As of 2006, IBM's Multiprise 3000 is physically the smallest new mainframe available for sale (HxWxD are 82 x 52 x 111 cm). It uses a similar case as the S/390 Integrated Server, which was introduced about one year earlier. The Multiprise 3000 is unique because it is the only current model with internal disk storage. There is also an active resale market for the Multiprise 3000.

The Multiprise 3000 is popular among smaller mainframe customers, particularly those running the 31-bit z/VSE operating system. All initially supported OSs were OS/390 V2R4 - R8, VM/ESA V2R2 - R4 and VSE/ESA V2R2 - R4. The Multiprise 3000 is losing popularity among z/OS and Linux on zSeries users because it does not support z/Architecture. Multiprise 3000 users are gradually upgrading to 64-bit models, especially the z800 and z890, to run newer software such as DB2 Version 8 for z/OS. That trend has accelerated as of early 2006 given lower reported U.S. prices of under $100,000 for the z800 model — a psychological barrier for many.

The Multiprise 3000 supports ESCON and a limited number of network adapters for external I/O. There are submodels available (H30, H50, H70) that determine capacity and throughput and, thus, software license costs. Both H30/H50 have one main processor with 1GB/2GB of memory while the H70-model has two main processors with 4GB of memory — all models have an additional SAP (System Assistance Processor). The main processors are the same CMOS chips used in the G5 series of larger S/390 systems.

Mainframe computers

External links

• IBM System/390 Multiprise 3000 Enterprise Server Hardware Announcement; September 20, 1999 (PDF)
• Multiprise 3000 Technical Introduction (PDF)
• S/390 (Multiprise 3000) System Overview

See also

• z/TPF
• z/VM
• Information Management System