IBM ZVSE ROADMAP User manual

z/VSE Roadmap
6 September 2007
z/VSE: A Roadmap For Cost savings and
Exploiting Technology
Prepared for:
IBM Corporation
By:
Sine Nomine Associates IBM-2007-04569-E-01
43596 Blacksmith Square August, 2007
Ashburn, VA 20147 SNA Proprietary –Confidential

z/VSE-4569
IBM-2007-04569-E-01 ©2007 Sine Nomine Associates
ii
Copyright © 2007 Sine Nomine Associates
All rights reserved.

z/VSE-4569
IBM-2007-04569-E-01 ©2007 Sine Nomine Associates
iii
Table of Contents
1INTRODUCTION AND PREFACE........................................................................1
1.1 Executive Summary.............................................................................................................................1
2THE Z/VSE PIE STRATEGY..................................................................................3
2.1 Pieces of the PIE....................................................................................................................................3
2.1.1 Protect.......................................................................................................................................................3
2.1.2 Integrate....................................................................................................................................................3
2.1.3 Extend.......................................................................................................................................................4
2.1.3.1 Exploiting Connectors .....................................................................................................................4
2.1.3.2 Web Serving......................................................................................................................................4
2.1.3.3 DB2 Connect.....................................................................................................................................4
2.1.3.4 CICS Transaction Gateway ............................................................................................................4
3TECHNOLOGY ENABLEMENT............................................................................5
3.1 System z9.................................................................................................................................................5
3.2 z/VSE 4.1 .................................................................................................................................................5
3.2.1 z/Architecture ..........................................................................................................................................5
3.2.2 Storage Constraint Relief......................................................................................................................6
3.2.3 New Pricing Metrics...............................................................................................................................6
3.2.4 Network Connectivity............................................................................................................................6
3.2.5 Security Enhancements..........................................................................................................................6
3.2.6 SCSI Disk Support..................................................................................................................................7
3.3 Overall Technology Impact................................................................................................................7
4PRICING AND ROI ..................................................................................................8
4.1 The Introduction of MWLC Pricing ...............................................................................................8
4.1.1 What counts as Full-Capacity?.............................................................................................................8
4.1.2 What counts as Sub-Capacity?.............................................................................................................9
4.1.3 Why MWLC? ..........................................................................................................................................9
4.1.4 Applicability............................................................................................................................................9
4.2 ISV Support............................................................................................................................................9
4.2.1 CSI International.....................................................................................................................................9
4.2.2 CA .............................................................................................................................................................9

z/VSE-4569
IBM-2007-04569-E-01 ©2007 Sine Nomine Associates
4
4.3 Reporting Sub-Capacity Utilization ..............................................................................................10
4.4 Does it work? .......................................................................................................................................10
4.5 z9 Hardware.........................................................................................................................................11
4.6 Human Resources...............................................................................................................................11
4.7 Environmental Savings.....................................................................................................................11
5SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS..........................................................13
APPENDIX A -PRICING SCHEMES....................................................................15
A.1 MWLC Levels......................................................................................................................................15
A.2 TWLC Tiers.........................................................................................................................................15
A.3 MWLC Eligible Program Products...............................................................................................15
APPENDIX B -Z/VSE UTILITIES AND IBM CONNECTORS..........................17
APPENDIX C -RAW DATA....................................................................................19
C.1 Maintenance Costs .............................................................................................................................19
C.2 Environmental Data...........................................................................................................................30
APPENDIX D -REFERENCES..............................................................................32
GLOSSARY....................................................................................................................33

z/VSE-4569
List of Tables
Table 1: Sample Comparative Pricing ............................................................................... 11
Table 2: MWLC Levels...................................................................................................... 15
Table 3: TWLC Tiers ........................................................................................................ 15
Table 4: Program Products eligible for MWLC................................................................. 16
Table 5: z/VSE Utilities and IBM Connectors .................................................................... 18
Table 6: Maintenance Data................................................................................................ 30
Table 7: Environmental Characteristics ............................................................................ 31

