Remixed notes: Mainframe Migration to Azure

A compilation of key info & links from Azure documentation -

The term mainframe generally refers to a large computer system, but the vast majority currently of mainframes deployed are IBM System z servers or IBM plug-compatible systems running MVS, DOS, VSE, OS/390, or z/OS (64-bit OS).

Common components of a typical IBM mainframe architecture

DB2 for z/OS typically uses Virtual Storage Access Method (VSAM) datasets to store the data.

Logical partitions, or LPARs, are used to divide compute resources. A physical mainframe is partitioned into multiple LPARs. A mainframe might use one LPAR for a CICS region with associated COBOL programs, and a separate LPAR for IBM Db2 database. 

Migrating to the cloud enables companies to modernize their infrastructure. 

The new core-dense, Intel-based systems have as much compute capacity as mainframes.

Azure VMs can run mainframe emulation environments and compilers that support lift-and-shift scenarios.

Common server components that you can emulate include online transaction process (OLTP), batch, and data ingestion systems as the following figure shows.

Azure compute power compares favorably to a mainframe’s capacity. If you're thinking of moving a mainframe workload to Azure, compare the mainframe metric of one million instructions per second (MIPS) to virtual CPUs.

Mainframes typically scale up, while cloud environments scale out. The cloud also scales up or down to match exact user specifications. Compute power, storage, and services scale on demand under a usage-based billing model.

Micro Focus Enterprise Server is one of the largest mainframe rehosting platforms available to run your z/OS workloads on a less expensive x86 platform on Azure.

TmaxSoft OpenFrame is a popular mainframe rehosting solution used in lift-and-shift scenarios.

Skytap on Azure is a first-party cloud service that natively runs IBM Power and x86 workloads in Azure. It enables business operations to quickly move IBM Power-based workloads to the cloud without refactoring, rewriting, and rearchitecting, preserving prior investments in IBM Power-based, mission-critical applications.  Skytap on Azure is available for purchase and provisioning directly through Azure Marketplace. Skytap on Azure offers consumption-based pricing, on-demand access to compute and storage resources, and extensibility through RESTful APIs. Skytap on Azure is supported by a service-level agreement (SLA) of 99.95 percent availability.

Key links:

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