Introducing the new IBM Z family member: IBM z14 Model ZR1
This chapter describes the basic concepts of IBM z14 Model ZR1 (Machine Type 3907) and includes the following topics:
1.1 A digital transformation pillar
Businesses and organizations of every size are experiencing a time of exponential growth in data and transaction volumes that are driven by digital transformation. New dynamics in the market provide opportunities for businesses to grab market share and win. Leaders are being asked to add value by opening their enterprises to new ways of doing business. Organizations must give their clients and partners peace of mind that no matter what device is being used, data is protected.
In this challenging climate, businesses must manage, protect, store, and most importantly, use their data for gaining competitive advantage. This challenge is creating the need to apply intelligence and insight to data for building new services that are wrapped for a customized user experience.
In addition, businesses are experiencing increased pressure from internal and external sources to protect and govern data. They are required to reduce potential data breach risks and comply with complex regulatory mandates. These demands are changing the perspective around securely handling data.
A key to digital transformation is the ability to accelerate the innovation of new business. IT environments must have an architecture that scales for modern day cloud computing, which allows for rapid development and secure delivery of new services.
As your business technology needs evolve to compete in today’s digital economy, IBM Z provides intelligent, robust, and comprehensive technology solutions. The IBM approach integrates Z hardware, software, and storage solutions to ensure that each component of the stack is tightly integrated and optimized. The IBM z14 Model ZR1 leads that approach by delivering the power and speed users demand, the security users and regulators require, and the operational efficiency that maximizes your bottom line.
One of the most impactful ways to protect data is by encrypting as much of your data and transactional pipeline as possible. Cryptography has always been in the DNA of IBM Z family. As the newest member of that family, the IBM z14 Model ZR1 continues that tradition with pervasive encryption to defend and protect your critical assets with unrivaled encryption and intelligent data monitoring without compromising transactional throughput or response times. Most importantly, this pervasive encryption requires no application changes. Pervasive encryption can dramatically simplify data protection and reduce the costs of regulatory compliance. By using simple policy controls, z14 ZR1 pervasive encryption streamlines data protection for mission critical IBM Db2® for z/OS, IBM IMS, and Virtual Storage Access Method (VSAM) datasets.
The Central Processor Assist for Cryptographic Function (CPACF), which is standard on every core, supports pervasive encryption and provides hardware acceleration for encryption operations. The Crypto Express6S gets a performance boost on the z14 ZR1. Combined, these enhancements perform encryption more efficiently on than on earlier IBM Z platforms.
The z14 ZR1 is designed specifically to meet the demand for new services and customer experiences, while securing the growing amounts of data and complying with increasingly intricate regulations. With up to 30 configurable cores, the z14 ZR1 has performance and scaling advantage over previous generations and 54% more capacity than the 20-way IBM z13s Model N20.
The FICON Express16S+ delivers an increase in I/O rates and in-link bandwidth. It also reduces single-stream latency, which provides the system the ability to absorb large applications and transaction spikes that are driven by unpredictable mobile devices.
Next-generation SMT in the z14 ZR1 delivers improved virtualization performance to benefit Linux. High-speed connectivity out to the data is critical in achieving exceptional levels of transaction throughput. The IBM zHyperLink Express introduces disk I/O technology for accessing the IBM DS8880 storage system with low latency, which enables shorter batch windows and a more resilient I/O infrastructure with predictable and repeatable I/O performance.
With up to 8 TB of customer memory, the z14 ZR1 can open opportunities, such as in-memory data marts and in-memory analytics, while giving you the necessary room to tune applications for optimal performance. By using the Vector Packed Decimal Facility that allows packed decimal operations to be performed in registers rather than memory, and by using new fast mathematical computations, compilers (such as Enterprise COBOL for z/OS, V6.2, Enterprise PL/I for z/OS, V5.2, and z/OS V2.3 XL C/C++), the COBOL optimizer, Automatic Binary Optimizer for z/OS, V1.3, and Java, are optimized on the z14 ZR1. These compilers and optimizer are designed to improve application performance, reduce CPU usage, and reduce operating costs. Java improvements and the use of crypto acceleration deliver more improvements in throughput per core, which gives a natural boost to z/OS Connect EE, IBM WebSphere® Liberty in IBM CICS®, Spark for z/OS, and IBM Java for Linux on IBM Z.
