Software Announcement
June 9, 1997
Announcement Letter Number: 297-194
Based on considerable investments in OS/390 (TM) to continue to rapidly provide significant function and customer value, IBM is reversioning OS/390 and creating OS/390 Version 2. This new version will continue to be priced-to-value, as has been the strategy for OS/390. OS/390 Version 2 also positions the platform for future delivery of expanded S/390 (R) initiatives in Network Computing, Applications, Server Integration, Business Intelligence, and Technology Leadership.
Comprehensive end-to-end solutions are required in today's extremely fast-paced and competitive business environments. Enterprise servers must be able to scale up to support explosive growth in the number of Internet and intranet users. They must interact with multiple applications across distributed and heterogeneous clients and servers, support the integration and consolidation of multiple UNIX (R) server application workloads, and handle terabytes of data capacity enterprises cannot afford to outgrow. They must deliver mission-critical information when and where it is needed, while providing extraordinary network and system-wide security and throughput. All this must be done at a low incremental cost. OS/390 Version 2 will integrate over 70 leading-edge elements and features to address these key customer requirements in the most cost-effective way.
OS/390 Version 2 is the next level of S/390's strategic open server operating system. OS/390 Release 4, announced in Software Announcement 297-040, dated March 11, 1997, is Version 2's initial release. New and enhanced leading-edge technology will be integrated into OS/390 Version 2 to support comprehensive end-to-end enterprise solutions. A spectrum of solution scenarios is included in the Description section.
OS/390 Version 2 Release 4 is currently planned to be made generally available on September 26, 1997. OS/390 releases are planned for delivery at approximately six month intervals.
Previews provide insight into IBM plans and direction. General availability, specific prices and ordering information, and terms and conditions will be provided when the product is announced.
------------------------------
This announcement is provided for your information only. For additional information, contact your IBM representative or call 800-IBM-4YOU.
OS/390 Version 2
OS/390 Version 2 through its planned releases will:
OS/390 Version 2 Solution Scenarios
Note: Information concerning non-IBM products was obtained from the suppliers of those products, their published announcements, or other publicly available sources. IBM has not tested those products and cannot confirm the accuracy of performance, compatibility, or any other claims related to non-IBM products. Questions on the capabilities of non-IBM products should be addressed to the suppliers of those products.
* OS/390, beginning with Version 1 Release 2, is certified as
a year 2000 ready operating system by ITAA Services, Inc.
(Information Technology Association of America).
OS/390 Version 2 and Technology Leadership
Version 2 releases will extend OS/390 technology leadership by adding value beyond the content already announced for OS/390 Release 4, Version 2's initial release.
Component Broker introduces a programming model that makes application development much easier than in the past. The programming model and tools developed to support the programming model hide complicated details from the programmer that relate to locking, caching, transactions, data location, navigation, and storage. This reduction in complexity enables the application programmer to be much more productive and improves the quality of applications.
Component Broker is a flexible Object Transaction Monitor that enables the development of new applications that make use of valuable business assets that reside in DB2, CICS, IMS transactions, and even DL/I data. Because these assets are accessed locally by applications running in the Component Broker Application Server in the same Parallel Sysplex (TM), the overall application performance is dramatically improved over models where the application and data are physically separate. Component Broker exploits OS/390's support of Parallel Sysplex from the beginning which provides a highly available and scalable application deployment environment.
Lotus Go for OS/390, which is integrated into OS/390 Version 2 Release 4, will provide client authentication allowing the server to determine that clients are who they say they are. Lotus Go for OS/390 also incorporates the function of NetQuestion, a robust text search engine. It will also have the ability to detect the presence of IBM crypto hardware on the S/390 system and, if present, hand off the encryption and decryption function to the IBM crypto hardware using Integrated Cryptographic Service Facility (ICSF) software, thereby improving overall performance, throughput, and security.
Enabling Business Solutions
OS/390 Version 2 is the next level of S/390's strategic open server operating system. Version 2 will integrate leading-edge technology that helps enable end-to-end enterprise solutions. These additions will facilitate:
OS/390 Version 2 for Network Computing
Network Computing technology continues to have a major impact on businesses and institutions. In some cases, businesses are re-engineering through the use of this technology to reach new markets and offer new services. Network Computing is also evolving from a collection of technologies into suites of electronic business or e-business solutions.
To help put these e-business solution building capabilities into a clear perspective, IBM, Lotus, and Tivoli have created a solutions development and deployment methodology called the IBM Network Computing Framework. To support this methodology, IBM offers a number of products within its Network Computing Framework to satisfy the varied needs of our customers, including clients, servers, and additional capabilities that work with these servers.
S/390 provides server-based solutions for the IBM Network Computing Framework. These solutions range from transaction services in support of e-commerce, to groupware and workflow services in support of collaborative solutions, to database and Web servers to support content services.
In addition, S/390 supports a wide range of integrated middleware functions, defined by the IBM Network Computing Framework as "Connectors," to link incoming requests from the Internet or intranets to the commerce, collaborative, and content applications.
For additional information about OS/390 Version 2 Network Computing, refer to Software Announcement 297-195, dated June 9, 1997 -- Preview and Progress Report: S/390 Network Computing.
