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IBM's $45 Linux Server (Well, Kinda)

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the stupid-boot-trick dept.

Wedman sent us a snippet from a newsletter from OpenSourceIT that starts off by saying that IBM will announce a new pricing scheme for Linux on the S/390 mainframes: Soon they'll cost $125k. For another $20k you can get virtual machine software to run multiple copies of Linux on the same box. David Boyes, a consultant who works with the S/390, managed to boot 41,500 Linux servers on one mainframe. Although he notes that you may not be able to run that many in real life. ;) (if someone can find an actual link for this, please post it) That just cracks me up: I mean, the debate about forking apache to handle requests is one thing, but hell, why not just boot your own OS for each request!

4 of 142 comments (clear)

  1. Why run 40k+ servers? by finkployd · · Score: 5

    One University (speak up if you know) is actually running thousands of seperate linux guests under VM on their s/390 and giving EVERY student their own Linux box to play with.

    I'm under the assumption that they have some method of dealing with security in a central way so that everyone isn't running tftp and the dreaded r servers.

    Finkployd

  2. That's funny, but... by FascDot+Killed+My+Pr · · Score: 5

    Don't fork the OS for each web request--fork one for each customer. Think about it--you buy ONE mainframe and ONE copy of Linux. You can 41,000 customers each with their own "machine". They can do whatever they want with it, including configuring the security themselves. It doesn't matter if they do it wrong, the other 40,999 customers aren't affected (with the possible exception of bandwidth).
    --

    --
    Linux MAPI Server!
    http://www.openone.com/software/MailOne/
    (Exchange Migration HOWTO coming soon)
  3. Hot Swapping!! by tiny69 · · Score: 5
    This would be great for hot swapping. You could literally have 100's of spares, waiting for a problem.

    You could even implement a good response system to security break-ins. Any time someone logs in as or su's to root, indicate there is an error and swap to one of the hot spares. So what if the cracker trashes the one he is on. Switch to a backup.

    Of course in this situation, you would need 100's of spares if someone is a little persistant.

    --
    Go not unto/. for advice, for you will be told both yea and nay (but have nothing to do with the question)
  4. David Boyes Link by Carnage4Life · · Score: 5

    David Boyes, a consultant who works with the S/390, managed to boot 41,500 Linux servers on one mainframe. Although he notes that you may not be able to run that many in real life. ;) (if someone can find an actual link for this, please post it)

    The story on NetworkWorldFusion News

    The story on Fairfax IT

    A reprint of the story from LinuxPlanet