Linux on IBM Z, which is optimized for open source software, brings more value to the platform. Linux on IBM Z supports a wealth of new products that are familiar to application developers, such as Python, Scala, Spark, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, and MariaDB. Access to data that was unavailable without the need for Extract Transform and Load (ETL) allows for the development of intelligent transactions and intuitive business processes.
The advanced technology in the z14 ZR1 supports your digital transformation needs. The platform gives your IT teams the ability to:
•Create a strong and reliable cloud infrastructure to support rapid development and deployment of services
•Enable the adeptness to make consistently optimal business decisions and gain operational data insights so you get the most value from your IT investment
•Fully protect your data with encryption, while facilitating regulatory compliance
•Support open source software to aid developers in infusing value into services that ultimately improve user experiences
 
Terminology: The remainder of this book uses the designation CPC to refer to the central processor complex.
1.2 z14 ZR1 highlights
The z14 ZR1 is a highly scalable symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) system, and the architecture ensures continuity and upgradeability from its predecessor, the IBM z13s. The z14 ZR1 is housed in an industry-standard 19-inch rack that can be easily installed in any data center. It includes one model (ZR1) with four CPC drawer size features: Max4, Max12, Max24, and Max30. The z14 ZR1 can have up to four PCIe+ I/O drawers to support various I/O features for network, storage, and coupling connectivity.
This section reviews some of the following most important features and capabilities of the z14:
 
Terminology: The remainder of this book uses the designation CPC to refer to the central processor complex.
1.2.1 Models and upgrade paths
The z14 ZR1 has an assigned machine type (MT) of 3907, which uniquely identifies the central processor complex (CPC). All z14 ZR1 use five, six, seven, eight, or nine processor unit cores in for the processor unit single chip modules (up to four). Spare processor units, system assist processors (SAPs), and one integrated firmware processor (IFP) are integral to the system and are present in the z14 ZR1.
The number of characterizable processor units, SAPs, and spare processor units for the various models are listed in Table 1-1. Spare processor units are used to replace defective processor units and one spare processor unit (core) is always available on a z14 ZR1. In the rare event of a processor unit failure, the spare processor unit is immediately and transparently activated and assigned the characteristics of the failing processor unit.
Table 1-1 z14 ZR1 summary (machine type 3907)
Feature name
Feature code
Characterizable processor units
Standard SAPs
Spares
Integrated firmware processor
Max4
0636
1 - 4
2
1
1
Max12
0637
1 - 12
2
1
1
Max24
0638
1 - 24
2
1
1
Max30
0639
1 - 30
2
1
1
The z14 ZR1 offers 156 subcapacity levels for up to 6 CPs (subcapacity levels A - Z). One model for all Integrated Facility for Linux (IFL) or all Internal Coupling Facility (ICF) configurations also is available.
The upgrade paths for the z14 ZR1 are shown in Figure 1-1.
Figure 1-1 z14 upgrade paths
On the z14 ZR1, concurrent upgrades are available for CPs, IFLs, ICFs, Z Integrated Information Processors (zIIPs), and SAPs. However, concurrent processor unit upgrades require that more processor units are physically installed, but not activated previously.
1.2.2 Rack and cabling
The z14 ZR1 is designed in an industry standard 19-inch rack. The z14 ZR1 is a single rack, air-cooled system.
The rack forms the z14 ZR1 CPC and contains one CPC drawer. The number of PCIe+ I/O drawers can vary based on the number of I/O features. Up to four PCIe+ I/O drawers can be installed. PCIe I/O+ drawers can be added concurrently1.
In addition, the z14 ZR1 (new builds and MES orders) offers top-exit options for the fiber optic and copper cables (used for I/O and power). These options (Top Exit Power and Top Exit I/O Cabling) give you more flexibility in planning where the system is installed. This flexibility potentially frees you from running cables under a raised floor, which increases air flow over the system.
The z14 ZR1 supports installation on raised floor and non-raised floor environments.
The internal, front, and rear views of the z14 ZR1 system with the maximum four PCIe+ I/O drawers are shown in Figure 1-2.
