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As somebody developing on z/OS, I feel for you, and I am not alone. It sucks not to be able to run those systems as a hobby. (Although I don't think the pricin
by js8 4y ago
As somebody developing on z/OS, I feel for you, and I am not alone. It sucks not to be able to run those systems as a hobby. (Although I don't think the pricing model is the culprit necessarily, companies are willing to pay a lot for the clouds too.)
The mainframes are also becoming more opaque as time goes on, IBM is less willing to publicly document OS and HW internals, and they are less customizable than they used to be. But that's the business trend, and life, I guess.
But yeah, the article reminded me of the new cache architecture on z16, where many processors can share their L2 caches to have a single coherent cache.
- naikrovek 4y ago> Although I don't think the pricing model is the culprit necessarily, companies are willing to pay a lot for the clouds too. yes, but that's a lot of small, cheap bits all put together. the minimum required to get going on the cloud is $0. with a mainframe, there is a minimum amount of hardware required and that amount of hardware costs 6-7 figures, USD$. > new cache architecture on z16, where many processors can share their L2 caches to have a single coherent cache. as a PC person my entire career, that is a mind-blowing thing to read. the interconnections required to make that perform well enough to be useful must be insane. I WANNA PLAY, DAMMIT lol
- js8 4y agohttps://www.anandtech.com/show/16924/did-ibm-just-preview-the-future-of-caches https://www.anandtech.com/show/16924/did-ibm-just-preview-th... I think if it works out, it will eventually come to PCs as well.
- naikrovek 4y agowell the z16 is out, so someone knows if the 40% performance improvement per core is true or not. if you were trying to dampen my enthusiasm for learning mainframe technology, you've failed, sir (or madam).
- icedchai 4y agoYou can run z/OS on the Hercules emulator. It is a violation of the license, however I doubt that will bother a hobbyist much. Here's someone's blog explaining how: https://famicoman.com/2018/06/28/emulating-a-z-os-mainframe-with-hercules/ https://famicoman.com/2018/06/28/emulating-a-z-os-mainframe-...
- naikrovek 4y agoyes, an old version of zOS that you can't download without a license, and I have zero idea how to even install the OS. I want something official, supported, and free or cheap to acquire and free to use for (at least) development.
- icedchai 4y agoUnderstood. I installed that old version a couple years ago. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to use it and the documentation I found wasn't the best, so I moved on to something else.
- nix23 4y ago>and I have zero idea how to even install the OS. You definitely lack motivation, maybe search for something else then Mainframes then? ;)
- naikrovek 4y agoI am speaking in the present tense, not future tense. I don't CURRENTLY know how to install z/OS. this says exactly nothing about the future or my motivation. I do have ADHD though, so motivation to do anything is often in short supply with the current Adderall shortage. sometimes I can hyper-focus on a thing if I am highly interested and this ability has both carried me through my career and held me back significantly. surface level knowledge is pretty easy. median expertise requires a good few days of hyperfocus. a few days (6 or less) is the most I get, so expert level knowledge is perpetually out of reach, even when I am very interested in the topic :( so I guess you've got a point. I am somewhat of a slave to this condition, and this is why it is an ADA-recognized disability.