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ALS 2000 Abstract
Linux on the System/390
Adam Thornton, Sine Nomine Associates
Abstract
This paper is meant to serve as a general overview of the Linux port to
the IBM System/390 mainframe architecture. The System/390 architecture
is introduced, and its history and design are briefly discussed,
including IBM's operating system VM, which allows virtualization of the
System/390 and hence a way to split the machine into a large number of
virtual machines. The short history of Linux on the platform is then
covered, and ways in which running Linux on the System/390 make sense
are discussed, chief among them the possibility of running many Linux
instances on a single System/390.
Differences between the System/390 port and other ports of Linux are
introduced, and the necessity for a general solution to the problem of
timer interrupts in a virtual environment is raised. The I/O model of
the System/390 is then described, with an example comparing a Linux/390
network driver with a PCI network driver that highlights some of the
idiosyncracies of the System/390. Ways that a developer can begin
working with Linux for System/390 are suggested, ranging from use of an
employer's existing machine through acquisition of a used development
machine to Hercules, a free System/390 emulator for Linux. Finally,
areas in which development help is most badly needed are spotlighted.
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