AIX Down Under

If you've been unconscious or absent from the planet the last few days, you won't have heard of IBM PureSystems. 

Jason McGee, Chief Architect for PureApplication system, showcased the easy installation and configuration of these new, factory-tuned, expert integrated systems. You can watch Jason's 6-minute demo and then sit in the crowded waiting room of 

Dr. AIX Down Under (that's me on the left). Every patient has the same condition. They're all highly motivated, and generally highly skilled AIX engineers. They're all asking the same question:

 

 

After all, you've had a successful career configuring systems, tuning them, rebuilding them, finding performance bottlenecks, writing scripts, and juggling high user expectations with a budget that would starve a mouse. Now there are these new systems that are configured in the blink of an eye, tune themselves and (you may be thinking), don't need you.

 

Well, before you sign the extinction certificate and set up the world's first museum for experienced AIX sys admins, have a think about the number of reasons your career is not doomed as of 11 April 2012, the day the new IBM PureSystems were launched. 

 

 

First, these systems still can be built on Power7 processors. Sure, they can also use the x86 chip, but POWER7 processors are a key option. And the PureSystems can run AIX, (not to mention Linux, Windows and IBM i). They can run PowerVM as their hypervisor. They have been designed on the back of the AIX work you and I and a thousand others have done over the years. And if there's any Unix (or Unix-like) platform to be good at, it's AIX, with IBM having strong sales on POWER7 processors and AIX.

 

2.PureSystems are an extension of your own work 

 

Second, the PureSystems still have a lot of components which are a natural progression from the architecture you've already been working on.  There's a management console which is like a Hardware Management Console on steroids. There are AIX virtual machines (we used to call 'em LPARs) and VIO servers. There are applications which get built and run on them, and now that process will be simplified to free you up to try new things that take minutes to build instead of months. Now "minutes instead of months" may not instil confidence in you about your career prospects, but if you can step through a deployment that quickly, you're going to look like a hero. You'll have time to deploy other instances, to work on other projects or just to catch up on your work backlog.

 

Third, these PureSystems are not going to throw you out of a job overnight. You don't move off existing infrastructure so quickly, even if the move is superfast in comparison with earlier technology. You have a wealth of troubleshooting skills, business knowledge, people management and project management abilities that put you well ahead if you do have to redefine your responsibilities. Or a better way to say that is you can leverage your existing talent to make you indispensible in other areas (or other companies).

 

 

I know I wrote on Power IT Pro this week, that PureSystems are a Data Center in a Chassis. That was to show how much hardware can be squished into a single rack. Not just that - it's all integrated, optimised and largely self-managed. But that doesn't mean PureSystems will spell the end of your existing data centre (and your job). In fact, the PureSystems know that they are part of a data centre. They will be able to hook into existing storage and network configurations. The management console can also monitor and manage other existing systems that are in your data centre. The new kit doesn't make the old obsolete. The PureSystems can and probably will leverage the capabilities of your existing systems.

 

Also, I'm not sure how much, or how quickly the two PureSystems will make inroads into the big end of town. I'm no system architect, but I'd say PureSystems - at least the two models that have been announced so far - are more likely to be replacements for the Blades and other smaller systems. There's some pretty big grunt in some of the larger POWER7 systems, and they're not going to be turned off anytime soon.

 

 

Fifth, if the PureSystems do take off, then projects will be much faster and much cheaper. That sounds to me like there will be more projects - more of the interesting project work,  instead of the BAU Business as Usual (although some may call it Boring As Usual). Also, Big Data is a huge growth area, and many of your existing skills in analysing technical configurations could come in handy in this or other areas.

 

You're a deluxe pastry cook. There's no law against having your finger in several other pies.

 

 

Sixth, is the answer given by Jim Stallings (pictured), General Manager, Global Markets IBM Systems and Technology Group when he was asked how the newly announced PureSystems would impact other IBM servers like z, x, i and p. Here's my transcript of his answer (with my emphases ... and my Aussie spelling)

  

Now you've seen what the GM of Global Markets, STG says. Do you think IBM is likely to drop the ball on POWER7 and AIX when it's clearly the market leader?

 

 

If you're still not convinced, and you're determined to make your career's demise a self-fulfilling prophecy, let me refer you to Exhibit A: your job resumé.

 

Do you remember these words?:

 

What exactly did you mean? Never mind. Let the doctor tell you. You meant that you: