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IBM® LinuxONE is a platform for the Linux® operating system built on a scalable, secure, and reliable architecture. Available in single frame, multi frame, and rack mount servers, LinuxONE is used in many different industries worldwide.

LinuxONE can help your organization achieve its sustainability goals. Consolidating Linux® workloads on 5 IBM LinuxONE Emperor 4 systems instead of running them on compared x86 servers under similar conditions can reduce energy consumption by 75%, space by 50%, and the CO2e footprint by over 850 metric tons annually.1

Use this content solution to understand how LinuxONE works and to understand the experience of obtaining and installing a LinuxONE system.

Related solution Journey to sustainability with IBM LinuxONE

Leverage IBM LinuxONE to achieve your sustainability goals.

Big picture 1. Learn about LinuxONE. 2. Find your solutions. 3. See total cost of ownership. 4. Plan and order. 5. Set up and start. How to get started
Scalability

An IBM LinuxONE Emperor 4 can have up to 200 configurable IFLs (processors that are dedicated to Linux workloads) running at 5.2 GHz. An IFL can run many virtual servers, which can be provisioned in minutes or even seconds, and you can run thousands of virtual servers on one LinuxONE, keeping networking overhead low and promoting efficient sharing of resources.

Choose from or combine these options:

  • Logical partitions (LPARs), a hardware approach to virtualization that offers superior isolation of workloads. You can define up to 85 LPARs.
  • Hypervisor software that enables multiple operating systems to share physical computing resources, including KVM (open source) and z/VM®.
Learn more about IBM z/VM
virtualization and logical partitioning
Hybrid cloud

LinuxONE’s security, privacy, resiliency, and flexibility make it perfectly suited for hybrid cloud infrastructure. Developers leverage cloud-native development, including containers and Kubernetes, along with IBM Cloud Paks built on Red Hat OpenShift, to develop and deploy applications efficiently and effectively.

Elevate your hybrid cloud experience with IBM Cloud Paks® and Red Hat® OpenShift® Container Platform for IBM Z and LinxONE
Security and privacy

With LinuxONE, encrypt pervasively rather than selectively — it’s built into every processor chip. The IBM Crypto Express adapter enables industry-leading protection of encryption keys. On-chip acceleration of compression speeds processing and makes data storage more efficient.

Protect your assets from security breaches with the EAL5++ workload isolation provided by logical partitions (LPARs). IBM Secure Execution for Linux isolates workloads at the virtual machine level and protects you from insider and outsider threats.

Protect Linux® workloads throughout the lifecycle with IBM Hyper Protect Virtual Servers, a software solution built on the IBM Secure Service Container framework. Application developers can build in a trusted, encrypted environment. Operations personnel manages applications without access to sensitive data.

Protect data with end-to-end encryption which extends to built-in quantum-safe technologies.

Resiliency and availability

IBM LinuxONE Rockhopper 4 systems, with GDPS, IBM DS8000 series with HyperSwap and running a Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform environment, are designed to deliver 99.999999% availability.2 This is equal to 0.3 seconds of downtime a year. There’s no single point of failure on the IBM LinuxONE 4. LinuxONE's design includes redundancy in internal components, including Redundant Array of Independent Memory (RAIM), which detects and recovers from memory failures.

Sustainability

LinuxONE is designed to help you meet your sustainability goals. Consolidating workloads from many x86 servers onto a single LinuxONE server can reduce energy costs, carbon footprint, and floor space.

Sustainability and LinuxONE 4

Regardless of where you are in your transformation journey, there is a LinuxONE 4 solution, single frame, multi frame or rack mount server, that can meet your business needs. Work with IBM and possibly a business partner to understand your LinuxONE solution, including the Linux distribution and other software. Key capabilities that have been validated for LinuxONE include the following:

  • Languages: Python, Pearl, COBOL, Java, Node.js
  • Management: IBM Cloud Manager, IBM Cloud Paks, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform
  • Database: Oracle, MariaDB, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, EDB
  • Analytics Tools with Hadoop, Big Insights, DB2BLU and Spark

Of course, many others are available.

Linux distributions

Linux Distributions for LinuxONE are offered by RedHat and by Linux distribution partners Canonical (ubuntu) and SUSE, who provide services and support. IBM also offers services for all eligible Linux distributions for LinuxONE and support for the distributions from Red Hat and SUSE.

IBM tested and partner-certified Linux environments
Software

You can choose solutions from IBM software, open source software, and software from independent software vendors, such as Oracle. IBM collaborates with the Linux community and is one of the leading commercial contributors to Linux. Container images offer lightweight and self-contained software to enable deployment at scale. Use the following links to get a first look at supported software:

Independent software vendor software on LinuxONE Container images
Storage and devices

Storage devices must fully conform to Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) standard specifications. They must be connected using a storage area network (SAN) topology supported by LinuxONE (switched fabric recommended). Storage vendors must provide a support statement for use of the storage device with LinuxONE. In particular, the vendor must agree to perform problem analysis as IBM does not have access to these storage systems.