Figure 1-2 z14 ZR1 front and rear views: Configuration with four PCIe+ I/O drawers
 
Note: The asterisk that is shown in the Figure 1-2 highlights the fact that 3 and 4 cannot be used if FC 0617 (16U Reserved feature) is ordered.
1.2.3 CPC drawer
The z14 ZR1 is a single CPC drawer that contains the following elements:
•Single chip modules:
 – One to four PU single chip modules, each containing five, six, seven, eight, or nine processor unit cores (air-cooled). The processor unit cores run at 4.5 GHz each.
 – One System Controller single chip module, with a total of 672 MB L4 cache.
•Memory:
 – A minimum of 64 GB and a maximum of 8 TB of memory (excluding 64 GB HSA) is available for client use.
 – A total of 5, 10, 15, or 20 memory DIMMs are plugged in a CPC drawer.
 – The number of memory DIMMs that can be plugged into the CPC drawer depends on the CPC drawer feature.
•Fanouts:
The CPC drawer provides up to eight PCIe Gen3 fanout adapters to connect to the PCIe+ I/O drawers and Integrated Coupling Adapter Short Reach (ICA SR) coupling links. The number of fanouts that can be installed depends on the CPC drawer feature.
Each fanout includes on the following configurations:
 – One-port PCIe 16 GBps I/O fanout, each supporting one domain in a 16-slot PCIe+ I/O drawer.
 – Two-port ICA SR PCIe fanout for coupling links (two links, 8 GBps each).
•Two or four Power Supply Units (PSUs) that provide power to the CPC drawer, hot swappable that accessible form the rear.
The loss of one PSU leaves enough power to satisfy the power requirements of the entire drawer. The PSUs can be concurrently maintained.
•Two Flexible Support Processors (FSPs) that provide redundant interfaces to the internal management network.
•Two Oscillator Cards (OSCs) that provide clock synchronization to the CPC.
The logical diagram of a fully populated CPC drawer (for example, a Max24 or Max30 feature) is shown in Figure 1-3. The z14 ZR1 has 672 MB of L4 cache. The SC chip provides X-Bus connectivity for PUS SCMs in the adjacent logical cluster. Each PU chip has two PCIe bus interfaces (for PCIe fanouts). The GX Bus is not used for z14 ZR1.
Figure 1-3 z14 ZR1 CPC drawer communication topology (fully populated drawer)
The design that is used to connect the processor unit and storage control allows the system to be operated and controlled by the IBM Processor Resource/Systems Manager™ (PR/SM™) facility as a memory-coherent symmetrical multiprocessor (SMP) system.
 
 
 
 
 
1.2.4 PCIe+ I/O drawer
The z14 ZR1 supports Generation 3 PCIe-based infrastructure by using PCIe+ I/O drawers (PCIe Gen3) for PCIe features (adapters). The number of supported PCIe+ I/O drawers is listed in Table 1-2.
Table 1-2 z14 ZR1 CPC drawer fanouts per feature
Feature name
PU SCMs
Max. PCIe fanouts
Max. PCIe+ I/O drawers1
Max4 (FC 0636)
1
2
1
Max12 (FC 0637)
2
4
2
Max24 (FC 0638)
4
8
4
Max30 (FC 0639)
4
8
4
1 If the 16U Reserved feature (FC 0617) is ordered, the maximum number of PCIe+ I/O drawers is two. For more information, see 2.2, “16U Reserved feature (FC 0617)” on page 26.
The PCIe I/O infrastructure consists of PCIe Gen3 fanouts in the CPC drawer that support 16 GBps connectivity to the PCIe+ I/O drawer.
 
Note: Ordering of I/O feature types determines the appropriate number of PCIe+ I/O drawers. Older PCIe I/O drawers are not supported on z14 ZR1.
The PCIe+ I/O drawer (see Figure 1-4) is a 19-inch single side drawer that is 8U high. I/O features are installed horizontally, with cooling air flow from front to rear. The drawer contains 16 slots and two switch cards. These features support two I/O domains that each contain eight features. Two PSUs provide redundant power, and six front-side fans provide redundant cooling to the PCIe+ I/O Drawer.
