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Linux Distribution Partners
• SUSE LINUX

Product Information at suse.de/en/produkte/susesoft/S390/

• Turbolinux

Product Information at turbolinux.com/products/s390

• Red Hat Linux

Product Information at redhat.com/software/S390

z/VM Version 4 and Version 5
z/VM supports Linux on the mainframe. Within the VM
environment, Linux images benefi t from the ability to
share hardware and software resources and use internal
high-speed communications. While benefi ting from the
reliability, availability and serviceability of IBM ^
zSeries servers, both z/VM V4 and V5 offer an ideal plat-
form for consolidating Linux workloads on a single physi-
cal server which allows you to run tens to hundreds of
Linux images. z/VM V4 is priced on a per-engine basis
(one-time charge) and supports IBM Integrated Facility for
Linux (IFL) processor features for Linux based workloads,
as well as standard engines for all other zSeries and S/390
workloads. Engine-based Value Unit pricing for z/VM V5.1
is replacing the pricing model available with z/VM V4.
Engine-based Value Unit pricing is designed to provide a
lower entry point and a decreasing price curve which will
help provide improved price/performance as hardware
capacities and workload grow. Value Unit pricing helps
you to add capacity and workload with an incremental
and improved price and the ability to aggregate licenses
acquired across machines that are part of your enterprise.
Integrated Facility for Linux (IFL)
The Integrated Facility for Linux feature of the zSeries serv-
ers provides a way to add processing capacity, exclusively
for Linux workloads, with minimal effect on the model des-
ignation. Operating systems like z/OS, TPF, and VSE/ESA
will not execute on Integrated Facility for Linux engines.
Consequently, these engines will not necessarily affect
the software charges for workload running on the other
engines in the system.
OSA-Express Ethernet for Linux
Driver support is provided for the functions of the new
OSA-Express Gigabit Ethernet and 1000BASE-T Ethernet
features.
OSA-Express Enhancements for Linux
A new function, Checksum Offl oad, offered for the new
OSA-Express GbE and 1000BASE-T Ethernet features,
is available for the Linux on zSeries and z/OS environ-
ments. Checksum Offl oad provides the capability of
calculating the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP),
User Datagram Protocol (UDP), and Internet Protocol (IP)
header checksums. Checksum verifi es the correctness of
fi les. By moving the checksum calculations to a Gigabit
or 1000BASE-T Ethernet feature, host CPU cycles are
reduced and performance is improved. When checksum
is offl oaded, the OSA-Express feature performs the check-
sum calculations for Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4)
packets.