For NAS Storage, a support statement must come from the Linux distribution vendor, as they own the NAS Linux support. There is no support to boot from NAS in LinuxONE.

Storage with LinuxONE

Work with IBM and possibly a business partner to understand the total cost of ownership of LinuxONE based on the solution that you have identified.

As a first step, you might do a sizing -- that is, answer the question, how big does each element of the solution need to be?

Total cost of ownership of LinuxONE can be lowered significantly, when compared with other platforms, by several factors, including:

  • Consolidating workloads. With LinuxONE, fewer servers can mean energy and space savings, and dramatically fewer cores can result in dramatically reduced software licensing costs for software that is priced by the core. LinuxONE requires fewer cores than x86, as a result of:

    • Faster processor speed
    • Specialized engines that offload I/O to persistent storage
    • High-speed, in-memory communication across LPARs, provided by HiperSockets
    • Design for very high utilization levels (75-80 percent) with no performance impact.
  • Open source system software.
  • Support in the architecture for higher utilization, which reduces the tendency found with other architectures to provision more computing resources than are needed to avoid bottlenecks caused by peaks in utilization.

A total cost of ownership calculator provides a personalized estimate for LinuxONE.

IBM LinuxONE and Linux on Z TCO and CO2e Calculator

Work with IBM and possibly a business partner to choose the configuration, either off-the-shelf or fully customizable, that meets your needs. LinuxONE offers:

  • Up to 4 19-inch frames, depending on your capacity requirements
  • Both raised and non-raised floor environments
  • Top and bottom exit I/O and power.

The steps for obtaining a new LinuxONE system vary, depending on your needs, but typically IBM:

  • Prepares a proposal
  • Discusses financing with you
  • Works with you to place an order
  • Builds and tests your system.
Site planning information

IBM provides detailed site planning information, including a checklist, in a publication that you can download.

To see the full checklist and other site planning information, use the link for the appropriate publication.

Work with IBM and possibly a business partner to set up and start your LinuxONE system.

IBM ships your system to you and:

  1. Unloads and unboxes your system at your location
  2. Moves it into your data center
  3. Verifies that it is complete
  4. Cables the system
  5. Brings it up.

Use these resources to continue your journey to LinuxONE.

Learn more and contact IBM Test drive LinuxONE Let experts help you design, build, and implement Linux infrastructure
Technical resources

Find descriptions, server specifications, testimonials, case studies, and more.

Explore LinuxONE

Find information to unleash your open source apps and services on the Linux platform.

Explore LinuxONE Redbooks

Get timely information about LinuxONE topics.

Explore LinuxONE blogs

Find information about IBM Hyper Protect Virtual Servers.

Explore IBM Hyper Protect Virtual Servers

Find information about services to help you design and implement solutions on LinuxONE.

Explore Lab Services

Test drive LinuxONE and access other resources on the IBM LinuxONE Community Cloud.

Explore the IBM LinuxONE Community Cloud

z/VM and Linux on IBM Z and LinuxONE Bootcamp

Explore the course

IBM PartnerWorld for LinuxONE

Explore resources for IBM Business Partners

LinuxONE 4 and sustainability

Learn more

Elevating your hybrid cloud experience with IBM Cloud Paks® and Red Hat® OpenShift® Container Platform

New Learn more

Look inside LinuxONE.

Explore the LinuxONE interactive Product Catalog

LinuxONE videos on IBM Media Center

Explore videos

Accelerated Data Compression with Linux on LinuxONE III - Managing Data Growth

Watch the video

Accelerated Data Compression for Linux Databases on LinuxONE III

Watch the video

Linux on LinuxONE: Enterprise Key Management for Pervasive Encryption of Data Volumes

Watch the video

Documentation for LinuxONE

New Explore the documentation

Documentation for Linux on LinuxONE and Z

Explore the documentation
Related solutions Journey to sustainability with IBM LinuxONE

Leverage IBM LinuxONE to achieve your sustainability goals.

What's new

Updates were made to all sections, including adding the related solution, Journey to sustainability with IBM LinuxONE.

Various updates on the Solutions and Total cost of ownership tabs of the How to get started section for currency.

Various updates to reflect recently announced models.

On the Plan and order tab of the How to get started section, the links to documentation now include recently announced models.

On the Learn about LinuxONE tab of the How to get started section, the sections about resiliency, availability, and sustainability have been edited for clarity.