Figure 1-4 PCIe I/O drawer - rear view
A high-level view of the I/O system structure for the z14 ZR1 is shown in Figure 1-5.
Figure 1-5 z14 ZR1 I/O system structure
The z14 ZR1 supports two fanout types (for fanout location, see Figure 1-6), which are at the front of the CPC drawer:
•Integrated Coupling Adapter Short Reach (ICA SR)
•PCIe Gen3 (for PCIe+ I/O drawer)
The PCIe Gen3 fanout has one port; ICA SR has two ports.
The PCIe connections to the PCIe+ I/O drawers type of internal I/O connectivity supports the PCIe I/O drawer.
For coupling link connectivity, the z14 ZR1 supports the following link types:
•ICA SR
•Coupling Express LR
All coupling adapters support parallel sysplex and Server Time Protocol (STP) connectivity.
CPC drawer I/O
The z14 ZR1 CPC drawer (see Figure 1-6) can include a combination of up to eight 1-port PCIe fanouts and 2-port ICA SR PCIe coupling fanouts (numbered LG01 - LG04 and LG07 - LG10).
Figure 1-6 z14 ZR1 CPC drawer, front view
1.2.5 I/O subsystem and I/O features
The IBM z14 Model ZR1 offers a PCIe I/O infrastructure for its PCIe features that are installed in PCIe+ I/O drawers. Up to four PCIe+ I/O drawers per z14 ZR1 are supported, which provide space for up to 64 PCIe I/O features. Previous IBM Z server I/O infrastructures, such as PCIe I/O drawers or I/O drawers2, are not supported on the z14 ZR1 and cannot be carried forward during an upgrade from a z13s.
 
Coupling connectivity migration: IBM z14 Model ZR1 (machine type 3907) does not support InfiniBand coupling infrastructure. The HCA3-O fanouts for 12x IFB (FC 0171) and HCA3-O LR fanouts for 1x IFB (FC 0170) are not supported.
You should migrate from HCA3-O to Integrated Coupling Adapter (ICA SR) and from HCA3-O LR to Coupling Express Long Reach (CE LR).
For coupling connectivity requiring a DWDM, ensure that your DWDM equipment is qualified to support the coupling links and timing only links.
The IBM z14 ZR1 uses PCIe fanout features for data communications between the CPC drawer and the I/O infrastructure, and for coupling (a fully configured z14 ZR1 supports eight PCIe fanout features). The multiple channel subsystem (CSS) architecture allows up to three CSSs, each with 256 channels.
Three subchannel sets are available per CSS, which allows access to many logical volumes. The third subchannel set allows extending the amount of addressable external storage for Parallel Access Volumes (PAVs), Peer-to-Peer Remote Copy (PPRC) secondary devices, and IBM FlashCopy® devices. The z14 ZR1 supports Initial Program Load (IPL) from subchannel set 1 (SS1), or subchannel set 2 (SS2), and subchannel set 0 (SS0). For more information, see “Initial program load from an alternative subchannel set” on page 166.
The system I/O buses use the Peripheral Component IBM Interconnect® Express (PCIe) technology, which are also used in coupling links.
z14 ZR1 connectivity supports the following I/O or special purpose features:
•Storage connectivity:
 – Fibre Channel connection (IBM FICON):
 • FICON Express16S+ 10 KM long wavelength (LX) and short wavelength (SX)
 • FICON Express16S 10 KM LX and SX (carry forward only)
 • FICON Express8S 10 KM LX and SX (carry forward only)
For more information about FICON features, see “Storage connectivity” on page 136.
 – IBM zHyperLink Express
For more information about zHyperLink Express, see “” on page 141.
•Network connectivity:
 – Open Systems Adapter (OSA):
 • OSA-Express7S 25GbE short reach (SR)
 • OSA-Express6S 10GbE long reach (LR) and short reach (SR)
 • OSA-Express6S GbE LX and SX
 • OSA-Express6S 1000BASE-T Ethernet
 • OSA-Express5S 10 GbE LR and SR (carry forward only)
 • OSA-Express5S GbE LX and SX (carry forward only)
 • OSA-Express5S 1000BASE-T Ethernet (carry forward only)
 • OSA-Express4S 10 GbE LR and SR (carry forward only)
 • OSA-Express4S GbE LX and SX (carry forward only)
For more information about OSA features, see “Network connectivity” on page 142.