IBM-2007-04569-E-01 ©2007 Sine Nomine Associates
1
1Introduction and Preface
“With its announcement of z/VSE 4, IBM has executed a hat trick. It has brought new
technical life to an operating system that has not been part of the swift flow of
mainstream computing. It has brought the usage-based pricing model used by z/OS
mainframe shops to the VSE users who had previously been neglected. And it has set the
stage for fresh hardware initiatives by speeding the exit of users with older machines.”
Hesh Wiener, Big Iron
The intent of this document is to provide those responsible for making the long-term decisions on
the nature and direction of their company's IT strategy with the information and arguments to
continue with their investment with z/VSE.
This white paper illustrates the value of upgrading hardware and software portfolios to VSE
customers currently running pre-z/VSE 4.1 systems on pre System z9 processors. For those
running a standard portfolio of z/VSE products on Multiprise, 9672 or z8xx/z9xx classes of
machine, there are significant TCO savings to be realized.
1.1 Executive Summary
Tracings its heritage back to the days of S/360, z/VSE continues to meet its users business
requirements with a robust, lean, and efficient environment. Sine Nomine Associates’ own
experiences with z/VSE date back over twenty years to an organization that had been a VSE
customer since the DOS Rel 16 days. It was the backbone of an organization that turned over $4
billion per year and did so with great reliability.
Subsystems such as VTAM, CICS, POWER, and TCP/IP provide the infrastructure that satisfies
most of the VSE customer requirements. To VSE customers like these it is no wonder why the
question of “Why are you still running VSE?” is one that is usually answered with “Because it
works and works very well.”
Increasingly, however, there are business requirements and cost pressures that cause those
running VSE to look at how their investment can be maximized and the needs of their users
satisfied. With the introduction of the System z9 family and the availability of z/VSE 4.1 IBM
has attempted to help the VSE community address these concerns.
Today, for those customers facing end of life on their existing hardware there are compelling
technical and financial reasons to look at upgrading both the operating system and the hardware
on which it belongs. The combination of z/VSE and z9 address the questions of:
ØHow can value be most efficiently generated to maximize ROI?
ØHow can modernization of technology be applied to preserve the best of the existing
applications and enable developing services to rapidly adapt to new demand?
z/VSE 4.1 provides a strong foundation and enabling services to allow organizations to adapt
without risking the farm through:
ØTechnology enablement:

IBM-2007-04569-E-01 ©2007 Sine Nomine Associates
2
Ø64-bit VSE constraint relief
Øz/Architecture
Øz/VSE connector strategy which is part of the “Protect, Integrate and Extend”
(PIE) strategy described later in this document
ØCompanion Operating System to server consolidation strategy
ØOperational coordination benefits
ØSecurity features
ØPricing and ROI improvements:
ØMid-Range Workload License Charge (MWLC) Pricing
Øz9 hardware pricing
ØLower operational costs resulting from coordinated management
ØEnvironmentals
ØPersonnel optimization
VSE brings all those features into a focused coherent solution that provides strong ROI today, and
room to grow for tomorrow.

IBM-2007-04569-E-01 ©2007 Sine Nomine Associates
3
2The z/VSE PIE Strategy
The IBM VSE team have coined the acronym “PIE” to scribe a strategy of “Protect, Integrate,
and Extend” for z/VSE:
ØProtect existing customer investments in core z/VSE programs, data, equipment, business
and IT skills, plus business processes, and end user training. This is achieved by
modernizing applications by extending z/VSE resources to the web; exploiting the latest
in IBM servers and storage; and enhanced z/OS affinity.
ØIntegrate z/VSE with the rest of IT, based on open and industry standards via the use of
VSE connectors, SOA Web Services, and IBM middleware.
ØExtend solutions by using Linux on System z to exploit existing core VSE investments
and introducing new applications and workloads in a low cost, low risk, fast time-to-
market manner.
2.1 Pieces of the PIE
The following sections describe how the PIE strategy can be used to future-proof z/VSE-based
systems.
2.1.1 Protect
On facet of the protection part of the z/VSE PIE comes in the form of subsystems such as CICS
Transaction Server (TS), TCP/IP, and VTAM which facilitates the interoperation and affinity
with z/OS. Another facet is the enhanced hardware support that z/VSE provides which enables
the exploitation of devices such as the DS8000 or the encryption capabilities of the TS1120 tape
subsystem.
2.1.2 Integrate
Connectors enable the integration of VSE systems with other network-enabled systems and
provide real-time access to VSE resources (like VSAM, POWER, DL/I, Librarian, ICCF,
console) from remote platforms. VSE programs can also access remote data like databases or flat
files. In addition there are a set of utilities for download, that helps you to manage your VSE
system. Table 4 in the appendices describes these connectors and utilities.
Connectors are the building blocks used to connect different applications on heterogeneous
platforms and operating systems. z/VSE connectors are based on J2EE standards and use
WebSphere Common Connector Framework. They consist of:
ØClient components written in Java: meaning they can run on any Java-compatible
platform, such as Linux running on the IBM System z
ØServer components that run on the VSE host

