221 An Overview of Linux Architecture and Design for the Mainframer
Project and Program:
Linux
Tags:
Proceedings,
2025,
SHARE Cleveland 2025
Linux is not only an incredibly significant part of the modern enterprise
network, it is becoming an increasingly large part of the mainframe space, being
implemented through zCX, on top of z/VM and even standalone using KVM. This
presentation will serve as an overview of the architecture and structure of the
typical Linux distribution for the Linux-curious and those in the beginning to
early intermediate stage Linux expertise. The session will start with a brief
overview of the history of Linux, the open-source GNU GPL license that underpins
it, and the Unix philosophy around which Linux is designed. Following this, the
critical components of a GNU/Linux distribution will be covered, diving into the
separate but interconnected components that are combined to produce a fully
functional Linux system, before moving into a more detailed explanation of each
of these module’s essential options and configuration choices. These major
subsystems will be compared and contrasted with their mainframe counterparts,
relating the operation of the two different systems. Finally, the critical
distinctions between different Linux core component choices and distributions
will be analyzed and compared, with the goal of fully understanding how best to
build a new Linux system for a variety of different use cases. Listeners will
come away with a deep understanding of a Linux’s core subsystems, their
functioning, and the different options that can be selected for each role.
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