2020 Linux on IBM Z and LinuxONE Client Workshop, November 9-14

Get the latest news about the Linux exploitation and advantages of the IBM Z and LinuxONE platform in this technical 5 day workshop. Focusing also on new solutions and capabilities, such as Hybrid Cloud, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform, Security, Performance, Networking and Virtualization presented by our development experts. We will start with introduction sessions on the first day, continue with 3 days of technical deep dive topics, and resume with the latest client experiences, and a panel discussion on the last day. You will also get a chance to interact directly with IBM developers and solution experts during the workshop.

Agenda highlights:

• Introduction day
• Linux on IBM Z and LinuxONE introduction and client stories
• Virtualization options with Linux on IBM Z and LinuxONERed Hat OpenShift Container Platform in the Hybrid Cloud Strategy for IBM Z & LinuxONE
• Cloud Paks for IBM Z overview
• Deep dive sessions
• What's new Linux on IBM Z and LinuxONE
• z/VM Platform update
• IBM Secure Execution for Linux - Introduction and Overview
• Hyper Protect Virtual Server onPrem - Differences to Cloud
• Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Z - Performance Experiences, Hints and Tips & Networking
• Securing the Workloads on Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Z
• IBM z15 Hardware Compression
• Preparing for Multifactor Authentication for z/VM
• Best Practices of Installing Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Z
• Competitive application performance on Red Hat OpenShift
• Cloud Paks for Data on IBM Z and LinuxONE
• KVM Network Performance - Best Practices and Tuning Recommendations
• Experiences and open discussion
• Client experiences and lessons learned
• Panel discussion for all
  

Date: November 9 - 13, 2020
Time schedule: 8:30 AM- 12:00 PM EDT / 2:30 - 6:00 PM CEST daily

Registration is open here till November 5.

Ubuntu 20.10 released

Ubuntu Server 20.10 is out!
It ships

• Linux kernel 5.8
• QEMU v5.0
• libvirt v6.6

See the release notes here, and the blog entry at canonical with Z-specific highlights here.

IBM Cloud Infrastructure Center adds Support for Red Hat KVM

The latest release of IBM Cloud Infrastructure Center 1.1.2 adds support for Red Hat KVM on IBM Z and LinuxONE.

IBM Cloud Infrastructure Center is an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) management solution that provides on-premise cloud deployments of Linux virtual machines on IBM Z and LinuxONE.
As a component of the Z Hybrid Cloud solution stack, Cloud Infrastructure Center delivers simplified IaaS management across compute, network, and storage resources, making virtual infrastructure ready to be consumed by PaaS layer solutions.
Among others, version 1.1.2 provides new capabilities, including cloud deployments for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Kernel-based Virtual Machines (KVM).

See here for the official announcement, and here for a blog entry with further details.

Webinar: KVM Network Performance - Best Practices and Tuning Recommendations

Abstract
Join us for this webinar session to get an overview of the different networking configuration choices running KVM guests on the IBM Z platforms and details to setup and capabilities. It also provides tuning recommendations for the KVM host and KVM guest environment to achieve greater network performance.

Speaker
Dr. Jürgen Dölle, Linux on IBM Z Performance Evaluation

Registration
Register here. You can check the system requirements here.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Replay & Archive
All sessions are recorded. For the archive as well as a replay and handout of this session and all previous webcasts see here.

QEMU v5.1 released

QEMU v5.1 is out. Here are the highlights from a KVM on Z perspective:

• Secure Guest support
• vfio-ccw: Various enhancements
• DASD IPL via vfio-ccw is now fully functional (requires Linux kernel 5.8)
  

For further details, see the Release Notes.

KVM on IBM Z at Virtual SHARE

Don't miss our session dedicated to Secure Execution at this year's virtual SHARE:

Protecting Data In-use With Secure Execution, presented by Reinhard Bündgen, 3:50 PM - 4:35 PM EST on Tuesday, August 4.

RHEL providing unlimited KVM Guests on IBM Z

Red Hat has announced a new offering for IBM Z and LinuxONE here.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM Z with premium support also includes

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Update Support add-on (new)
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux High Availability add-on (new)
• Red Hat Smart Management (new)
• Red Hat Insights (new)
• Unlimited virtual guests (KVM)