IBM-2007-04569-E-01 ©2007 Sine Nomine Associates
4
2.1.3 Extend
The extend slice of the PIE can be implemented by a Linux system acting as both a gateway to
the Internet and as a host for new e-business applications. Running in an IFL the Linux system
will not affect the MSU rating of the System z and thus the software bill for the z/VSE portfolio.
It also allows its applications to be accessed from z/VSE at memory-to-memory speeds via the
use of hipersockets. Linux is able to exploit the z/VSE connectors to extend the reach of the
existing z/VSE applications and to promote the growth of new ones.
There are several ways people are using Linux on System z to extend their existing applications.
2.1.3.1 Exploiting Connectors
Java-based connector provide connectivity to z/VSE via TCP/IP. They provide access to, for
example a Web Application Server, VSAM, POWER, the Librarian, ICCF and the z/VSE
console.
The DB2-based connector uses DRDA over TCP/IP to provide JDBC/ODBC access to z/VSE-
based DB2 systems as well as VSAM and DL/I based data.
Tools such as the z/VSE navigator provide a face to z/VSE that is intuitive to today's workstation
users which means they can be immediately productive when using the system: there is no
requirement to train them how to use the older 3270 mechanisms.
2.1.3.2 Web Serving
One simple strategy is the serving of z/VSE data exported via NFS through an Apache webserver.
This can be done via a z/VSE-based webserver but using Apache allows access to a greater pool
of programmers are familiar with Apache's way of doing things.
A more complex strategy is to run WebSphere on the Linux system and using facilities like the
MQ client, DB2 Connect and the CICS Transaction Gateway to serve data and transactions to and
from the z/VSE system.
2.1.3.3 DB2 Connect
DB2 Connect enables a Linux system, and the clients that connect to it, to access z/VSE-based
DB2 instances.
2.1.3.4 CICS Transaction Gateway
The CICS Transaction Gateway enables Java applications running on another server or
workstation to access a CICS system running on z/VSE via the Java Daemon gateway. This
technology enables the serving of Java applets from a webserver.
Impact: The PIE strategy is a roadmap for maintaining and enhancing the viability of z/VSE
based systems into the future. The connectors and utilities are not “vaporware” and are available
now to facilitate the extension of z/VSE systems and applications. Access to strategic middleware
such as WebSphere and thus to a range of new applications is also a key to enhancing the value of
z/VSE.

IBM-2007-04569-E-01 ©2007 Sine Nomine Associates
5
3Technology Enablement
When it comes to z/VSE one side of the business driver coin is the advances in technology that
come with the new processors and z/VSE 4.1. The advances in technology translate into
improved application delivery, the integration of existing applications to the web, and secured
extension of data visibility to new applications.
3.1 System z9
The latest in the mainframe family of processors are the System z9 Business Class (z9 BC) and
Enterprise Class (z9 EC) series.
The z9 BC is designed as a midrange mainframe and promises extensive growth options and
excellent price/performance for those customers requiring a lower-capacity entry point and more
granular growth options than offered with the System z9 Enterprise Class. There are two models:
R07and S07, each capable of running from 1 to 7 processors. The full range of speciality engines
(IFL, CF, ZIIP and ZAAP) and an extensive range of cryptographic assists are available.
The z9 EC is designed as a large mainframe solution that is highly scalable and has greater
cryptographic capabilities and a higher capacity entry point than the z9 BC. It also supports the
full range of speciality engines. Five models are available: S08, S18, S28, S38 and S54, which
provides from 1-54 n-way processors.
Impact: The z9 provides arange of processors with improved performance with enough
granularity for users to choose an entry level appropriate to their needs and to grow when
required. The speciality engines enable collaborative processing with the introduction of Linux.
The cryptographic facilities enable rapid security services to be implemented which are needed
when extending z/VSE to the network.
3.2 z/VSE 4.1
Version 4.1 of z/VSE was announced on January 9, 2007 and made generally available on March
16. There are some significant features described in the announcement that may have both
technical and financial implications to a VSE-based IT operation.
3.2.1 z/Architecture
z/VSE works in z/Architecture mode only and thus requires a processor capable of operating in
this mode. It exploits z/Architecture's ability to address 64-bit real storage although it only uses
31-bit virtual addresses. Candidates for exploiting this feature include “data-in-memory”
techniques such as CICS Shared Data Tables, VSE Virtual Disk, or more and larger buffer pools.
z/VSE is supported on the IBM System z9 EC and z9 BC servers as well as the IBM eServer
zSeries z990, z890, z900 and z800 servers.
Impact: Selected system functions of z/VSE are able to exploit 64-bit real addressing which
means the below 2GB requirements for these functions is relieved and the space available for