 – IBM HiperSockets™
For more information about the HiperSockets, see “HiperSockets” on page 151.
 – Shared Memory Communication - Remote Direct Memory Access (SMC-R):
 • 25GbE RoCE (RDMA over Converged Ethernet) Express2
 • 10GbE RoCE Express2
 • 10GbE RoCE Express (carry forward only)
 – Shared Memory Communication - Direct Memory Access (SMC-D) through Internal Shared Memory (ISM)
For more information, see “25GbE RoCE Express2” on page 148.
•Coupling and Server Time Protocol connectivity:
 – Internal Coupling (IC) links
 – Integrated Coupling Adapter Short Reach (ICA SR)
 – Coupling Express Long Reach (CE LR)
For more information about coupling and Server Time Protocol connectivity, see “Parallel Sysplex connectivity” on page 153.
•Cryptography:
 – Crypto Express6S
 – Crypto Express5S (carry forward only)
 – Regional Crypto Enablement
For more information about the cryptographic features, see Chapter 6, “Cryptographic features” on page 173.
•IBM zEnterprise® Data Compression (zEDC) Express features, which are installed in the PCIe I/O drawers (new build and carry forward).
For more information about the zEDC feature, see Appendix F, “IBM zEnterprise Data Compression Express” on page 461.
1.3 z14 ZR1 capacity and performance
The z14 ZR1 provides increased processing capabilities and enhanced I/O infrastructure over its predecessor, the z13s. This capacity is achieved by increasing the performance of the individual PUs, increasing the number of PUs per system, redesigning the system cache, increasing the amount of memory, and using new I/O technologies.
The increased performance3 and the total system capacity that is available (with possible energy savings) allow consolidating diverse applications on a single platform with significant financial savings. The introduction of new technologies and an expanded and enhanced instruction set ensure that the z14 ZR1 is a high-performance, reliable, and rich-security platform.
The z14 ZR1 is designed to maximize the use of resources and allows you to integrate and consolidate applications and data across the enterprise IT infrastructure.
z14 ZR1 is offered as one model with four CPC drawer features. The z14 ZR1 Max4 feature (FC 0636) can have up to four customer configurable PUs, while the Max30 feature (FC 0639) can have up to 30 customer characterizable cores. z14 ZR1 Max30 is estimated to provide up to 54% more total system capacity than the z13s Model N20, with twice the amount of memory (up to 8 TB versus and lower power requirements. With enhanced SMT, co-processor features and SIMD, the performance of the z14 ZR1 delivers considerable improvement. Uniprocessor performance also was increased significantly. A z14 ZR1 uni-processor offers 10% average performance improvement over the z13s uni-processor.
The IFL and zIIP processor units on the z14 ZR1 server can be configured to run two simultaneous threads per clock cycle in a single processor (SMT). This feature increases the capacity of these processors with 25% in average over processors that are running single thread. SMT is also enabled by default on SAPs.
The z14 ZR1 provides 156 subcapacity settings, for up to six processors that are characterized as CPs (the same as z13s). The z14 ZR1 delivers scalability and granularity to meet the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises, while also satisfying the requirements for demanding, mission-critical transaction, and data processing requirements.
This comparison is based on the Large System Performance Reference (LSPR) mixed workload analysis. For more information about performance and workload variation on z14 ZR1 servers, see Chapter 12, “Performance” on page 397.
The z14 ZR1 continues to offer all the specialty engines that are available on z13s.
Workload variability
Consult the LSPR when considering performance on the z14 ZR1. The range of performance ratings across the individual LSPR workloads is likely to have a large spread. More performance variation of individual logical partitions (LPARs) is available when an increased number of partitions and more PUs are available. For more information, see Chapter 12, “Performance” on page 397.
For more information about performance, see the LSPR website.
