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IBM beckons Linux fans to server line

In an effort to increase the number of programs available for its iSeries servers, Big Blue is courting Linux programmers by letting them tap into an iSeries server over the Net.

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
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Stephen Shankland
2 min read
In an effort to increase the number of programs available for its relatively unknown iSeries line of special-purpose servers, IBM is courting Linux programmers by letting them tap into an iSeries server over the Internet.

The Test Drive program lets programmers use the version of Linux from either SuSE or Turbolinux running on an iSeries system, IBM will announce Tuesday. Red Hat, the most popular version of Linux, will be supported in January.

The strategy mirrors one adopted by Intel, which funded efforts to let programmers access servers that were using its scarce, then-prototype Itanium chip. And VA Software houses a "compile farm" where programmers can try out Mac OS X, FreeBSD and Solaris 8, as well as Linux on Power PC, Alpha and UltraSparc chips.

Servers in the iSeries line, formerly called the AS/400 line, can run several "virtual" Linux servers in separate partitions that share the hardware used by the native iSeries operating system, OS/400. An iSeries machine can house as many as 31 Linux partitions.

IBM hopes to benefit from its embrace of the Linux operating system--a clone of Unix that competes with its progenitor as well as with Windows. IBM believes Linux will become a standard part of the computing infrastructure.

Unlike Windows and most versions of Unix, Linux and higher-level server software aren't locked to one or two chip designs, but rather can run on a multitude of computer types. So Linux software works nearly the same across IBM's four major server lines.

In addition, Linux is popular with up-and-coming programmers in college today, and Big Blue hopes to capture some of their attention and respect.