IBM S/390 Multiprise 3000 Mainframe - Part 1: Power-On-Reset and IPL. Booting a vintage mainframe.

[@shaneb3792]

I just finished upgrading a 4690 OS for Walmart last night. The old CC and DD system been working on it for 30 years

[@Happy_Gerbil-se1wt]

Thank you for posting these videos! I worked on a 7060-H01 day-in-and-day-out in production for six years, that was (wow!) 20 years ago! Thank you so much for giving me another look at one of the machines still with us! Congratulations on your excellent maintanance and care!

[@JoseGustavoAbreuMurta]

I worked for 36 years at IBM Brazil providing mainframe maintenance. If you have any questions, I can help.

[@FrancescoF]

Thanks! I’m a complete beginner with IBM software so… I have lots of questions!

[@plitshb9338]

I'd love more of this type of content please :) and also as/400 if possible :D

[@FrancescoF]

I already have a couple of very brief videos regarding mainframes and S/36, but I’ll try to make more.

[@markeggers8356]

I have not seen MVS/TSO-E for nearly 40 years. Man, that takes me back.

[@FrancescoF]

This machine is my first time seeing it, while it’s not the newest I don’t think much has changed.

[@MySmartHomeDomain]

Awesome addition to the collection. Thanks for sharing

[@jovetj]

Wow I'd love to have one of these myself!

[@SixSilverStones]

This is awesome!

[@swrzesinski]

I would suggest for power supply repair - install new safety capacitors in place for Rifas. Check other electrolytic capacitors for ESR, and I would suggest to replace all of the same kind caps that blew up - with new, low ESR ones, not something old ripped out from Cisco gear :D Good to service both units same way. I'm impressed with this mainframe. I've managed to get hands only on x232 and x235 xseries x86 machines. I've upgraded them with max RAM and bunch of 300GB SCSI drives.

[@FrancescoF]

Power supplies in mainframes are extremely overengineered, in fact the entire power delivery system is. They used to run on a 400V DC architecture, with processors running at every component node. Finding new replacement capacitors (for cheap) is not easy as current ones have a smaller footprint. Also I don’t mind reusing components to save some money. When I did the repair I wasn’t sure I would have been able to bring it home so I kept the expenses down

[@kahvikissa_]

@@FrancescoF its a good idea to measure them before using. old network gear could have very worn caps since they tend to be on all the time

[@douro20]

I believe this is one of the earliest models which could run z/OS. Do I see two SSA cards in there?

[@FrancescoF]

Yes, G5 I think is the minimum requirement for z/OS. There are two SSA RAID adapters, one for groups 0 and 1 that serve the emulated DASDs and one for group 2 that hosts the OS/2 Support Element

[@MrLampbus]

Whats happening with that lovely little 5362 in the background :) ? I had one many years ago to do a bit of SW development on.

[@FrancescoF]

This is my second 5362, unfortunately the front panel is cracked. I posted a video of the IPL countdown many years ago

[@skynetcybersystem3tech]

👍PERFECT

[@jurgenw.9794]

I have installed Linux S390 on such a machine in 2000. You can still find documentation at Marist college.

[@FrancescoF]

Might make a Linux LPAR, will look into it!

[@keithsweat7513]

your plugged into a power strip?

[@FrancescoF]

Yes, unlike the bigger models this runs on regular household power. Most of the newer z series are 3phase (but some can be wired up as single)

[@ivanmaglica264]

Hey, todays servers have automatic power on if power is lost and gets back. Does mainframe have that? Given how complicated the boot process (excuse me, IPL) is.

[@FrancescoF]

Good question. So long as the EPO switch remains up (or the room EPO is not triggered) the machine will start back up in it’s idle state. There are options for “automatic activation” but I never experimented with that. Mainframes can have up to 4 different power inputs and usually the data center housing them have all the provisions for room UPSs and backup generators. You can also get an internal UPS inside the mainframe called IBF (internal battery feature) that provides enough energy for an orderly shutdown.

[@AxelWerner]

How many KW of power does this baby burn while doing nothing?

[@FrancescoF]

Around 700W

[@stonent]

For backing up the service element, if you can find anyway to get that thing booted from a floppy, or briefly from the IDE port, you could use an old copy of Norton Ghost to back up the c: drive image to a compressed image file on a drive on the IDE port. Or if the network chip is standard, get it online with some dos drivers and map a drive using the old DOS LanMan tools and save the Ghost image there on a file share. Or I suppose if that SSA PCI card could reach out of the case, install it in another PC and hope the drivers could pick it up.