IBM-2007-04569-E-01 ©2007 Sine Nomine Associates
6
other purposes. The 64-bit real addressing mode may mean that the VSE system is able to run
without a page data set.
3.2.2 Storage Constraint Relief
z/VSE supports up to 8GB of real storage compared to the previous level of 2GB.
Impact: In conjunction with the 64-bit real addressing support, machines with larger physical
memory may be more effectively used by the operating system.
3.2.3 New Pricing Metrics
As part of the announcement a Capacity Measurement Tool was described. It's purpose is to
facilitate the introduction of a new pricing mechanism known as Midrange Workload License
Charges (MWLC). This scheme is available on the IBM System z9 EC and z9 BC processors
only and provides for improved price performance with both full-capacity and sub-capacity
modes of operation.
Impact: The ability to “pay for what you use” rather than pay for what might be used presents a
major opportunity for z/VSE sites to reduce their monthly software bill. A detailed analysis is
provided in the next section of this document.
3.2.4 Network Connectivity
Since z/VSE 3.1 there has been support for the Open Systems Adapter-Express2 1000BASE-T
Ethernet card that enables a larger network load to be supported compared to the previous
options.
Impact: High-speed network support will enable VSE-based systems to ship data to and from the
network at gigabit speeds and facilitate faster response times to the end-users.
3.2.5 Security Enhancements
z/VSE 4.1 has implemented significant enhancements to its encryption support. z/VSE V4.1 is
designed to support 2048-bit RSA keys in addition to 512-bit and 1024-bit RSA keys. z/VSE now
supports the CP Assist for Cryptographic Functions (CPACF) for using Advanced Encryption
Standard (AES) for 128-bit keys.
TCP/IP is designed to use 512-bit and 1024-bit RSA keys transparently. TCP/IP will support
2048-bit RSA key with a Crypto Express2 adapter in either coprocessor or accelerator mode.
Similarly, z/VSE V4.1 e-business Connectors are designed to support 2048-bit RSA keys in
addition to 512-bit and 1024-bit RSA keys. TCP/IP also supports AES.
In addition z/VSE now supports the IBM System Storage TS1120 encrypting tape drive which
will encrypt data using the 256-bit AES algorithm. Management of keys is performed using IBM
Encryption Key Manager (EKVM) which is a Java-based application running on z/OS, AIX,
Linux, i5/OS, HP, Sun, and Windows systems.

IBM-2007-04569-E-01 ©2007 Sine Nomine Associates
7
Impact: As the reliance on the Internet and network-enabled applications continues to increase it
is important that any platform providing such applications can be confidently secured. The
features of z9 and their exploitation by z/VSE provides this confidence.
3.2.6 SCSI Disk Support
z/VSE 3.1 introduced support of SCSI-based devices through an FBA-emulation layer that
provides transparent access to these devices by existing, unmodified, applications. Facilities such
as N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) allows secure access to SCSI end-points.
z/VSE 4.1 has introduced support of directly connected SCSI devices instead of mandating the
presence of a switched fabric environment.
Impact: z/VSE may now participate in a SAN environment which may improve the management
of the storage environment of the site. Direct connection allows a site to “put their toe in the
water” when it comes to SCSI without the expense of a complete switched fabric.
3.3 Overall Technology Impact
The impact of the technologies described in the previous sections is two-fold:
1. More effective integration with other mainframe and non-mainframe systems.
2. Provides the building blocks which positions z/VSE to fully participate in enterprise-wide
SOA strategies.