 
Capacity on demand
Capacity on demand (CoD) enhancements enable clients to have more flexibility in managing and administering their temporary capacity requirements. The z14 ZR1 supports the same architectural approach for CoD offerings as the z13s (temporary or permanent). Within the z14 ZR1, one or more flexible configuration definitions can be available to solve multiple temporary situations, and multiple capacity configurations can be active simultaneously.
Up to 200 staged records can be created to handle many scenarios. Up to eight of these records can be installed on the server at any time. After the records are installed, the activation of the records can be done manually, or the z/OS Capacity Provisioning Manager can automatically start the activation when Workload Manager (WLM) policy thresholds are reached. Tokens are available that can be purchased for On/Off CoD before or after workload execution (pre- or post-paid).
LPAR capping
IBM Processor Resource/Systems Manager (IBM PR/SM) offers different options to limit the amount of capacity that is assigned to and used by an LPAR or a group of LPARs. By using the Hardware Management Console (HMC), a user can define an absolute or a relative capping value for LPARs that are running on the system.
1.4 z14 ZR1 virtualization
Virtualization is a key strength of Z platforms. It is embedded in the architecture and built into the hardware, firmware, and operating systems. For decades, Z platforms were designed based on the concept of partitioning resources (such as CPU, memory, storage, and network resources) so that each set of features can be used independently with its own operating environment.
This section describes built-in virtualization capabilities of z14 ZR1 supporting operating systems, hypervisors, and available virtual appliances.
1.4.1 PR/SM mode
PR/SM is Licensed Internal Code (LIC) that manages and virtualizes all of the installed and enabled system resources as a single large symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) system. This virtualization enables full sharing of the installed resources with high security and efficiency.
On z14 ZR1, the PR/SM supports configuring up to 40 LPARs, each of which includes logical processors, memory, and I/O resources. Resources of these LPARs are assigned from the installed CPC drawers and features. For more information about PR/SM functions, see 3.7, “Logical partitioning” on page 97.
LPAR configurations can be dynamically adjusted to optimize the virtual servers’ workloads. z14 ZR1 servers provide improvements to the PR/SM HiperDispatch function. HiperDispatch provides alignment of logical processors to physical processors that ultimately improves cache utilization and optimizes operating system work dispatching, which combined results in increased throughput. For more information, see “HiperDispatch” on page 69.
1.4.2 Dynamic Partition Manager mode
DPM is an administrative mode (front end panel driven interface to PR/SM) that is supported by the z14 ZR1. A system can be configured in DPM mode supports the following functions:
•Create, provision, and manage partitions (processor, memory, and adapters)
•Monitor and troubleshoot the environment
1.4.3 LPAR types on z14 ZR1
The following LPAR types with corresponding operating systems and firmware appliances are supported:
•General:
 – z/OS
 – IBM z/VM®
 – IBM z/VSE®
 – z/TPF
 – Linux on Z (also used for the KVM Hypervisor)
•Coupling Facility: Coupling Facility Control Code (CFCC)
•LINUX only:
 – Linux on Z (also used for the KVM Hypervisor)
 – z/VM
•z/VM
•Secure Service Container:
 – VNA (z/VSE Network Appliance)
 – IBM High Security Business Network (HSBN)4
For DPM, the following LPAR modes are available:
•z/VM
•Secure Service Container
•Linux on Z (also used for the KVM Hypervisor)
IBM Z platforms also offer other virtual appliance-based solutions and support other the following hypervisors and containerization:
•IBM GDPS® Virtual Appliance
•The KVM hypervisor (included with supported LInux on Z distributions)
•Docker Enterprise Edition for Linux on IBM Systems5
1.4.4 Coupling facility
Parallel sysplex is a synergy between hardware and software. The parallel sysplex is a highly advanced clustering solution that is designed to enable the aggregate capacity of multiple z/OS systems to be applied against common workloads. To use this technology, a special LIC is used, which is called CFCC. To activate the CFCC, a special logical partition must be defined. Only PUs that are characterized as CPs or Internal Coupling Facilities (ICFs) can be used for Coupling Facility (CF) partitions. For a production CF workload, it is recommended to use dedicated processors (ICFs or CPs).
1.4.5 z/VM-mode
The z14 ZR1 supports an LPAR mode, called z/VM-mode, that is exclusively for running z/VM as the first-level operating system. The z/VM-mode requires z/VM V6R4 or later, and allows z/VM to use a wider variety of specialty processors in a single LPAR, which increases flexibility and simplifying system management.
