IBM extends software leadership on Linux

IBM extends software leadership on Linux

Delivers Three Linux-Support Firsts, Breaks New Ground on the Mainframe

Dec 8, 2000: The announcement is IBM's latest initiative to support Linux throughout its portfolio of e-business software, servers and services and gives IBM the broadest database Linux support in the industry, from handheld devices to the mainframe.

The company is also delivering three Linux-support firsts, including:

The availability of DB2 Universal Database** for Linux on Intel-based clusters;
The only commercial database software available for Linux on the mainframe; and
The only Web application server software, WebSphere,** available for Linux on the mainframe

According to IDC, Linux became the number two operating system in 1999 in new server shipments with 1.3 million licenses. IDC anticipates Linux to remain the fastest growing server operating system through 2004, with a compound annual growth rate of 28 percent from 2000 to 2004. The market opportunity for software on Linux is expected to grow even faster, with relational database servers expected to increase from $30 million in 2000 to $3.4 billion in 2004, a compound annual growth rate of 226 percent.

"Linux is seeing increasing usage as a part of basic IT infrastructure at many organizations," said Dan Kusnetzky, Vice President of System Software Research at IDC in Framingham, Mass. "Over half of the respondents in one of IDC's demand-side studies indicated that they considered their Linux applications to be 'major' applications. IBM has positioned itself well to be considered one of the leading suppliers in this emerging market."

Today's news follows on the heels of the first major commercial Linux installation in Europe. Telia, Scandanavia's largest telecommunications and Internet service provider, announced it will replace 70 existing Web-hosting Unix servers with a single IBM S/390 server. The company will also move its current storage servers to a 11.4 terabyte Enterprise Storage Server (Shark) and replace its existing customer billing system based on an Oracle database.

IBM is delivering the following additions to its Linux software portfolio. DB2 and WebSphere products for Linux are available as integrated solutions for companies wishing to develop Web applications on top of a database server.

DB2 Enterprise-Extended Edition (EEE), the industry's first offering for Intel-based clusters on Linux, a solution for multi-terabyte databases supporting multiple processors through server clustering.
DB2 Enterprise Edition (EE), the industry's only Linux database offering on the IBM zSeries** and S/390 platforms.
DB2 Connect, the industry's first solution to allow customers to access their DB2 data on the mainframe directly from Web connected applications using DB2 on Linux on the same server.
WebSphere Application Server, Advanced Edition, Version 3.5, which supports high-performance, scalable Web sites, is the industry's only Linux Web application server software offering for the zSeries and S/390 servers; this software is also being delivered for Linux running on Intel-based servers.
WebSphere Application Server, Standard Edition, Version 3.5 for Linux running on Intel servers, which helps developers quickly transform static Web sites into vital sources of dynamic Web content.

According to a recent Zona Research study, 80 percent of respondents found operating stability and reliability to be the most important attributes for customers choosing Linux. IBM is also providing customers with a cost-effective alternative for deployment as their business grows with support for both Intel-based servers and the ability to scale to multiple Linux images with Linux for zSeries and S/390 servers.

By deploying DB2 and WebSphere on Linux, developers can benefit from increased productivity by taking advantage of a write-once development code. For example, a customer deploying DB2 for Linux on an Intel-based server such as eServer xSeries can easily upgrade to a zSeries server without the need to develop new Linux code to support the upgrade. With support for the zSeries and S/390 servers, customers benefit from the unmatched reliability and scalability of DB2 and WebSphere and can benefit from reduced costs by consolidating multiple Linux servers onto one server platform.

Distributor Support
Today's announcements are supported by the world's leading Linux distributors including Red Hat, SuSE and TurboLinux, who have long supported IBM's Linux-based hardware and software portfolio. Unlike other databases, all three vendors bundle DB2 with their packaged Linux solutions. Red Hat also features IBM's WebSphere Application Server as part of a packaged Linux solution.

IBM Software For Linux
Today's news follows on the heels of recent new offerings from IBM including IBM's Small Business Suite for Linux, which includes DB2, WebSphere Application Server and Lotus Domino. IBM also recently introduced the availability of DB2 Everyplace and WebSphere Commerce Suite for Linux providing customers with an unlimited choice of solutions.

Customers can now take advantage of the reliability of Linux on the highly scalable zSeries and S/390 platforms coupled with the scalability and reliability of DB2 and WebSphere software. Grede Foundries, an iron and steel castings manufacturer, is successfully using DB2 Connect for Linux on the mainframe to consolidate a large collection of servers into one, thereby decreasing administration costs and connectivity issues.

Additionally, legacy IMS data cannow easily be accessed from applications deployed on the Linux platform with the recently released connectivity tool, IMS Connect. This technology provides customers with transmission rates in excess of 4000 transactions per second and extends the IMS High Availability Large Database solution for multi-terabyte databases to the world of Linux applications. Also, IBM is introducing a new release of the CICS Transaction Gateway software product for Linux, which becomes available later this month. The software facilitates the connection of the Web to CICS transactions, via WebSphere running on Linux on the mainframe.

Availability
The new product offerings for DB2 Universal Database for Linux will be generally available on December 15, 2000. The new product offerings for WebSphere for Linux on Intel will be generally available December 22, 2000 and WebSphere for the zSeries servers will be generally available on January 26, 2001.

About IBM
IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with more than 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. IBM Software offers the widest range of applications, middleware and operating systems for all types of computing platforms, allowing customers to take full advantage of the new era of e-business. For more information about IBM software, see the home page at http://www.software.ibm.com. For additional information about IBM's Linux initiatives: http://ibm.com/linuxFor additional information on IBM's data management solutions, please visit http://www.software.ibm.com/data.More information about the WebSphere software platform is on the Web at http://www.ibm.com/websphere.

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*Indicates trademark or registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

** Indicates trademark or registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation or its subsidiaries. The IBM eServer brand consists of the established IBM e-business logo with the following descriptive term "server" following it. All other trademarks are properties of their respective companies.