How cool is it that they, like so many other hardware features, were proven virtually under z/VM first. I helped with some of the testing.. 20 years ago now. And I also like that IBM's CPU's can be configured in so many different ways. GP, IFL, zIIP w/zAAP, SAP, CF, DPU... What other architecture provides so many options? Yes, it is marketing, but it would seem to have been done pretty smartly.
On Thu, Sep 5, 2024 at 8:14 AM Radoslaw Skorupka < 00000471ebeac275-dmarc-requ...@listserv.ua.edu> wrote: > W dniu 05.09.2024 o 03:26, Tony Harminc pisze: > > On Sun, 1 Sept 2024 at 22:19, Timothy Sipples<sipp...@sg.ibm.com> wrote: > > > >> As previously reported back in 2004, the first customer production use > of > >> zAAP (the System z Application Assist Processor) went live on September > 1, > >> 2004. Which was impressively speedy because it occurred more than 3 > weeks > >> before the earliest release of z/OS to support zAAP (z/OS Version 1.6) > >> became Generally Available — and barely 2 months after zAAP (the > hardware > >> feature) was introduced. IBM discontinued zAAPs several years ago > because > >> their functions were fully incorporated into zIIPs. > >> > >> Happy 20th Birthday, zAAP! > >> > > I think people need to remember that zAAP and zIIP were not any kind of > > advance in technology, but rather a triumph of IBM marketing. IBM did a > > great job of positioning these two as so-called "specialty" engines, with > > the implication that they are somehow better or optimized for running > their > > respective kinds of workloads. > > > > Of course the hardware is in fact identical to the regular old engines, > at > > a lower price but with restrictions on what software is allowed to be > run. > > I've advocated calling them "restricted" or "limited function" engines, > but > > of course that wouldn't suit IBM's approach. > > > > So yes, Happy Birthday to all kinds of limited function engines! > > Yes, it is crippled CP. > However we like it and need it. > BTW: What about variety of MHz speed of Pentium? What about of sale > 486SX while it was crippled 486DX? > What about disabled ports in a switch? > > Specialty engines is a way to be competitive in areas where the > competition exist. Same as CoD and subcapacity models. > Would it be simpler to sell all CPs at the price of IFL? Of course, but > why we don't ask the same question to Intel? > BTW: IBM is not my enemy. My professional career and incomes are closely > related to mainframes, so it is also my interest the mainframe to be > competitive and successful. > > -- > Radoslaw Skorupka > Lodz, Poland > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, > send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN > -- ><((((º>`·.¸¸´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸>(((º> .·´¯`·.><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> <>< Go fishing ><> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