For example, in a z/VM-mode LPAR, z/VM can manage Linux on IBM Z guests that are running on IFL processors while also managing z/VSE and z/OS guests on CPs. It also allows z/OS to fully use zIIPs.
1.4.6 IBM Secure Service Container
IBM Secure Service Container (SSC) is an enabling technology for building virtual appliances (exploiters). It provides the base infrastructure to build and host virtual appliances on IBM Z.
SSC can be used to create isolated partitions for protecting data and applications automatically, which helps keep them safe from insider threats and external cyber criminals. SSC offers the following benefits:
•Streamlines the IBM Z Application experience so it is comparable to installing an application on a mobile device.
•Deploys an appliance in minutes, instead of days.
•Protect the workload from being accessed by a sysadmin or external attacker.
IBM z/VSE Network Appliance
The z/VSE Network Appliance builds on the z/VSE Linux Fast Path (LFP) function and provides Internet Protocol network access without requiring a TCP/IP stack in z/VSE. Compared to a TCP/IP stack in z/VSE, this network appliance can support higher TCP/IP traffic throughput while reducing the processing resource consumption in z/VSE.
The z/VSE Network Appliance is an extension of the z/VSE - z/VM IP Assist (IBM VIA®) function provides network access for TCP/IP socket applications that run on z/VSE as a z/VM guest. With the new z/VSE Network Appliance, this function is available for z/VSE systems that are running in an LPAR. The z/VSE Network Appliance is provided as a downloadable package that can then be deployed with the SSC Installer and Loader.
The VIA function is available for z/VSE systems that run as z/VM guests. The z/VSE Network Appliance is available for z/VSE systems that run without z/VM in LPARs. Both functions provide network access for TCP/IP socket applications that use the LFP without the requirement of TCP/IP stack on the z/VSE system and installing Linux on IBM Z.
1.4.7 GDPS Virtual Appliance
The GDPS Virtual Appliance solution implements GDPS/PPRC Multiplatform Resilience for IBM Z (xDR). xDR coordinates near-continuous availability and a disaster recovery (DR) solution through the following features:
•Disk error detection
•Heartbeat for smoke tests
•Re-IPL in place
•Coordinated site takeover
•Coordinated IBM HyperSwap®
•Single point of control
1.5 z14 ZR1 RAS
System reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) is an area of continuous IBM focus and a defining IBM Z platform characteristic. The RAS objective is to reduce, or eliminate if possible, all sources of planned and unplanned outages while providing adequate service information if an issue occurs. Adequate service information is required to determine the cause of an issue without the need to reproduce the context of an event.
IBM Z servers are designed to enable highest availability and lowest downtime. These facts are recognized by various IT analysts, such as ITIC6 and IDC7. Comprehensive, multi-layered strategy includes the following features:
•Error Prevention
•Error Detection and Correction
•Error Recovery
With a properly configured z14 ZR1, further reduction of outages can be attained through First Failure Data Capture (FFDC), which is designed to reduce service times and avoid subsequent errors, and improve nondisruptive replace, repair, and upgrade functions for memory, drawers, and I/O adapters. In addition, the z14 ZR1 extended nondisruptive capability to download and install LIC updates.
z14 ZR1 RAS features provide unique high-availability and nondisruptive operational capabilities that differentiate the Z platform in the marketplace. z14 RAS enhancements are made on many components of the CPC (processor chip, memory subsystem, I/O, and service) in areas, such as error checking, error protection, failure handling, error checking, faster repair capabilities, sparing, and cooling.
The z14 ZR1 processor builds upon the RAS of the z13s with the following RAS improvements:
•The level 3 cache added powerful symbol ECC, which makes it resistant to more failures (the z13s hardened the level 4 cache and the main memory was hardened with RAIM and ECC before that addition).
•The main memory added preemptive DRAM marking to isolate and recover failures faster.
•Small array error handling was improved in the processor cores.
•Error thresholding was added to the processor core to isolate “sick but not dead” failure scenarios.