IBM-2007-04569-E-01 ©2007 Sine Nomine Associates
8
4Pricing and ROI
In his “z/VSE 4.1 Virtual Class” Klaus Goebel, the z/VSE Systems Manager, lists the five top
concerns of z/VSE customers as:
1. Cost
2. Cost
3. Cost
4. Applications
5. Applications
Historically, people have run z/VSE because it's lean and mean as well as having a portfolio of
applications that facilitated doing business. Today's challenge is to maintain the platform’s
efficiency while integrating modern computing networks and applications.
IBM has attempted to address these top concerns by a three pronged attack:
1. The introduction of MWLC Pricing.
2. The z9 family of processors.
3. A “Protect, Integrate, and Extend” strategy to software and inter-operability.
4.1 The Introduction of MWLC Pricing
Midrange Workload License Charges (MWLC) is a monthly license charge price metric on the
IBM System z9 Business Class (z9 BC) and the IBM System z9 Enterprise Class (z9 EC) servers
that applies to z/VSE V4 and 12 key VSE middleware programs. The exception is for the z9-BC
A01 which is subject to the zELC pricing mechanism.
Similar to Workload License Charges and Entry Workload License Charges, you may implement
MWLC in full-capacity or sub-capacity mode.
ØFull-Capacity: Programs are licensed and paid based on the IBM rated capacity of the z9
Server.
ØSub-Capacity: Programs are licensed and paid for based on the utilization of the Logical
Partitions (LPARs) where the program executes. z/VSE may run under z/VM 5.2 or
higher.
4.1.1 What counts as Full-Capacity?
Full-Capacity pricing metric relies on the total rated capacity (measured in MSUs) of the machine
where a product executes.

IBM-2007-04569-E-01 ©2007 Sine Nomine Associates
9
4.1.2 What counts as Sub-Capacity?
Sub-Capacity pricing metric relies on the utilization (based on peak 4-hour rolling average each
month) of the LPAR(s) or guest Virtual Machines where a product executes. Note it is a peak of a
rolling average, not the absolute peak of utilization.
4.1.3 Why MWLC?
In his June 2006 article in the z/Systems Journal, Pete Clark gives the following example that
illustrates why MWLC may be of benefit to sites running z/VSE: “In the past, the software
pricing for every month would have been for full processor power. Now for 10 or 11 months of
the year, software pricing will be at one-third full processor power, and for the one to two-month
holiday rush actual utilization up to full power price.”
The effect of MWLC is two-fold: it allows software to be paid for based on what is used rather
than what capacity is available, and it provides a type of “capacity on demand” facility for those
short periods when greater processing power is required.
4.1.4 Applicability
MWLC pricing applies only to the z/VSE V4 operating system and 12 key VSE middleware
programs. On a z9 BC, all other VSE programs will be priced according to Tiered Entry
Workload License Charges (TWLC). On a z9 EC, all other VSE programs will be priced
according to Flat Workload License Charges, Graduated Monthly License Charges, or Extended
License Charges. In the event that one of these three pricing metrics is not available for a
particular VSE program, other applicable pricing metrics may be used. Tables 1, 2, and 3 in the
appendices describe these pricing mechanisms and program product applicability.
4.2 ISV Support
Several ISVs have announced support for the MWLC model including the following. For those
not listed check with the vendor to see if they offer some form of sub-capacity pricing.
4.2.1 CSI International
On March 16, 2007, CSI International,announced support for IBM’s Midrange Workload License
Charge (MWLC) licensing model. “CSI will support the full-capacity and sub-capacity MWLC
options for customers running z/VSE V4 on IBM z9 Business Class and z9 Enterprise Class
servers. The CSI implementation will result in lower licensing fees for full-capacity licenses and
additional savings may be achieved by moving to the sub-capacity licensing option. Customers
choosing the sub-capacity licensing model will submit their utilization rates to CSI via the IBM
Sub Capacity Reporting Tool (SCRT) report.”
4.2.2 CA
In their March 16, 2007, press release CA announced that they will “accept usage reports
generated by IBM's reporting facility for use with CA's own Measured Workload Pricing
program, which bases licensing costs on measured system usage--rather than total potential

