IBM System z10

IBM System z10 is a line of IBM mainframes. The z10 Enterprise Class (EC) was announced on February 26, 2008. On October 21, 2008, IBM announced the z10 Business Class (BC), a scaled-down version of the z10 EC. The System z10 represents the first model family powered by the z10 quad core processing engine. Its successors are the zEnterprise System models introduced in 2010 and 2012.

The number of "characterizable" (or configurable) processing units (PUs) is indicated in the hardware model designation (e.g., the E26 has 26 characterizable PUs). Depending on the capacity model, a PU can be characterized as a Central Processor (CP), Integrated Facility for Linux (IFL) processor, z Application Assist Processor (zAAP), z10 Integrated Information Processor (zIIP), or Internal Coupling Facility (ICF) processor. (The specialty processors are all identical and IBM locks out certain functions based on what the processor is characterized as.) It is also possible to configure additional System Assist Processors, but most customers find the mandatory minimum SAP allocation sufficient.

There are more physical PUs in a machine than characterizable PUs. For example, the E12 has 17 PUs, of which only 12 are characterizable. The remainder is a mixture of spares and mandatory minimum SAPs. The SAPs provide I/O assistance, system accounting, and other critical system functions.

The System z10 supports the following IBM operating systems: z/OS, z/VSE, z/VM, and z/TPF (and its immediate predecessor, TPF/ESA). Other operating systems available include Linux on System z, OpenSolaris for System z, UTS, and MUSIC/SP (at least in principle). Operating systems developed for x86 architectures (such as Windows and x86 versions of Linux) can be usable in the future according to the Mantissa Corporation with their z/VOS product.

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