Talk:Integrated Facility for Linux

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Hardware, software, or what?[edit]

It's not clear to me what sort of thing an Integrated Facility for Linux is. Is it hardware, software, microcode, or what? The article says it "is an IBM mainframe processor" which to me means a piece of hardware, but that "IFLs are available for all IBM mainframes as far back as the G5" which makes it seem unlikely it's a CPU. So, what is it? Riordanmr 15:00, 31 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It's hardware; it's a CPU. It has no special technical function at all, simply a marketing one. The convention in the mainframe business is to charge for software (even piddly little utility software, not just big workload stuff) on a per-CPU basis. This makes adding a CPU to your mainframe very expensive; the price you pay to IBM is dwarfed by the increased (recurring, usually monthly) costs of the third-party software you already have - even if you don't make any more use of a lot of it because that particular bit of software wasn't CPU-bound in the first place. Crazy but true. The IFL (together with the zAAP and zIIP which are equivalents for Java and DB2 respectively) is IBM's way of allowing people to get more use out of their mainframes without paying extra for all their existing software. Because the special-purpose processors are prevented from running "traditional" work the existing software won't run on them, and therefore IBM has persuaded the vendors of that software not to count the IFLs etc as CPUs for licensing purposes.

"Ivory Server for z/Linux from GT Software, Inc.[1] provides IFL processor support. GT Software, Inc.[2] Ivory Server provides support for zIIP and zAAP in addition to the Integrated Facility for Linux support."

Why is there an advertisement embedded in this page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.206.229.92 (talk) 20:06, 25 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

this word are not clear[edit]

"Linux runs on general purpose processors (CPs) as well. IFLs simply cost less"

if Linux runs on it normally why they make IFLs .."cost less" how is that..is softwares will not need more code to compatibly with z10 systems.

i have to mention the article not Show if the z10 are RISC or CISC machine .

41.252.35.206 (talk) 19:27, 25 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]