IBM-2007-04569-E-01 ©2007 Sine Nomine Associates
10
hardware capacity--enabling customers to more closely align IT spending with changing business
requirements.”
Solutions supporting z/VSE 4.1 include CA Explore Performance Management, CA Dynam
storage management solutions, the CA Datacom and CA IDMS families of database products, CA
FAQS automation solutions, and CA Top Secret for security management.
4.3 Reporting Sub-Capacity Utilization
There is a tool from IBM called the Capacity Management Tool (CMT), also known as the sub-
capacity monitoring tool, which collects data from LPARs and/or guests running under z/VM (5.2
or later). This data is used by the Sub-Capacity Reporting Tool (SCRT) analyses to produce a
Sub-Capacity Report. The Capacity Measurement Tool, which ships with z/VSE, must be run to
enable z/VSE V4 to generate the SCRT data. The Capacity Measurement Tool must be run for an
entire month to generate a month of records before a valid Sub-Capacity Report can be created.
z/VSE is able to generate the SCRT records but the SCRT tool itself only runs on z/OS. For those
customers with both z/VSE and z/OS the SCRT reports may be run on site. For those who do not,
then the records produced by z/VSE are sent to IBM which will return a Sub-Capacity Report
within two business days.
4.4 Does it work?
It's one thing to read through the announcements; construct configuration models; and speculate
on what savings may be possible. It's another thing to hear stories from people at the coal face to
see if the potential savings are being realized.
The listservers provide one of the best publicly accessible resources for getting this type of
information.
One government z/VSE user reports on their experience with the full-capacity option of MWLC
(of course, your mileage may vary):
“I just got our April software bill from IBM for the first month on our z9 under z/VSE 4.1 and
MWLC. We were paying $22,965 per month on our z800 under z/VSE 3.1.2. The April bill is for
the same software and it is $12,318: a difference of $10,647 per month. The z9 increased our
monthly processor payment by $4,450 so we have a net a savings of $6,197 per month.
“Looks like all the talk about the z9 and MWLC pricing for z/VSE is the real deal.”
It is not unreasonable to project that the software bill for sub-capacity pricing would realize even
greater savings. For example, in the above case by using the full-capacity option the assumption
is that the site is running at 100% at all times during the year. By evaluating their actual
requirements they may find their 4-hour rolling average is significantly less than this. If they were
to implement the sub-capacity option of MWLC their monthly software bill could drop equally
significantly.
Another factor that should be considered when determining potential savings is that of hardware
maintenance. For organizations moving from 9672 equipment may realize significant savings by
reducing monthly maintenance and environmental expenses.

IBM-2007-04569-E-01 ©2007 Sine Nomine Associates
11
4.5 z9 Hardware
For those moving from older hardware, the new z9 family of processors provides a substantial
increase in computing power. This equipment is also rated as being amongst the most
“environmentally friendly” processors ever produced. What this should translate to is lower
power and air conditioning requirements, lower maintenance requirements, and ultimately a
better TCO. In previous times the jump in MSU rating would translate to higher software bills
that would all but obliterate any other savings. However, with the introduction of MWLC
environmental, maintenance, and software savings can all be realized simultaneously.
A full TCO analysis of these chances is predicated on accurate pricing, and thus the actual TCO
results will differ greatly by customer, as IBM prices their solutions on a custom basis according
to the customer's portfolio of applications and hardware.
The following table illustrates a comparison of the different pricing models based on running a
software stack which includes z/VSE, LE, HLAS, DITTO, and COBOL and uses 32 MSUs. The
data for this table is sourced from the presentation “What's new in zSubcapacity Pricing” and
prices are as of January 2007 in $US.
9672 GMLC z800 ELC z890 TWLC z9 BC MWLC z9 BC MWLC at
70% 4-hour
rolling average
$240K/year $120K/year $96K/year $76K/year $71K/year
Table 1: Sample Comparative Pricing
4.6 Human Resources
By extending VSE's reach within an organization through the use of the “PIE” strategy the other
IT resources within that organization that have web, SOA, and/or open systems skills are able to
use the services of the VSE system. In this way staff may be more effectively used and the
systems under VSE's control increase their utility to the business.
4.7 Environmental Savings
As part of IBM's “Green” strategy, the System z9 is the most energy efficient processors yet
produced. Depending on the equipment currently being used migration to the z9 platform can
yield significant savings in power, air conditioning, and footprint. Even coming from an MP3000
configuration where internal disk is used there would be savings from moving to a z9 and
DS6000 combination.
Sine Nomine Associates provides an extended discussion of the impact of power and cooling
facilities and the strengths of System z in this area, in its white paper “Avoiding the $25 million
Server”. One of the conclusions from that paper is directly relevant to running z/VSE on System
z:
“Power distribution units (PDUs), computer room air conditioners (CRACs), and the network
and SAN infrastructure components all require periodic maintenance and occasional repairs,

