A Forced Tour of Duty

Well, as promised, here is my first real post to my DB2portal blog. I want to use this post to rant a little bit about mainframes and their robust management environment.

Mainframe developers are well aware of the security, scalability, and reliability of mainframe computer systems and applications. Unfortunately, though, the bulk of new programmers and IT personnel are not mainframe-literate. This should change. But maybe not for the reasons you are thinking.

Yes, I am a mainframe bigot. I readily admit that. In my humble opinion there is no finer platform for mission critical software development than the good ol’ mainframe. And that is why every new programmer should have to work a tour of duty on mainframe systems and applications as soon as they graduate from college.

Why would I recommend such a thing? Well, due to the robust system management processes and procedures which are in place and working at every mainframe shop in the world. This is simply not the case for Windows, Unix, and other platforms. Of course, I don't want to overly disparage non-mainframe systems. Indeed, much of the credit for the mainframe's superior management lies in its long legacy. Decades of experience helped mainframers build up the systems management capabilities of the mainframe.

But by working on mainframe systems, newbies will finally begin to learn the correct IT discipline for managing mission critical software. The freed0m that is allowed on non-mainframe systems helps folks to learn - but it is not conducive to the creation of hardened, manageable systems.

No longer is it okay to just insert a CD and install new software willy-nilly onto a production machine. Mainframe systems have well-documented and enforced change management procedures that need to be followed before any software is installed into a production environment.

No longer is it okay to just flip the switch and reboot the server. Mainframe systems have safeguards against such practices. Months, sometimes years, can go by without having to power down and re-IPL the mainframe.

And don’t even think about trying to get around security protocols. In mainframe shops there is an entire group of people in the operations department responsible for protecting and securing mainframe systems, applications, and data.

Ever wonder why there are no mainframe viruses? A properly secured operating system and environment make such a beast extremely unlikely.

Project planning, configuration management, capacity planning, job scheduling and automation, storage management, database administration, operations management, and so on – all are managed and required in every mainframe site I’ve ever been involved in. When no mainframe is involved many of these things are afterthoughts, if they’re even thought of at all.

Growing up in a PC world is a big part of the problem. Although there may be many things to snark about with regard to personal computers, one of the biggest is that they were never designed to be used the way that mainframes are used. Yet we call a sufficiently “pumped-up” PC a server – and then try to treat it like we treat mainframes. Oh, we may turn it on its side and tape a piece of paper on it bearing a phrase like “Do Not Shut Off – This is the Production Server”… but that is a far cry from the glass house that we’ve built to nourish and feed the mainframe environment.

The bottom line is that today’s distributed systems do not deliver the stability, availability, security, or performance of mainframe systems. A forced tour of duty supporting or developing applications for a mainframe would do every IT professional a whole world of good!