The main takeaway should be:  If you are running z/OS 1.4 or earlier
in 31 bit mode, test running it in 64 bit mode.  Just in case it
won't, get a z/13 and you should be able to run it in 31 bit mode
about another 8 years with supported hardware.

On Wed, Feb 10, 2016 at 4:09 PM, Tony Harminc <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 10 February 2016 at 15:50, Joel C. Ewing <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> Why do you think that SIE would not continue to provide virtual
>>> ESA/390 support? Today, when z/VM is running in zArch mode on the
>>> metal on e.g. a z12, it can surely have an ESA/390 mode guest OS. I
>>> see no reason that wouldn't continue just because the host processor
>>> doesn't IPL in ESA/390 mode.
>>>
>>> Tony H.
>>>
>>>
>> Well that was sort of my first thought too, but the actual wording in
>> z/VM Statement of Direction was that  "the IBM z13 server family will be
>> the last to support ESA/390 architecture mode", not that it wouldn't
>> support ESA/390 mode on IPL.  That sure sounds like there will no longer
>> be any hardware ability to switch ARCHLVL mode, and that z14 and later
>> will run only in ARCHLVL2 mode.
>
> Well I don't know what IBM has actually said, or what they mean, so
> I'm speculating as much as you are. Hopefully one of our friendly
> IBMers will step in and clarify. But my understanding of "the IBM z13
> server family will be the last to support ESA/390 architecture mode"
> is simply that on z14+ the IPL sequence will not start in or pass
> through ESA/390 mode, and it will not be possible to issue a SIGP to
> set ESA/390 mode. OK, but none of this suggests that a guest under SIE
> will not be able to run in ESA/390 mode. Perhaps the IPL will take
> some assistance from z/VM, but no one cares if that has high emulation
> overhead.
>
> BTW, this whole "switch architecture modes on the fly" reminds me of
> the famous Gordon Letwin "turning the ignition off and back on when
> the car's doing 60 MPH" scheme for the Intel 286 on OS/2. Only it's
> architected, rather than being a fortuitous kludge.
>
> http://www.google.com/patents/US4825358
>
> Tony H.
>
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-- 
Mike A Schwab, Springfield IL USA
Where do Forest Rangers go to get away from it all?

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