IBM-2007-04569-E-01 ©2007 Sine Nomine Associates
12
none of which are free. The mainframe requires significantly less of each of these resources and
thus one expects that the maintenance and repair costs would decrease proportionally. Even in
an existing facility with pre-existing power and cooling systems one could argue that running
these systems at a lower-than-maximum load level would prolong their useful life. It is certain
that doing so provides greater capacity headroom to handle temporary overloads from other
sources.”

IBM-2007-04569-E-01 ©2007 Sine Nomine Associates
13
5Summary and Recommendations
While many pundits continue to indicate that VSE is non-viable, the influx of investment
and new function provides both a strong foundation and a base for continued expansion
by assimilating new workloads and optimizing existing workloads as consolidation
occurs. This combination of “something old, something new, something borrowed,
something blue” returns the best of both worlds: a bridge between the status quo and the
status futura.
The opportunity being presented to z/VSE customers today is one that should be closely
examined. It is based on addressing the top concerns of the z/VSE community: cost and
applications.
The attack on cost is based on:
Øz/VSE MWLC pricing
ØPotential savings from reduction in environmental requirements
ØLower hardware maintenance
z/VSE facilitates the protection, integration and extension of applications via:
Øz/VSE connectors
ØExploitation of new hardware such as the new processors, cryptographic
equipment, network hardware, and
ØIntroduction of Linux to extend the range of applications that can access and
manipulate data under the control of the z/VSE system.
Those running z/VSE prior to 4.1 or running older hardware should seize upon this
opportunity to investigate the potential savings in TCO and the enhanced functionality
that would be realized by a migration to z/VSE 4.1 running on z9 hardware.
There are several categories of customer where savings are a function of one or more of
the financial or technological factors described in this paper:
ØThose where savings achieved by moving to MWLC pricing will be sufficient to
justify a migration to z/VSE 4.1 and the z9.
ØThose where the reduction in maintenance and environmentals by migrating to the
z9 in conjunction with the new software pricing model will be the tipping point.
ØThose, for example running MP3000 equipment, where a migration to z9 and to
modern, efficient, and higher-capacity disks such as the DS6000, will be the
driver.

IBM-2007-04569-E-01 ©2007 Sine Nomine Associates
14
ØFor the remainder it is the combination of the above savings plus the increased
value of the data and systems being managed by the z/VSE system as a result of
implementing the connector and/or Linux strategy.
It is important that a thorough assessment of not just the program products to be run on a
given configuration be undertaken but of the full hardware and software configuration in
order to determine the true amount of savings possible. The appendices contain tables
that may be used as a starting point for estimating the savings in environmental and
operational costs.

IBM-2007-04569-E-01 ©2007 Sine Nomine Associates
15
Appendix A -Pricing Schemes
A.1 MWLC Levels
Level Range (MSUs)
Base MWLC
3
Level 1 4 -
17
Level 2 18 -
30
Level 3 31 -
45
Level 4 46 -
87
Level 5 88 -
175
Level 6 176 -
260
Level 7
261+
Table 2: MWLC Levels
A.2 TWLC Tiers
For programs that are not eligible for MWLC, but are eligible for TWLC pricing, the tiers are as
follows:
Tier Machine Capacity (MSUs)
Tier A 1 -
11
Tier B 12 -
15
Tier C 16 -
40
Tier D 41 -
75
Tier E 76 -
1500
Tier F
1501+
Table 3: TWLC Tiers
A.3 MWLC Eligible Program Products
The IBM program products eligible for MWLC pricing are shown in the following table.
Program Number Description