6947ch01.fm Draft Document for Review April 7, 2004 6:15 pm
18 IBM eServer zSeries 990 Technical Guide
http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/zseries/library/swpriceinfo
1.3.14 Reliability, Availability, Serviceability (RAS)
The z990 RAS strategy is a building-block approach developed to meet the customer's
stringent requirements of achieving Continuous Reliable Operation (CRO). Those building
blocks are: Error Prevention, Error Detection, Recovery, Problem Determination, Service
Structure, Change Management, and Measurement and Analysis.
The initial focus is on preventing failures from occurring in the first place. This is usually
accomplished, for technology, by using “Hi-Rel” (highest reliability) components from our
technology suppliers, using screening, sorting, burn-in, run-in, and by taking advantage of
technology integration. For Licensed Internal Code (LIC) and hardware design, failures are
eliminated through rigorous design rules, design walk-throughs, peer reviews,
element/subsystem/system simulation, and extensive engineering and manufacturing testing.
The z990 RAS strategy is focused on recovery design necessary to mask errors and make
them “transparent” to customer operations. There is extensive hardware recovery design
implemented to be able to detect and correct array faults. In cases where total transparency
cannot be achieved, the capability exists for the customer to restart the server with the
maximum possible capacity.
1.3.15 Software
By supporting the Application Framework for e-business and Linux on zSeries, IBM provides
organizations with the choices and flexibility needed to develop a robust infrastructure that
provides the end-to-end qualities of service, speed of innovation, and affordability required for
successful e-business.
It also enables a higher degree of integration among the three classes of workload—data
transaction applications, Web applications and special function applications—that are the
basis of providing a seamless business transaction over the Web.
The result is an infrastructure that supports a more rapid move into advanced e-business, and
a better chance of recognizing a lasting competitive advantage.