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July 20, 1998

Mainframe Data Online

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TCP/IP connectivity has been a part of some mainframe operating systems, such as IBM's VM, for years. Nearly all mainframe-style computers now have operating systems with Unix interfaces built in, including IBM S/390s and compatible products from Hitachi Data Systems and Amdahl, IBM's AS/400 line, Hewlett-Packard's HP-3000s, and Digital's (now Compaq's) Open VMS line.

The Web server programs built to plug into these interfaces include Beyond Software's EnterpriseWeb, Lotus Development's Domino Web Server, and Sterling Software's VM: Webgateway. "Our product is just like every other Web server on the planet, except it resides natively on the mainframe," says Brian Reaves, CEO of Beyond Software. "That means fewer points of failure. Also, you get all the inherent benefits of a mainframe environment: high-speed transaction rates, industry-standard enterprise security, rock-solid reliability, and massive scalability." At top usage, ITG found, these Web-served programs drew on only 3% of mainframe capacity.

One of the best examples of this straightforward approach is at Merrill Lynch. The financial-services firm provides stock quotes and market-research data over the Internet to key corporate customers and via a corporate intranet to 30,000 employees using both Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.

Rather than buy a middleware product that would translate mainframe commands for this application, Merrill Lynch is serving this program directly from its mainframe using Beyond's EnterpriseWeb. When a Web surfer at Merrill Lynch's site asks for a stock quote, a CGI script, written in the mainframe programming language Rexx, calls on the market data application in Merrill Lynch's S/390 mainframe running IBM's VM/ES operating system. The application returns the appropriate data to the mainframe's Web server, which transmits a Web page loaded with the appropriate stock information to the end user.

The total cost for deploying this application was less than $50,000, money spent almost entirely on purchasing a commercial version of EnterpriseWeb and setting up a T1 line, says Jeff Savit, Merrill Lynch's VP of Web solutions. Coding costs were "trivial," he adds.

Keep It Simple
Many other organizations have found a similar ease of use from running Web servers directly from the mainframe. "You want to serve data from where it lives," says Robert Nix, a senior systems analyst for Lafayette Life Insurance Co. in Lafayette, Ind. "Why add hardware complexity and give your system another point of failure?"

Nix and fellow IT managers using mainframe-based servers don't have the same security concerns expressed by those deploying middleware or terminal emulators. "Mainframes have evolved over the years to be extremely stable and secure," Nix says. "Mainframe security is actually much tighter than PC or Unix security."

These executives also found few cultural complications associated with integrating legacy systems with the Web. "The idea that mainframe people are sitting in a corner not understanding the Internet is completely inaccurate," says Merrill Lynch's Savit. "There was no culture shock."

According to ITG, more than 1,000 organizations worldwide had implemented Web servers on mainframes last year. ITG estimates that number will exceed 2,300 by year's end.

However, while mainframe-based Web servers are an attractive alternative, no one is about to replace an NT or Unix box with a mainframe as the primary Web serving vehicle. "In some situations, mainframe-based Web serving is viable," says Charlie Burns, an analyst with Giga Information Group. "For heavy traffic, it may not be the right thing to do."