
compression	I-General_Concept
)	O
,	O
or	O
scalability	O
(	O
by	O
allowing	O
an	O
individual	O
data	B-Application
set	I-Application
to	O
exceed	O
4	O
GiB	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Java	O
1.4	O
and	O
higher	O
support	O
both	O
32-bit	O
and	O
64-bit	B-Device
operation	O
on	O
z9	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
also	O
supports	O
the	O
zAAP	B-Language
processor	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
Java	O
workload	O
to	O
be	O
offloaded	O
from	O
the	O
normal	O
instruction	O
processors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Java	O
workloads	O
executed	O
by	O
the	O
zAAP	B-Language
processor	O
do	O
not	O
count	O
towards	O
the	O
IBM-rated	O
capacity	O
of	O
the	O
z9	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
zAAP	B-Language
also	O
enables	O
integration	O
of	O
new	O
Java	O
based	O
Web	O
applications	O
with	O
core	O
z/OS	B-Application
backend	O
database	O
environment	O
for	O
high	O
performance	O
,	O
reliability	O
,	O
availability	O
,	O
and	O
security	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
adds	O
128-Bit	O
Advanced	B-Algorithm
Encryption	I-Algorithm
Standard	I-Algorithm
(	O
AES	B-Algorithm
)	O
to	O
the	O
list	O
of	O
hardware-based	O
cryptographic	O
algorithms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
specialized	O
encryption	O
hardware	O
means	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
potentially	O
outperforms	O
other	O
platforms	O
which	O
must	O
rely	O
on	O
encryption	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
supports	O
up	O
to	O
60	O
LPARs	B-Device
,	O
up	O
from	O
the	O
previous	O
maximum	O
of	O
30	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
supports	O
twice	O
its	O
immediate	O
predecessors	O
 '	O
maximum	O
memory	O
configurations	O
:	O
now	O
up	O
to	O
512	O
GB	O
for	O
the	O
z9	O
EC	O
and	O
up	O
to	O
64	O
GB	O
for	O
the	O
z9	O
BC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
supports	O
nondisruptive	O
processor	O
and	O
memory	O
replacement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
means	O
a	O
technician	O
can	O
replace	O
an	O
entire	O
system	O
board	O
without	O
ending	O
any	O
applications	O
and	O
without	O
restarting	O
any	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
most	O
configurations	O
a	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
can	O
even	O
manage	O
this	O
feat	O
without	O
any	O
reduction	O
in	O
performance	O
or	O
capacity	O
for	O
the	O
running	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2006	O
,	O
IBM	O
added	O
4	O
Gigabit	O
FICON	B-Architecture
and	O
FCP	O
support	O
to	O
the	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
for	O
faster	O
I/O	O
to	O
storage	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
also	O
added	O
a	O
lower	O
cost	O
2-port	O
4	O
Gbit	O
FICON/FCP	O
I/O	O
adapter	O
to	O
the	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
option	O
list	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
the	O
first	O
time	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
processors	O
now	O
allow	O
small	O
,	O
smooth	O
steps	O
through	O
the	O
entire	O
processor	O
range	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Available	O
with	O
z/OS	B-Application
Release	O
8	O
,	O
Group	O
Capacity	O
Limits	O
allows	O
an	O
installation	O
to	O
define	O
a	O
group	O
of	O
LPARs	B-Device
within	O
a	O
single	O
z9	O
or	O
z10	O
machine	O
whose	O
capacity	O
usage	O
can	O
be	O
limited	O
to	O
a	O
specific	O
number	O
of	O
MSUs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
group	O
need	O
not	O
necessarily	O
be	O
the	O
same	O
as	O
an	O
LPAR	B-Device
Cluster	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LPARs	B-Device
can	O
participate	O
whether	O
they	O
are	O
in	O
a	O
sysplex	O
or	O
not	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
previous	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
generations	O
(	O
including	O
the	O
predecessor	O
zSeries	O
z990	O
)	O
supported	O
specialty	O
processors	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
zAAPs	B-Language
and	O
ICFs	O
,	O
these	O
were	O
all	O
managed	O
by	O
PR/SM	B-Device
out	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
processor	O
pool	O
(	O
Pool	O
2	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IBM	B-Device
System	I-Device
z9	I-Device
EC	O
introduced	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
separate	O
pools	O
for	O
different	O
types	O
of	O
specialty	O
processor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
z9	O
(	O
and	O
IBM	B-Device
System	I-Device
z10	I-Device
)	O
the	O
following	O
pools	O
are	O
defined	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
Enterprise	O
Class	O
server	O
,	O
formerly	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
109	O
,	O
was	O
the	O
flagship	O
of	O
the	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
series	O
until	O
the	O
announcement	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
System	I-Device
z10	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
EC	O
is	O
available	O
in	O
five	O
hardware	O
model	O
configurations	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
April	O
27	O
,	O
2006	O
,	O
IBM	O
announced	O
the	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
Business	O
Class	O
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
z9	O
BC	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
successor	O
to	O
the	O
zSeries	O
z890	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
z9	O
BC	O
can	O
provide	O
general	O
purpose	O
central	O
processors	O
(	O
CPs	O
)	O
,	O
IBM	O
is	O
actively	O
marketing	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
low	O
cost	O
specialty	O
processors	O
such	O
as	O
IFLs	O
,	O
zAAPs	B-Language
,	O
and	O
the	O
new	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
BC	O
is	O
available	O
in	O
two	O
hardware	O
model	O
configurations	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
seven	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
hardware	O
configurations	O
support	O
scores	O
of	O
software	O
model	O
configurations	O
:	O
2094-401	O
through	O
2094-754	O
for	O
the	O
EC	O
and	O
2096-A01	O
through	O
2096-Z04	O
for	O
the	O
BC	O
(	O
plus	O
IFL-only	O
models	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
acquisition	O
price	O
for	O
the	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
ranges	O
from	O
"	O
about	O
$	O
100,000	O
"	O
(	O
IBM	O
reported	O
U.S.	O
2006	O
price	O
,	O
2096-A01	O
model	O
)	O
to	O
millions	O
of	O
dollars	O
for	O
the	O
2094-S54	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
comparison	O
,	O
when	O
new	O
,	O
the	O
zSeries	O
z890	O
had	O
a	O
starting	O
price	O
about	O
twice	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
BC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2008	O
,	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
System	I-Device
z10	I-Device
Enterprise	O
Class	O
was	O
announced	O
(	O
and	O
later	O
in	O
2008	O
the	O
z10	O
Business	O
Class	O
(	O
BC	O
)	O
was	O
announced	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
