isham research
Sun jerks awake after IBM z800 launch
Sleepy animals often lash out if woken rudely. But Sun's reaction to IBM's z800 is quite the most irrational seen for a long time. Perhaps they're feeling the pinch.
IBM has introduced yet another mainframe variant, the z800 (codename: Raptor). Why did they call it Raptor? Our guess: it's named after an extinct animal that was unable to adapt to a changing world. The z800 is IBM's attempt to adapt a semi-extinct animal (traditional mainframe) so that it will remain relevant to an increasingly uninterested audience.
Someone should tell Sun that raptors aren't extinct. In fact the United States of America has one (Haliaeetus leucocephalusas) on its Great Seal. Although they did once face extinction, the benefits of keeping them around have been realised and their numbers are on the increase. Same goes for the eagles.
This new baby-frame has been "factory crippled" so that it will only utilize 1-4 cpus and only run "Modern" workloads. Musty old mainframe applications that utilize CICS, COBOL, or Fortran won't work, thanks to "innovative" IBM O/S technology.
Flat wrong on all counts, and a serious black mark for Sun's competitive analysis. "Factory crippled" implies the reuse of old technology - but as long ago as 7 October 2001 isham research reported that Raptor would use a newly developed MCM and processor chip. C'mon guys - it's only been on the web six months - has no one fired a browser up in all that time? The z800 won't only run "Modern" workloads - the briefest glance at IBM's web pages will show that all current operating systems are supported. All at once, if you like. This isn't even FUD - it's either stupid errors or a pack of lies on Sun's part.
This is pretty much the same system that IBM recently touted as the "Linux Mainframe". IBM has been trumpeting this system as the ultimate Linux machine - the vital, young, hep system for a new generation of swingin' IT cats.
They're right when they say that the z800 is 'pretty much the same system that IBM recently touted as the Linux Mainframe' - one reason, perhaps, why IBM used the same name. Was this the clue Sun's incisive analysts spotted?
Apparently, the Linux-induced euphoria is waning. They are hedging their Linux bet by trying to sell the system to their traditional mainframe customer base.
Yet another example of how appalling Sun's competitive analysis is. Can euphoria 'wane' in fifteen working days? If it did, would IBM react in less than a year? In fact, the Linux-only version is a derivative of the full-function version and not the other way round - and the timing of their respective announcements was set by the dates for Linuxworld and Partnerworld respectively - not so much by marketing as by hotel room availability. Can Sun really be this ignorant about a major competitor - and if it is, why prove it in public?
The z800, in traditional mainframe trim, runs a "variation" of z/OS named z/OS.e. This is a "lite" version of z/OS that is different enough to require ISVs to port and recompile applications before they will run. Right now there are exactly 10 such plucky ISVs listed on IBM's web site, offering a small number of applications. IBM is offering DB2, Websphere, and MQSeries. It is unclear if these are standard versions of the applications or if they are also "lite" versions. The fact that IBM has inexplicably added yet another O/S means that we will see another instance of the Vendor-ISV vicious circle. ISVs typically don't port to a system until it starts to sell well, but the system typically doesn't sell until there is a wide range of applications that run on it. The vendor continues to run around the circle until it drops the O/S from sheer exhaustion.
This is an edifice built entirely on sand, because it's based on its own assumption that z/OS.e is the only supported environment. It isn't - and the whole paragraph is most charitably described as a flight of Sun's fantasy. It certainly has nothing to do with the real world.
IBM has introduced yet another OS for ISVs to shun like yet another Whoopie Goldberg movie.
Do they mean 'shun' like the Lion King was shunned - a gross of $767,700,000 to date? Gee, Sun really knows how to end a winning streak. Once again, the research is appalling - it's "Whoopi", guys, there's no 'e'. Don't let it bother you - in a document with this many screw-ups who cares about one more? She was, BTW, the first woman to win the Mark Twain prize for humour.
Perhaps we should submit this little effort for a prize of some kind. In the meantime, perhaps Sun would like to divert a little of their creativity to shipping J2EE 1.4 on time?