[@stonent]

Oh you might be able to get in somehow via the Adaptec SCSI controller.

[@FrancescoF]

Yes, SCSI and IDE are options, the problem is finding another OS that supports SSA, and I’m not sure Ghost does

[@stonent]

@@FrancescoF Ghost for windows can use whatever windows has a driver for. If you can manage to get windows booted with driver support. DOS Ghost might support it as long as the SCSI bios has picked up the array. Ghost 8 series is the best for this kind of stuff.

[@ChrisCebelenski]

What's the power requirement for this? I assume single phase, given the strip... Must be less than 20A draw, which is pretty good for the vintage. Those DSA disks were fairly hungry spinning up, but IIRC settled down around 8W each, still high by today's standards but not bad again for the time. I bet one of my old SGI's eat more power than this.

[@FrancescoF]

The power supplies (OCA) are rated for 1KW output if I remember. It uses around 700W when running normally. The 10Krpm SSA disks are quite power hungry but they share the same motors/actuators as SCSI/SCA and FC drives of the time.

[@iteagle03]

I wonder what the licensing costs are for zOS for the smaller form factor.

[@stonent]

Did you take classes with professor Guynes at UNT?

[@iteagle03]

@stonent yes. I took one of his classes one summer. Loved him and the material he taught. I might have taken another class in a long semester as well.

[@stonent]

@@iteagle03 I took COBOL I and II with him and also a Java class. I'll say something that may bring back a memory... "Ratfink" He retired in 2020/2021 around that time. Said he had a brand new Corvette ordered and everything. One of his former students Leroy Hardy has taken over those classes.

[@guysotomayor6932]

Great to see another MP/3000! Here’s a link to mine IPL’ing: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZ-tnpiHh5V6h7csi=Ng-PDZEytf4kR5UB

[@AK-vx4dy]

This is a mainframe ???? I saw onec small HP one, but was 2 times taller... 🤯

[@nathanruben3372]

what is the purpose of reviving this old mainframe...

[@FrancescoF]

It’s a great way to learn about a computer that’s completely different that basically every other computer

[@Happy_Gerbil-se1wt]

The pure joy of seeing it running! :-D

[@nathanruben3372]

@@FrancescoF These mainframes are lost art. I kinda aggree with you, I guess you have the resources, time, money for the very expensive parts, huge electricity bill. Yeah why not.

[@FrancescoF]

@ money and parts are not a problem, once you get to know a broker you’ll discover that mainframe have almost zero value because no one will even buy parts or a machine outside an IBM support contract

[@mystereit73]

ami bios?

[@FrancescoF]

The SBC computer is made by a 3rd party, that’s not the mainframe processor you’ll see start up (IML and IPL) later

[@mystereit73]

@@FrancescoF thanks... i was really wondering... i remember marveling at these machine in our accountant's office ... ibm 36 with huuuuge hard drives and paper cards ("NOO, dont mix them up!")... sooo cool to a 8 year old

[@FrancescoF]

@@mystereit73 I also have a couple S/36 5360, there’s a video about me trying to start it up from several year ago

[@7_of_9]

Go ahead and run as400 😂

[@FrancescoF]

That runs on IBM POWER processor, completely different architecture (that I also have)

[@railgap]

Sorry, but any "mainframe" you can't climb inside of is not a "mainframe", it's just a server. "Mainframe"... y'all are funny. You know why IBM tried to hang on to the term, right?

[@FrancescoF]

I mean, there’s a full mainframe processor inside so… but I also have a z9 EC and z10 EC and they perfectly fit the mainframe description, including having the DASD as a separate (long gone) unit so they don’t IPL IBM software. This one is an exemption and combined with the moderate power requirement is what make it interesting

[@AndrewTSq]

I asked a few different AI's about how big a computer must be to be called a "mainframe" and they all said that its not about size, its about the power of the system.

[@FrancescoF]

@ not even that, mainframe are less powerful than supercomputers. Mainframe is literally “main frame” where frames are basically racks. So this basically means “the processor” because a computer would take up an entire room and require multiple “frames” to operate, like for consoles, tape controllers, additional memory…