3 ms·

Same with some old IBM hardware: two CPUs were installed in each box, but if you bought only 1 CPU server other one is disabled via firmware.

OGWhales 4mo ago
Oh, they still do that with their new hardware. The machine comes with x amount of processor cores, but you can't use any of them without paying. How much you pay depends on the "MSUs" you agreed to, MSU being a proprietary measurement system by IBM. Other software you run is billed relative to your MSU tier. So, if you run z/OS then your cost will be higher if your machine has more MSUs. A weird quirk of this is that there is thing called "IFLs" (Integrated Facility for Linux) which, when I when I first heard of them, I thought was a separate processor designed for for linux. However, it is not. It is actually the same as the regular processors that run z/OS etc, the difference is that is is licensed exclusively for running Linux (or like z/VM to run linux counts too). The reason for this is to enable shops that want to run linux and needed extra horsepower to do so, but didn't want their z/OS bills to go up because they purchased more MSUs. So, despite buying more of the processor capacity within the mainframe, it doesn't count towards the "MSU" number that impacts the cost of various software because you are using with one type of software vs another type of software.
iririririr 4mo ago
intel/amd does that and nobody calls them out. ibm at least is upfront and less poluting as you can use the same device. Intel, after they burn the fuses, that cpu will always be an i3.
- loloquwowndueo 4mo ago
  Not the same thing. The equivalent is: buy an i5 but unless you pay a monthly fee, it only runs at an i3 speed.
  - iririririr 4mo ago
    my point is that you buy an i3, it's an i5 with features artificially turned off because they have to sells i3 to justify the higher model prices. so I'm saying it's even WORSE than being able to pay to upgrade. as it's more wasteful
    - blacklion 3mo ago
      Or it is low-grade crystal which cannot run on i5 speeds. Who knows.

OGWhales 4mo ago

Oh, they still do that with their new hardware. The machine comes with x amount of processor cores, but you can't use any of them without paying. How much you pay depends on the "MSUs" you agreed to, MSU being a proprietary measurement system by IBM. Other software you run is billed relative to your MSU tier. So, if you run z/OS then your cost will be higher if your machine has more MSUs. A weird quirk of this is that there is thing called "IFLs" (Integrated Facility for Linux) which, when I when I first heard of them, I thought was a separate processor designed for for linux. However, it is not. It is actually the same as the regular processors that run z/OS etc, the difference is that is is licensed exclusively for running Linux (or like z/VM to run linux counts too). The reason for this is to enable shops that want to run linux and needed extra horsepower to do so, but didn't want their z/OS bills to go up because they purchased more MSUs. So, despite buying more of the processor capacity within the mainframe, it doesn't count towards the "MSU" number that impacts the cost of various software because you are using with one type of software vs another type of software.

iririririr 4mo ago

intel/amd does that and nobody calls them out. ibm at least is upfront and less poluting as you can use the same device. Intel, after they burn the fuses, that cpu will always be an i3.

loloquwowndueo 4mo ago
Not the same thing. The equivalent is: buy an i5 but unless you pay a monthly fee, it only runs at an i3 speed.
- iririririr 4mo ago
  my point is that you buy an i3, it's an i5 with features artificially turned off because they have to sells i3 to justify the higher model prices. so I'm saying it's even WORSE than being able to pay to upgrade. as it's more wasteful
  - blacklion 3mo ago
    Or it is low-grade crystal which cannot run on i5 speeds. Who knows.