Learn about the hardware platforms that are supported by z Systems Development and Test
Environment.
z Systems Development and Test
Environment
instance
- Hardware platforms that are supported:
- 64-bit x86 Intel or compatible servers
- zEnterprise®
BladeCenter Extension Model 003
hardware and above (zBX version 3)
- Minimum processor rating:
- As a general statement, zPDT® works with any modern Intel processor that is fully supported by the recommended Linux distributions
- Processor core requirement:
- The hardware or virtual machine system must have at least 1 more PC core than the total number
of z Systems CPs for all concurrently running zPDT instances. The number of z Systems CPs allowed for each instance is defined in the processor
statement of the device map for each instance, requiring a minimum of 1 CP and a maximum of 8 CPs.
For an example of the processor statement, see Defining the device map.
- For standard installations, the following configuration is recommended: a 4-Core system with one
core that is devoted to Linux and three cores that are
devoted to z/OS®.
- For Sysplex installations, use this configuration: an 11-Core system with three cores that are
devoted to Linux and eight cores that are devoted to z/VM® and its guests.
- Memory requirement:
- You need PC memory of at least 1 GB larger than the intended size of the emulated z Systems memory for ALL the concurrently running zPDT instances. The size of the z Systems memory to be used for zPDT operation is defined in the memory statement of the device map for each instance. 2 GB is
a bare minimum for z Systems memory. 2 GB to 4 GB per
emulated CP is a more realistic starting point.
- For the sysplex capability, because extra memory is required for z/VM, the coupling facility, and multiple z/OS guests, a minimum of 16 GB is needed.
Because z Systems Development and Test
Environment reserves the full amount of physical memory that is assigned to the virtual z Systems machine, ensure that you have at least as much physical memory
as your virtual z Systems machine requires, plus 1 GB for
Linux.
- Removable media requirements:
- If you are not using a product license server or a license manager, a suitable USB port must be available for the 1091 hardware key. Do not use an unpowered USB
port expander when you are using zPDT. In particular, do not install the USB Hardware Device in an unpowered USB
port expander. (The product license server, sometimes called a product license server, is described in zPDT license servers, and provides an
alternative way to manage the device.)
- Hard disk requirements:
50 GB to 100 GB of disk space is required for z/OS. The
minimum required available disk space is twice the total required memory that is defined for the
server instance. If you are using the sysplex capability, an extra 54 GB of disk space is required
to hold the z/VM software distribution. Depending on how much
software you load into each z/OS system that is running in a
parallel sysplex configuration, you might need up to 220 GB per z/OS system.
- Other hardware requirements:
- For information about zBX systems and the hardware specifications of Model 003 and above, see
the IBM z BladeCenter Extension product page.
- Disable Hyper-threading (if available) at the BIOS level. Hyper-threading can produce extreme
slowdowns when z/OS is running spinloops. If many PC cores
are available the slowdowns might be resolved before z/OS
console messages are produced, indicating no problem other than reduced performance.
Product license server or license manager
When you activate the product with a USB hardware device, one option for making the license key files available to the program is to set up a remote license server and use network communications to
enable independent installations of z Systems Development and Test
Environment to be
authenticated by a single server. Otherwise, each machine that is hosting z Systems Development and Test
Environment requires a
hardware device to be installed locally to make it available to the program.
Setting up a product license server to authenticate with a high capacity USB hardware device involves installing z Systems Development and Test
Environment on a platform and
installing a license key file, which is also called an update file, on a USB hardware device on the license server. The product license server must then be started and the clients must be configured to access it. For more information, see
Quick setup instructions for using and migrating the product license server.
With software-based licensing, you can authenticate without a USB hardware device. Setting up a
license manager to authenticate software-based licenses involves installing the z Systems Development and Test
Environment
license manager on a platform, starting the license manager, and installing a license key file on the license manager to activate it. The clients that use the license manager must then be configured to access it, and the license manager client function must be started. For more information, see Software-based licensing.
The systems that host the product license server or the license manager have a different set of requirements.
- Hardware platforms that are supported:
- 64-bit x86 Intel or compatible servers
- Minimum processor rating:
- 2.0 GHz or higher Intel Core 2 Duo, Generation 1 Intel i3, or equivalent processor required
- Memory requirement:
-
- Hard disk requirements:
- 12 GB of disk space is required for Linux and
workspace.
- Removable media requirements:
- If you are using a product license server, a suitable USB port must be available for the 1091 hardware key. Do not use an unpowered USB
port expander when you are using zPDT. In particular, do not install the USB Hardware Device in an unpowered USB
port expander. (The product license server, sometimes called a product license server, is described in zPDT license servers, and provides an
alternative way to manage the device.)