Installing Ubuntu on a Mainframe? You Gotta Be Kidding Me!”

As someone who has been working with Linux for over 10 years now, I’ve seen my fair share of crazy installations. But when I heard about the idea of running Ubuntu on an IBM zSeries mainframe, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

First off, let me just say that this is not a joke. It’s actually possible to run Linux on a mainframe and not just any old version of Linux either. You can install Ubuntu on one of these behemoth machines!

Now, before you start thinking about the benefits of running Ubuntu on a zSeries LPAR (Logical Partition), some of the challenges. For starters, mainframes are not exactly known for their speed and agility. They’re more like slow-moving giants that can take forever to boot up or shut down.

But hey, if you have a few hours (or even days) to spare, why not give it a try? Here’s how to install Ubuntu on your zSeries LPAR:

1. To kick things off make sure you have the necessary hardware and software for this installation. You’ll need an IBM zSeries mainframe with Linux support (duh), as well as access to an operating system that can run on a zSeries, such as z/OS or zLinux.

2. Next, create a new LPAR using your favorite method whether it be through the console, a script, or some other tool. Make sure you allocate enough resources for Ubuntu (at least 1GB of RAM and 50GB of disk space).

3. Once your LPAR is up and running, connect to it via SSH using an account with root privileges. This will allow you to perform the installation from within the mainframe environment.

4. Now comes the fun part installing Ubuntu! You can do this by downloading the ISO image for your desired version of Ubuntu and creating a bootable USB drive or CD/DVD. Alternatively, you can use IBM’s zLinux Boot from SAN (BFS) feature to load the installation media directly into memory.

5. Once you have booted into the Ubuntu installer, follow the prompts as usual selecting your language, time zone, and other basic settings. When it comes time to partition your disk space, be sure to allocate enough for both Ubuntu and any other operating systems or applications that you plan on running on this LPAR.

6. After installation is complete, reboot the mainframe and log in to your new Ubuntu environment! You can now start installing packages, configuring settings, and exploring all of the cool features that come with Linux on a zSeries LPAR.

It may not be the most practical or efficient way to run Linux, but hey sometimes you just gotta do things the hard (and hilarious) way!