OS/390 Version 2 for Applications
OS/390 Version 2 will provide a rich base for an organization to develop and run business solution applications and takes full advantage of the latest industry software technologies. Version 2 will be a flexible, open environment which leverages S/390 strengths for development and execution of a wide range of applications. OS/390 Version 2 releases will include support for the following software development technologies and functions:
OS/390 Version 2 for Server Integration
IBM's OS/390 Version 2 can help customers reduce their costs and simplify systems management tasks as they relocate their business solutions' data and applications to OS/390 from multiple alternate platforms. In addition:
OS/390 Version 2 for Business Intelligence
OS/390 Version 2 will provide new ways of using existing corporate data to achieve a competitive advantage. Customers will be able to explore existing corporate data to locate answers to real world business questions.
DB2 Version 5 for OS/390 is extremely capable at handling the largest databases as a single image through the exploitation of the S/390 Parallel Sysplex and DB2 Version 5 Sysplex Query Parallelism.
OS/390 Version 2 will provide an ideal underlying technology to exploit Data Warehousing, Data Mining, and Decision Support disciplines. Version 2 will support Intelligent Miner (TM) exploitation of an integrated search engine and with DB2 for OS/390 Version 5, will provide parallel query capability.
OS/390 Version 2 for General Business
OS/390 Version 2 will offer outstanding value for customers who need the advantages of a robust server operating system while requiring a smaller computing investment. OS/390 supports the PC Server for S/390, S/390 Server-on-Board, and Multiprise (TM) 2000 IBM processors as well as the latest S/390 G3/G4 processors. OS/390 is certified year 2000 ready.
OS/390 Version 2 design will continue the reduction-of-complexity evolution built into OS/390 releases, thereby lowering staff requirements. Version 2 will further OS/390's reputation for simplicity in ordering, installing, testing, using, and maintaining OS/390. The richness of integration testing, ServerPac delivery and installation, and the integration of many required functions will define the essence of OS/390 Version 2's family of releases; a server operating system for the entire range of IBM S/390 customers.
The current market success that IBM's OS/390 enjoys is being mirrored by the view from many industry consultants and analysts. These same consultants and analysts have said that what the marketplace needs, is a way to provide support for significant growth in the area of Network Computing, a more open platform that allows rapid deployment of new applications while making use of both Business Object Models and the latest programming languages upon which to base these applications, and, lastly, a way to assist in the badly needed area of server management and consolidation.
IBM continues to increase the investment in S/390 solutions to these problems. Since IBM's most recent OS/390 announcement, refer to Software Announcement 297-040, dated March 11, 1997, significant function and value have been added into OS/390 making solutions to these important industry-wide problems a reality. OS/390 is a leader in offering the breadth and depth that is needed to solve these problems.
It is IBM's intent to continue to provide smooth release to release transitions through the continuum of new function. While OS/390 Version 2 delineates the next steps for S/390's strategic operating system, Release 4, the first release of the new version, offers the same integrated and tested quality and function found in Version 1 of OS/390, but with increased capability, function, features, elements, and value. IBM continues to invest in incremental improvements to simplify the planning, ordering, installation, and migration so that these new capabilities can be exploited.
REFERENCE INFORMATION
Refer to Withdrawal Announcement 997-145, dated June 9, 1997 -- OS/390 Version 1 (all releases) Withdrawal from Marketing, and Software Announcement 297-195, dated June 9, 1997 -- Preview and Progress Report: S/390 Network Computing.
Trademarks
OS/390, IMS, Parallel Sysplex, Hardware Configuration
Definition, VisualLift, Intelligent Miner, and Multiprise are
trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in
the United States or other countries or both.
S/390, CICS, DB2, MVS, and SystemView are registered trademarks
of International Business Machines Corporation in the United
States or other countries or both.
Java is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.
UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other
countries exclusively through X/Open Company Limited.
TME 10 and TME are trademarks of Tivoli Systems, Inc. in the
United States or other countries or both.
Tivoli is a registered trademark of Tivoli Systems, Inc. in
the United States or other countries or both.
ENCINA is a registered trademark of Transarc Corporation.
Domino is a trademark of Lotus Development Corporation.
Lotus is a registered trademark of Lotus Development
Corporation.
Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or
service marks of others.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The OS/390 (TM) Version 2 charges will increase from the current OS/390 Version 1 charges. Detailed information about OS/390 Version 2 charges will be available by July 22, 1997. SWPRICER and CFPROGS will support these charges by July 22, 1997. Detailed ordering information will be available on September 9, 1997.
In addition to the base OS/390, three features (RMF (TM), JES3, and Security Server) will have charge increases in OS/390 Version 2 that are consistent with the increase for the base OS/390 product. The other charged features will see no change in OS/390 Version 2.
OS/390 Version 2 charges will be effective September 9, 1997.
OS/390 Version 1 Withdrawal from Marketing
OS/390 Version 1 will be withdrawn from marketing effective December 31, 1998. Refer to Withdrawal Announcement 997-145, dated June 9, 1997 -- OS/390 Version 1 (all releases) Withdrawal from Marketing -- for information that addresses the changes to ordering OS/390 Version 1 Release 3 once Version 2 Release 4 is orderable in September 1997.
Trademarks
OS/390 and RMF are trademarks of International Business
Machines Corporation in the United States or other countries or
both.
Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or
service marks of others.