On the Learn about LinuxONE tab of the How to get started section, the link for more information about Hyper Protect Virtual Servers now goes to the documentation. In the Technical resources section, the tile for the Hyper Protect Virtual Servers content solution has been removed, because the content solution has been removed.

Information about Hyper Protect Data Controller was removed, as it is withdrawn.

Information about sustainability was added.

Information was updated to reflect the availability of LinuxONE Emperor 4.

Links to Compass L, the technical exchange platform for Linux on Z and LinuxONE, were added.

An overview video was added to the Introduction section.

A video was added to the hybrid cloud section of the Learn about LinuxONE tab. A video, Linux on LinuxONE: Enterprise Key Management for Pervasive Encryption of Data Volumes, was added to the Technical resources section.

A video, The z15 Core of LinuxONE, was added to the Learn about LinuxONE tab of the How to get started section and to the Technical resources section.

The Total cost of ownership tab in the How to get started section links to a new TCO calculator.

  • Updates for the new LinuxONE Express offering were added to the Introduction section and to the Plan and order tab of the How to get started section.
  • Resources were added to the Technical resources section.
  • The video in the Consolidation section of the Learn tab is new.

  • Links to IBM PartnerWorld were added to the Solutions tab of the How to get started section and to the Other resources tab of the Technical resources section.
  • Links to new videos were added to the Multimedia tab of the Technical resources section.

  • A link to a LinuxONE channel on IBM Media Center was added to the Multimedia tab of the Technical resources section.
  • A summary site planning checklist was added to the Plan and order tab of the What to expect section.
  • Minor edits were made for accessibility and usability.

A link to Hybrid cloud: The best of all worlds was added to the Learn about LinuxONE tab and to the Other resources tab of the Technical resources section.

  • In the What to expect section, the information on the Learn tab was expanded and reorganized, and links to Installation Manual for Physical Planning were added to the Plan and Order tab.
  • New resources were added to the Technical resources section, including a new tab for product libraries.

A link to the LinuxONE Community Cloud was added to the Set Up and Start tab of the What to expect section, and to the Other resources tab of the Technical resources section.

The Learn about LinuxONE tab was updated to reflect the new air-cooled, single-frame model. On the Solutions tab, the link to information about open source software was changed.

Data Privacy Passports was added to the Other resources tab of the Technical resources section.

Some content was edited, including the section on virtualization. Links to Lab Services and to IBM Cloud Hyper Protect Services were added to the Technical resources section.

Some content was edited, including content in the section “How does LinuxONE compare to x86?” Use the link in that section for comparisons of LinuxONE to x86 servers.

Footnotes

1 Consolidating Linux workloads on 5 IBM LinuxONE Emperor 4 systems instead of running them on compared x86 servers under similar conditions can reduce energy consumption by 75%, space by 50%, and the CO2e footprint by over 850 metric tons annually. DISCLAIMER: Compared 5 IBM Machine Type 3931 Max 125 model consists of three CPC drawers containing 125 configurable cores (CPs, zIIPs, or IFLs) and two I/O drawers to support both network and external storage versus 192 x86 systems with a total of 10364 cores. IBM Machine Type 3931 power consumption was based on inputs to the IBM Machine Type 3931 IBM Power Estimation Tool for a memo configuration. x86 power consumption was based on March 2022 IDC QPI power values for 7 Cascade Lake and 5 Ice Lake server models, with 32 to 112 cores per server. All compared x86 servers were 2 or 4 socket servers. IBM Z and x86 are running 24x7x365 with production and non-production workloads. Savings assumes a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) ratio of 1.57 to calculate additional power for data center cooling. PUE is based on Uptime Institute 2021 Global Data Center Survey (https://uptimeinstitute.com/about-ui/press-releases/uptime-institute-11th-annual-global-data-center-survey). CO2e and other equivalencies that are based on the EPA GHG calculator (https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator) use U.S. National weighted averages. Results may vary based on client-specific usage and location.

2 DISCLAIMER: IBM internal data based on measurements and projections was used in calculating the expected value. Necessary components include IBM z16; IBM z/VM V7.2 systems or above collected in a Single System Image, each running RHOCP 4.10 or above; IBM Operations Manager; GDPS 4.5 for management of data recovery and virtual machine recovery across metro distance systems and storage, including Metro Multi-site workload and GDPS Global; and IBM DS8000 series storage with IBM HyperSwap. A MongoDB v4.2 workload was used. Necessary resiliency technology must be enabled, including z/VM Single System Image clustering, GDPS xDR Proxy for z/VM, and Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation (ODF) 4.10 for management of local storage devices. Application induced outages are not included in the above measurements. Other configurations (hardware or software) may provide different availability characteristics.