•The number of Resource Groups for supporting native PCIe features increased to four from two to reduce the effect of firmware updates and failures.
•OSA-Express6S added TCP checksum on large send offload.
The ability to cluster multiple systems in a Parallel Sysplex takes the commercial strengths of the z/OS platform to higher levels of system management, scalable growth, and continuous availability.
1.6 Hardware Management Consoles and Support Elements
The HMCs and SEs are appliances that together provide platform management for IBM Z. The HMC is a workstation that is designed to provide a single point of control for managing local or remote hardware elements.
HMC is offered as a Tower (FC 0082) and a Rack Mount (FC 0083) feature. Rack Mount HMC can be placed in a customer-supplied 19-inch rack and occupies 1U rack space. z14 includes driver level 32 and HMC application Version 2.14.0.
1.7 Supported operating systems and compilers
The z14 ZR1 is supported by a large set of software products and programs, including independent software vendor (ISV) applications. (This section lists only the supported operating systems and compilers.) Use of various features might require the latest releases. For more information, see Chapter 7, “Operating system support” on page 209.
1.7.1 Operating systems summary
The current and minimum operating system levels that are required to support the z14 are listed in Table 1-3 on page 18. Operating system levels that are no longer in service are not covered in this publication. These older levels can support certain features.
Table 1-3 z14 - supported operating systems
Operating system
End of service
Notes
z/OS V2R3
September 20221
See:
z/OS fix category (FIXCAT) IBM.Device.Server.z14ZR1-3907,
z/VM, z/VSE, and z/TPF subsets of the 3907DEVICE Preventive Service Planning (PSP) buckets before installing the z14 Model ZR1.
z/OS V2R2
September 2020a
z/OS V2R1b
September 2018
z/OS V1R132
September 2016
z/VM V7R1
Not announced
z/VM V6R4
Not announced
z/VSE V6R2
Not announced
z/VSE V6R1
June 2019a
z/VSE V5R2
October 2018a
z/TPF V1R1
Not announced
Linux on Z
Support information is available for
SUSE3, Red Hat4 and Ubuntu5
The KVM hypervisor6
Offered with the following Linux distributions
SLES-12 SP2 or higher,
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS or higher, and
Red Hat 7.5 or higher.
1 Planned date. All statements regarding IBM plans, directions, and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice. Any reliance on these Statements of Direction is at the relying party’s sole risk and will not create liability or obligation for IBM.
2 Compatibility only. The IBM Software Support Services for z/OS V1.13, offered as of October 1, 2016, provides the ability for customers to purchase extended defect support service for z/OS V1.13.
3 For more information, see https://www.suse.com/support/.
6 For more information about minimal and recommended distribution levels, see the distributors’ websites.
For more information about supported Linux on Z distribution levels, see the Tested platforms for Linux page of the IBM Z website.
1.7.2 IBM Z compilers
IBM compilers and programming tools for Z that can be used with the z14 ZR1 include the following examples:
•Enterprise COBOL for z/OS
•Enterprise PL/I for z/OS
•Automatic Binary Optimizer
•z/OS XL C/C++
•XL C/C++ for Linux on IBM z Systems®8
The compilers increase the return on your investment in IBM Z hardware by maximizing application performance by using the compilers’ advanced optimization technology for IBM z/Architecture®. Through their support of web services, XML, and Java, they allow for the modernization of assets in web-based applications. They also support the latest IBM middleware products (CICS, Db2, and IMS), which allows applications to use their latest capabilities.
To fully use the capabilities of z14 ZR1 servers, you must compile it by using the minimum level of each compiler. To obtain the best performance, you must specify an architecture level of 12 by using the ARCH(12) option.
1 The number of available PCIe fanout slots depends on the CPC drawer feature (Max4, Max12, Max24, and Max30).
2 I/O drawers were introduced with the IBM z10™ BC and could be carried forward on earlier platform upgrades.
3 Observed performance increases vary depending on the workload types.
4 IBM HSBN is a cloud service plan that is available on IBM Bluemix® for Blockchain.
5 For more information, see the IBM to Deliver Docker Enterprise Edition for Linux on IBM Systems topic of the IBM News releases website.
7 For more information, see Quantifying the Business Value of IBM Z.
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