Mainframes and Open Source

Everyone knows that mainframes work differently from other computing platforms. And if you leave university with a degree in computing, you still won’t have a clue about how a mainframe works. Everyone knows you have to be at least 50 and prefer to work on a green screen to have the slightest idea of what’s going on inside your z/OS box.

Unfortunately, the highly prejudiced comments in that first paragraph are all too common amongst people – often execs and Windows users – who find it easier to trot out the usual anti-mainframe mantras than look at what’s really going on in the world of mainframes.

Firstly, mainframes and Linux have been in a relationship for a very long time. If you have expertise in Linux, you can work on a mainframe and get great work done. For example, Docker and Kubernetes can run easily on a mainframe using Linux

And, of course, there’s the idea that mainframes are islands of hardware that not only don’t talk to the cloud, but don’t even know that the rest of the world is using the cloud all the time. Again, the reality is that IBM is very keen on the use of cloud. They have Red Hat Open Shift and IBM Cloud. They offer Mainframe as a Service. There is so much cloud-related stuff going on that it just seems strange that some people aren’t aware of it.

What about the fact that mainframes have sixty (nearly) years of their own way of working, their own software, and their own practices that no-one else can use? That is true, but (and it’s a very big ‘but’) they also have all the things (pretty much) that non-mainframe platforms have. Java works on a mainframe! There are things like z/OSMF, VSCode, Zowe, and ZOAU, which enable developers with non-IBM Z backgrounds to work usefully on mainframes.

And picking up on that, there is the Open Mainframe Project (OMP), which is an open source initiative that enables collaboration across the mainframe community to develop shared tool sets and resources. And they are having their second annual Open Mainframe Summit digitally on 22-23 September.

The theme of this year’s Open Mainframe Summit expands beyond the mainframe to highlight influencers with strengths in the areas supporting or leveraging the technology like continuous delivery, edge computing, financial services, and open source. It will also highlight projects, diversity, and business topics that will offer seasoned professionals, developers, students, and leaders an opportunity to share best practices and network with like-minded individuals.

This year’s virtual event will feature keynote speakers Gabriele Columbro, Executive Director of Fintech Open Source Foundation (FINOS); Jason Shepherd, Vice President of Ecosystem at ZEDEDA and Chair of the LF Edge Governing Board; Jono Bacon, a leading community and collaboration speaker and founder of Jono Bacon Consulting; Steve Winslow, Vice President of Compliance and Legal at The Linux Foundation; Tracy Ragan, CEO and Co-Founder of DeployHub and Continuous Delivery Foundation Board Member, and more.

Conference sessions highlight projects, diversity, and business topics such as:

• Mainframe Mavens: 5 Women to Know – Stacey Miller, Global Product Marketing Manager at SUSE and Yvette LaMar, Director of the IBM Z Influencer Ecosystem at IBM
• The Facts about COBOL – Misty Decker, Product Marketing Director at Micro Focus; Derek Britton, Director of Communications and Brand Strategy at Micro Focus; and Cameron Seay, Adjunct Instructor at East Carolina University
• Making Our Strong Community Stronger moderated by Dr. Gloria Chance, CEO at Mousai Group – Jeanne Glass, CEO and Founder of VirtualZ Computing; David Jeffries, Vice President of Development IBM z/OS Software at IBM; Greg Lotko, Broadcom; Andy Youniss, Rocket Software
• ConsoleZ – Accessing z/VM Console Data from a Browser – Mike MacIsaac, Systems Programmer at ADP
• Workflow wiZard: A Flexible Workflow Creation Tool for z/OSMF – Ray Cole, Product Architect at BMC Software
• Feilong: The Open Source API for z/VM Automation – Mike Friesenegger, Solutions Architect at SUSE
• Integrating Tessia for Self-Provisioning of Linux Distributions on Z – Alexander Efremkin, Tessia Architect, Linux Workload Enablement on IBM Z at IBM
• Introducing ZEBRA - an Incubation Project for Zowe – Salisu Ali, Student at Bayero University Kano, Andrew Twydell, Intern at IBM and Alex Kim, Enterprise Solutions Architect at Vicom Infinity
• DIY: Zowe Explorer Starter Kit – Jessielaine Punongbayan, Product Marketing Engineer at Broadcom and Richelle Anne Craw, Senior Software Engineer at Broadcom

With a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Open Mainframe Project worked closely with the CHAOSS Diversity & Inclusion Badging Program, which encourages events to obtain D&I badges for leadership, self-reflection, and self-improvement on issues critical to building the Internet as a social good. Open Mainframe Summit earned a Gold Badge for prioritizing diversity and inclusion.

If you’re interested, you can see the full conference schedule here. Conference Registration for the online event is $50 for general attendance and $15 for academia.

If you have an interest in Open Source software on the mainframe, or you just want to know more about what might be possible, then have a look on the Open Mainframe Project website.