What is the hardware here? |
EVIEVM is an IBM System/390 Multiprise 3000 mainframe that sits in
the bedroom of the person who owns it. Since no mainframe is ever a
solo act, there is also an external disk array, two external tape
drives, and a stack of servers/routers that provide front-end-processor
and networking to the mainframe. This system runs the VM/CMS operating
system, specifically z/VM 4.4; for those that do not know what VM is,
imagine an alternate-universe version of UNIX!
Disk storage (DASD) is provided by both an IBM SSA RAID-5 array within
the Multiprise 3000 cabinet and an external SCSI-320 disk array that
provides a storage array for a Bustech ESCON card (a program then runs
on the server that holds that disk array that provides an IBM 3390 DASD
equivalent. Tape storage, used to back up the system very frequently,
is provided by both two 4mm tape drives and a SCSI-attached IBM 3490
cartridge tape drive (very similar to an LTO or DLT drive). Networking
is provided by a Cisco 2811 router, which provides both Ethernet and
X.25 (over synchronous serial) access to the mainframe.
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What does this computer look like? |
Front view of the
machine, showing the integrated storage and the external storage array
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Is this website really served off a mainframe? |
Yeah, look at the response header or error pages. This is
EnterpriseWeb/VM made by Velocity Software!
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How fast is the CPU? |
Faster than any Hercules instance I've tested, even my 1700 MIPS
emu-box. The CREXXCPS benchmark shows an 8-fold improvement over Hercules
on a 5.4 GHz CPU, so it's not just that Hercules has slow I/O! I did not
believe it would be fast at first, but it really is; this thing can
compile OpenSSL as fast as a Pi 4.
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How fast is the Internal Disk Subsystem? |
I have a ring of 73 GB of 10K-RPM SSA disks, and they scream along
at a rather pleasant "smokes Hercules" speed.
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How fast is the Bustech 3990? |
Significantly slower than the Internal Disk Subsystem or IBM ESS
Shark array! It's not the raw throughput, it's the latency -- the thing
is a PowerPC 603 CPU emulating a 3990!
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How fast is the network interface? |
Faster than a 3172, slower than an OSA; about 40 megabits tops.
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Why is EVIEVM's website so slow? |
It's the Cisco 2811, the world's slowest router, not to mention
X.25 being capped at 8 megabits thanks to the synchronous serial
interface!
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I have more questions, how do I reach you? |
Email wec at (the domain name you are currently looking at)!
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